Andy Farrell has signed a new deal to remain as Ireland\u2019s head coach until 2031, removing any chance of England luring him back to Twickenham after next year\u2019s Rugby World Cup. Instead, Farrell has opted to stay put in Dublin and will now preside over Ireland\u2019s next two World Cup campaigns.<\/p>\n
Farrell, who led the British & Irish Lions to a series win in Australia last year, has steered Ireland to two Six Nations titles, including a grand slam in 2023, and a historic Test series win over the All Blacks in New Zealand since replacing Joe Schmidt in late 2019. His latest five-year deal ends any speculation about a possible return to English rugby in 18 months\u2019 time.<\/p>\n
The announcement was hailed as \u201ca hugely positive step for Irish rugby\u201d by Kevin Potts, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) chief executive, clearly thrilled to have retained the 51-year-old Farrell\u2019s services. \u201cWe are delighted to secure Andy through to 2031,\u201d said Potts. \u201cHe is a truly world-class coach and an exceptional leader who has helped shape Ireland as one of the most exciting and consistent teams in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis impact reaches far beyond what we see on the pitch: he has instilled a deep sense of pride, connection, inspiration and belief across Irish rugby, creating a culture that truly unites players and supporters and one that Irish fans at home and across the globe feel incredibly proud to stand behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
The IRFU\u2019s performance director, David Humphreys, underlined the importance of continuity in the role. \u201cThis commitment to Irish rugby gives us real confidence as we look ahead and allows us to keep developing our playing group, strengthen our high-performance systems, and ensure alignment from the pathway right through to the senior team. Above all, it provides a stable platform to keep Irish rugby competing with the very best in the world over the coming years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Farrell\u2019s coaching future had become the subject of some discussion after autumn defeats by New Zealand and South Africa, the world champions, and a sub-par opening Six Nations loss to France in Paris. Subsequent victories over Italy, England, Wales and Scotland, however, secured a triple crown and Ireland ended up finishing second in the table. \u201cI am incredibly proud to continue this journey with Irish rugby,\u201d said Farrell. \u201cIt is a privilege to work with such a talented group of players and staff, and to represent the supporters whose passion and unwavering support drive this team forward and inspire us every time we take the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat excites me most is \u2026 the quality of talent coming through. There is a real confidence in the system that has been built across the provinces and age-grade programmes, and I believe with sustained effort that the best is yet to come.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Andy Farrell has signed a new deal to remain as Ireland\u2019s head coach until 2031, removing any chance…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":716818,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-716817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=716817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/716817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/716818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=716817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=716817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=716817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}