FORMER England assistant coach Andy Farrell has been appointed as Ireland’s new defence coach from the end of this year’s Six Nations.
The former dual-code player, the ex-Wigan Warriors man won 11 caps for England and 34 for Great Britain in rugby league before switching to union and joining Saracens. He also won eight caps for England, including three appearances at the 2007 World Cup.
He had coached Saracens previous to joining the England setup in 2011, where he stayed for four years.
He served under Stuart Lancaster at England’s home World Cup in September.
Lancaster was forced to defend the decision to select Farrell’s son Owen at fly-half over George Ford for what proved a costly defeat to Wales.
Farrell’s contract with Ireland will begin ahead of the June summer tour to South Africa and will run until the completion of the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Commenting on the announcement, Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt said: "It's great to have Andy coming into our coaching team.
“The quality of his delivery and breadth of his experience as well as the positive impact he had when coaching a number of our senior players during the 2013 Lions tour will add real value for us."
Farrell commented: "To have this opportunity to work with a very talented management and playing group really excites me. With a wealth of top class experienced senior players and a fantastic crop of youngsters pushing hard the future is very positive for Irish rugby and I can't wait to get started."
