New head coach on the horizon for Ireland women as IRFU and Greg McWilliams discuss future

The IRFU remain in negotiations with the Ireland women’s head coach Greg McWilliams and an announcement about his future is likely to be made before the end of the week. The discussions are said to be amicable pending the anticipated departure of McWilliams, whose contract is believed to expire at the end of the year.

In advance of Ireland’s participation next October in Tier 3 of World Rugby’s new global WXV, details of which should also be announced soon, the Union could look abroad to a high-profile replacement in the vein of John Mitchell, the newly appointed head coach of the England Women’s team.,The departing Red Roses’ head Simon Middleton is a possibility.

Alternatively, they could stay within the Irish system, with McWlliams’ current assistant coach, John McKee, an obvious choice, either in the short or longer term. The New Zealander is an experienced coach who has been an assistant with Connacht and head coach of the Fijian team, and is seemingly popular within the squad.

A trio of Leinster players have been included in the five-man shortlist for the 2023 EPCR Player of the Year award, namely the 2022 winner and reigning World Player of the Year, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris and Garry Ringrose. They are joined on the list by La Rochelle number 8 Grégory Alldritt and the Toulouse scrumhalf, and the 2021 winner, Antoine Dupont.

The Counter Ruck: the rugby newsletter from The Irish Times

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Leinster have also confirmed that eight new players will join the province’s Academy before the 2023/24 season as year-one players. All were part of the Ireland Grand Slam-winning side in the recent Under-20s Six Nations.

They are Andrew Osborne (Naas RFC), Conor O’Tighearnaigh (UCD RFC), Fintan Gunne (Terenure RFC), Gus McCarthy (UCD RFC), Henry McErlean (Terenure RFC), Hugh Cooney (Clontarf FC), Liam Molony (Dublin University FC) and Patrick McCarthy (Dublin University FC).

Munster’s John Hodnett has been named the URC’s Tackle Machine for the 2022-23 season, having made 151 tackles with a 96% accuracy over the course of the regular season.

The award is given to the player who boasts the best tackle success rate among those who have attempted 150 or more over the course of the campaign.

The 24-year-old Hodnett edged out Cardiff flanker Thomas Young, who made the second-highest number of tackles with 199 while also claiming the Turnover King award, and Ulster’s Nick Timoney, who both had a 95% accuracy rate.

Timoney finished fifth in this category last season with a 94.64% accuracy, having made a competition-high 247 tackles.