THE IRFU HAVE confirmed Simon Easterby as Irelandโs new forwards coach.
Capped 65 times by Ireland during his playing days, Easterby will join Joe Schmidtโs backroom staff from the Scarlets.
The 38-year-old has been head coach of the Welsh region since 2012, having worked as a defence coach for the club for two years prior to that.
Easterby replaces New Zealander John Plumtree, who left Ireland this summer after a single season in charge of the forwards. The Kiwi departed with his reputation enhanced after overseeing major improvements in Irelandโs line-out and maul.
Former back row Easterby, who has similar coaching strengths to Plumtree, will stay on at the Scarlets throughout the current pre-season and start of the Pro12 season before moving to Ireland ahead of the November Tests.
With the Scarlets having agreed to release Easterby from his contract to take up Schmidtโs offer, the Irishman said:
I am very grateful to the Scarlets Board for allowing this to happen and for respecting and supporting my ambition and development as a coach at international level.
โItโs a huge opportunity for me in Ireland and one I am very excited about, but itโs been a very emotional decision to leave the region that has been such a major part of my rugby career.โ
Meanwhile, Ireland head coach Schmidt added:
โSimon has tremendous test match experience combined with an in-depth knowledge of the current national squad players. He is well known to Irish rugby supporters and to many of the players and his knowledge and experience will help drive the team forward.โ
Murray, what is your own personal view on this appointment?I remember some months back when it was announced of Plumtreeโs departure, you created a fantastic in depth analysis of Irelandโs maul, scrum, counter rucking ability and line out progression under him! In one year, Plumtree most certainly turned it around. I remember a year prior to our six nations win this year, Irelandโs forward play against Scotland in particular was abysmal. One year on to this years six nations win, forwards progression is a mere understatement in line out and maul in particular! So the question is, will Ireland remain consistent in this department under Easterby??
Hi James,
My impression is that itโs a smart appointment by Ireland. Easterby has a good reputation in the coaching world and his strengths are quite similar to Plumtreeโs. As a player, he was a line-out specialist, and that has transferred into his coaching. So in terms of directly replacing Plumtree there, itโs an excellent fit that should result in consistency.
Something I tried to get across in the article you mention above is that Paul OโConnell has a big influence on Irelandโs line-out, so that should also help with maintaining the high standards they have reached at that set-piece. You also mention Ireland in the 2013 Six Nations, when their forward play wasnโt as strong. Itโs worth noting that OโConnell missed that tournament, while Devin Toner wasnโt involved either. Those two have come back in and been integral to Irelandโs progress, particularly at line-out time. Thatโs not to say the coaching did not have a major impact this year, but the personnel have been vital too.
Greg Feek is still there as scrum coach [now on a full-time basis], while Joe Schmidt is excellent around breakdown work, so the other areas you touched on should stay on course and hopefully improve.
I guess the maul is one area where there is a little less certainty and as you say itโs been excellent for Ireland in recent times. Ireland have good mauling players in the likes of OโConnell, Cian Healy, Mike Ross, Chris Henry, Jamie Heaslip and a few others, so Easterby has the raw materials there. He will bring his own ideas, but there is a strong existing base for him to build on.
Itโs impossible to say for definite whether or not Irelandโs forwards will remain consistent under Easterby, but the signs are good. He has plenty to prove, but his mentality fits well with Schmidtโs in terms of attention to detail, high standards of excellence in training and always being well prepared.
What do you think? Happy with the appointment?
Whatโs Easterbyโs personality like? A lot was made of Plumtreeโs laid-back nature and how it off-set the intensity of Joe Schmidt. Is that something Easterby will continue? I donโt know if itโs as big of a deal as it was made out in some circles when Plumtree announced he was leaving.
A real playerโs coach by all accounts. Bear in mind he only retired in 2010 & went straight into coaching so wouldnโt be a guy who relies on antiquated playing methods. Would also still have lots of friends in the Ireland camp (his last cap was 2008) which will aid the transition.
On top of all that, heโs very media savvy (it helps when your missus is a well known TV personality in Wales) & always comes across well in interviews, press conferences etc.
I was glad that he was in the running for the position, but I wasnโt overly delighted at first that he was appointed.
Although now that I know Murray thinks itโs a smart appointment I feel much more reassured !Also the rugby banter page asked Scarlets fans what they thought of him and they all seemed to think he was a quality coach. Hopefully he can not only maintain standards but raise them.
@Del McG Having friends among the playing personnel is not always a good thing, Del. It can make it difficult to drop certain players or to speak with them in an authoritative, detached manner. A good coach must be objective, and canโt allow old friendships to blind him.
Being media savvy can be useful, as long as he is not a waffler (we had too many of them in the years before Joe Schmidtโs appointment).
@Murray Kinsella Youโre a good analyst, Murray. And I hope that what you have said, in reply to James OโToole above, proves true for Ireland.
I too am very happy with the appointment. Reading between the lines โ I could be wrong here โ I get the impression, that Paulie may have had a major influence in Easterby getting the shout. Hereโs hoping it works out well for all involved!!!!
Hi Murray
Thanks for the response. You touched on some good points and would definitely agree about the forward personnel. From your previous article which i was referring to going back a couple of months, one particular point which you eluded to was paulieโs influence in terms of calling the line out along with devon tonerโs shear aerial ability and Chris Henryโs intelligence at the tail!
I guess the scrum will take care of itself with no such impact of change accruing in that department. But as you mentioned the maul is the one area where risk may be somewhat higher as its a less certain how Easterby will view this and even take it to thye next level.
I am very happy with the appointment and im sure Schmidt knows only too well about Easterbyโs potential and ability so he knows what he brings. Although i just thought Plumtree created a solid foundation and has set the expectations quite high for his successors, in this case Easterby. All i hope is that Easterby can match the high expectation Plumtree has set and perhaps exceed those expectations with particular focus on line out and maul.
Hard to judge whether he was successful with Scarlets or notโฆWhat bodes well is he was a great player due to his TECHNICAL excellence, as opposed to typical blindside flankers whoโs main role is to cause as much chaos and pain as possible (e.g Leamy, Neil Best, Ferris etc). Brilliant at breakdown, lineouts and defenseโฆalso brilliant at cheating without getting caught!
My main fear is that he was chosen by default due to a lack of candidates (Ruddock and Mc Farland are the only guys Iโve even heard that were rumoured). However, it was always going to be impossible to get an ideal choice this close to a World CupโฆAs a positive, thatโs another indigenous coach whoโs been promoted.
In Schmidt we trust!
Excellent article excellent analysis. My own personal feeling is that its a good appointment
Poor appointment imho, heโs not there to be โfriendsโ with anyone as a previous poster wrote why should that be seen as poitiveโฆEasterby will need to learn how to pipe down a bit in interviews. Plumtree is a massive loss hardest part is finding good coaches a year out from RWC
Richard, I donโt imagine Paulie, should he have had a hand in Easterbyโs appointment, was motivated by anything other than getting the best man available for the job. The suggestion of cronyism is wide of the mark, I think. What I meant in what I wrote was, that if Paulie and Joe Schmidt think Easterbyโs up to the task, then thatโs a good enough endorsement for me. As you said yourself, getting a replacement for Plumtree a year out from the WC was no easy task.
Great move. Smart, astute and timely.
Good luck to him, a great opportunity to work with a top class coaching ticket
Not sure about a forwards coach from a team that has a powder puff pack of forwards while he coach ed them and played for them. He certainly did not turn them around in twelve months hard to think why he could do it with Ireland.
Looking forward to seeing all the unseen work he did as a player translated to coaching.
I.e not a tap.
Poor appointment.