{"id":327901,"date":"2025-12-21T09:19:24","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T09:19:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/327901\/"},"modified":"2025-12-21T09:19:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T09:19:24","slug":"the-man-from-skerries-charged-with-leading-eagles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/327901\/","title":{"rendered":"The man from Skerries charged with leading Eagles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jack Hanratty doesn\u2019t officially start his role with USA<\/a> Rugby until January \u2013 but try telling his diary that.<\/p>\n

The new Eagles<\/a> Head Coach is bouncing around England<\/a> like a chirpy, dry-humoured pinball \u2013 visiting his soon-to-be athletes at PWR<\/a> clubs and fixtures, whilst joining calls with Women\u2019s Elite Rugby, hopping across the Channel to Bordeaux to inspect some top-flight French domestic action, and hauling all of his worldly possessions to his new home: Chula Vista\u2019s Elite Athlete Training Centre in San Diego.<\/p>\n

Telltale items will be scattered between the 36-year-old\u2019s moving boxes. An Ireland<\/a> jersey \u2013 perhaps even one bearing the playing number of his uncle, Jim Glennon, who earned six caps in emerald engine rooms. Surely something in the old gold, cerise, and blue of Skerries RFC \u2013 his hometown club, and where he cut his coaching teeth overseeing an exuberant U11s outfit.<\/p>\n

A handful of artefacts in Leinster blue: cherished by the young man who went on to spend five years as a Development Officer and club coach across County Dublin.<\/p>\n

The lion\u2019s share of the items, though \u2013 will be red. Not that of Munster (don\u2019t be daft) \u2013 but Canada<\/a>: the country Hanratty moved to in 2013, to head up Nova Scotia\u2019s provincial programme. During his tenure, the set-up doubled in size, and started winning national silverware \u2013 even as he locked horns with another prodigious regional coach: a certain Kevin Rouet.<\/p>\n

Positions at Rugby Canada<\/a> followed: age grade opportunities, before attack for the women\u2019s Canucks. He\u2019s, no doubt, kept hold of some of the Maple-adored stash he wore at the World Cup in New Zealand \u2013 maybe the lime green and blue lanyard he sported as Sophie De Goede<\/a> and co. pushed the Red Roses thrillingly hard in the semi-finals, before running out of steam with bronze on the line.<\/p>\n

Unquestionably, the most garish keepsake of the lot, winging its way from Ottawa to California \u2013 is the now-infamous pixelated crimson and white Team Canada<\/a> tracksuit from the Paris Olympics. By that point, the Irishman was head of their women\u2019s sevens \u2013 an effervescent battalion which arrived in the French capital in historic form, hotly-tipped to complete what felt an inevitable Black Ferns \u2013 Australia<\/a> podium.<\/p>\n

They never got the script. In fact \u2013 they dazzled: stunning Charlotte Caslick<\/a>\u2019s golden girls before a cacophonous Stade de France, before a battle royale with New Zealand<\/a> in the final. Whether the silver medal is meticulously bubble-wrapped, ensconced in a box marked \u2018fragile\u2019, or simply stashed amongst Hanratty\u2019s socks is unknown \u2013 but it\u2019ll be one of the first items he checks for, when he begins to unpack.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s got a near-photographic memory of that penultimate outing, and can recite the whole thing play-by-play: overthrown line-outs, an exquisite Caroline Crossley<\/a> turnover, Charity Williams defying injury to streak 60 glorious metres and haul them back into the contest, and then the second half: \u2018one of the best seven-minute team performances we ever put out there.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Sevens is wild: you don\u2019t know you\u2019ve won the game until you\u2019ve won the game\u2019 but, with 45 seconds on the clock, he looked across to his assistant, Jocelyn Barrieau and \u2018just knew we\u2019d won it.\u2019<\/p>\n

He\u2019s full of stories: a friendship-sealing beer shared with Rouet at their first national camp together; his mortification when an article announcing him as the new Sevens Head Coach stressed, emphatically, that he was there on an \u2018interim\u2019 basis \u2013 \u201cdon\u2019t worry, guys: this is just a stop gap\u201d; how quickly he learned that values like trust, respect, performance, and enjoyment require simultaneous cultivating; and the ways the introduced \u2018chaos\u2019 into training, pre-Paris \u2013 to ensure they\u2019d be adaptable enough to leave with silverware.<\/p>\n

The ticker tape from that majestic campaign might be long-settled, but its legacy lives on. \u201cWhat I just love about it is that they\u2019re all still playing. They\u2019re backing it up: half of them went on to win another silver a year later \u2013 some of them looking like world class 15s athletes within months of their debuts. It\u2019s a phenomenal story, Paris \u2013 unbelievable \u2013 but it\u2019s just one chapter in a pretty cool book.\u201d<\/p>\n

The success allowed him to contemplate new challenges \u2013 \u201cI couldn\u2019t have left if we weren\u2019t back habitually competing with the world\u2019s best\u201d- and his much-coveted signature was promptly secured by the prestigious rugby programme at the University of Ottawa.<\/p>\n

He loved his time with the Gee-Gees -\u201ca dream job for so many people\u201d \u2013 but, within the year, the ripples of a record-shattering World Cup were lapping on Canadian shores, \u201cand I just felt I had more to give.\u201d<\/p>\n

The allure of the Test arena (which wanted him back: he was courted by several unions) proved too strong, and \u2013 at the start of this month \u2013 USA Rugby\u2019s General Manager of High Performance, Tamara Sheppard, delightedly announced the \u201cinnovative, enthusiastic, and outstanding leader\u201d selected to replace Sione Fukofuka.<\/p>\n

He phoned a handful of former colleagues just before the news broke \u2013 to warn them he\u2019d traded North American derby allegiances \u2013 and got nothing but pride and excitement back, even if several of his recent charges admitted it\u2019ll take them a long time to get used to seeing him in stars and stripes \u2013 rather than maples.<\/p>\n

His own main concern is UV exposure \u2013 that Skerries complexion was not made for concentrated Californian rays \u2013 but he was determined to (pending visa approval, he adds with a chuckle) relocate: for the ease of pooling and debating ideas over coffee in Chula Vista\u2019s shared offices, but also to underline his commitment to the cause.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe US players have had a lot of churn recently, so are understandably keen to know how invested in this I am\u2026 I\u2019m moving to San Diego \u2013 and I don\u2019t like moving! I\u2019m building towards Australia in four years, and \u2013 if it\u2019s right for everyone involved \u2013 towards our own World Cup in eight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat an incredible time to be involved in USA Rugby,\u201d he continues. \u201cYou don\u2019t get a home Olympics followed by a home World Cup all that often. It\u2019s a very, very special project.\u201d<\/p>\n

A complex one, too \u2013 which will require the alignment of Hanratty, the \u2018world-leading\u2019 Sheppard, Sevens Head Coach Emilie Bydwell, and every other moving part across the organisation. Symbiosis will be key \u2013 \u201cwe don\u2019t have the player pool to be world class, independently, in sevens and 15s \u2013 so need to function as teammates \u2013 and we can\u2019t put all our eggs in one basket when it comes to the club game, either.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s an ardent fan of the PWR \u2013 how its infrastructure, professionalism, and personnel combine in performance alchemy: improving each and every Eagle to grace its team sheets \u2013 but knows Women\u2019s Elite Rugby has a critical role to play. \u201cWe need that level of competition on US shores, and I\u2019m excited to help develop that puzzle piece however I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, given his background, he relishes identifying talent \u2013 and is well aware that scouring all 50 states and beyond for rough diamonds will be at the heart of his programme\u2019s success. \u201cThis country is a Mecca for athletes, but we\u2019re still selling rugby to its population. We can\u2019t be ignorant enough to think that people will just find this sport, because they won\u2019t. This product needs active promotion, and we have to market the Eagles as the very pinnacle of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Olympics will be a key hook \u2013 \u201cthey\u2019re obsessed with the Games\u201d, even as flag football becomes one of their fiercest competitors \u2013 as will Ilona Maher. \u201cShe\u2019s changed global sport for the better: how luck are we to have her? Our job is to leverage all of those factors in making the Eagles the USA\u2019s team over the next four years.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not exactly an easy opener: his first match in charge will be up against a smarting Black Ferns, but Hanratty\u2019s practically fizzing with anticipation.<\/p>\n

Besides \u2013 this is year one of a build, and in a transformed global landscape: he\u2019ll be debuting alongside new Head Coaches in New Zealand, Australia, Scotland, and France.<\/p>\n

Come 2029, though \u2013 the goal posts are unequivocal. He wants a united squad \u2013 \u201cEagles first\u201d will be at their core \u2013 skilful, inspiring, and instinctive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis game is all about playing what\u2019s in front of you. I want to equip them with the tools and approach, but then \u2013 in the heat of battle \u2013 be surprised and entertained by how they do it. Performance-wise: quarter finals is the minimum standard. We\u2019re competitive \u2013 I certainly am: I\u2019d not have taken this role on if I just wanted a participation medal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new Eagles Head Coach\u2019s possessions might still be in transit \u2013 his start date might be on the other side of Christmas \u2013 but he\u2019s immersed, infectiously invested, in the position already.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust being pitch-side, watching some of the girls in action at the weekend \u2013 it really hit me how exciting this project is. This is the most fun challenge of a job going. This is the best choice I could possibly have made.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jack Hanratty doesn\u2019t officially start his role with USA Rugby until January \u2013 but try telling his diary…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":327902,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[5903,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-327901","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-rugby","8":"tag-rugby","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=327901"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/327901\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=327901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=327901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=327901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}