Eddie, welcome to the list of the Irish coaching damned

And then there were none. No Irish born provincial head coach in the country. Pat Lam (NZ) and Billy Millard (Aus) are in Connacht. Rob Penny (NZ) and Steve Mannix (NZ) are in Munster. Joe Schmidt (NZ,) Jonno Gibbs (NZ) and Greg Feek (NZ) in Leinster. Steve Anscombe (NZ) in Ulster.

The only Irish presence that remains are senior assistant coaches Anthony Foley in Munster and Neil Doak in Ulster.

There is no doubt that in the past 15 years Irish rugby has benefited greatly from overseas coaches. Warren Gatland, Michael Cheika, Alan Gaffney, Joe Schmidt, Les Kiss and Gert Small are all wonderful coaches who have enhanced Irish Rugby.

It is rarely mentioned that during the same period indigenous coaches Harry Williams and Declan Kidney won Heineken Cups and Brian McLaughlin took Ulster to a final. During the same period Niall O’Donovan, Willie Anderson, Mark McCall and Roly Meates were part of the intellectual think tanks that contributed to winning Heineken Cups and Celtic League titles across three provinces.

It is to Irish rugby’s great loss that, with the exception of Brian and Declan, these excellent rugby minds have no avenue through which to pass on their encyclopaedic knowledge to future generations.

In Irish rugby at that time there was a healthy balance between indigenous and non-indigenous coaches. Today that balance is gone.

With the exception of Alan Gaffney and the great Rugby League defensive coach Peter Sharpe, every member of the management teams I employed at Leinster and Ulster were Irish. I felt it was incumbent on me to give my knowledge to the Irish system so indigenous coaches could develop. I hoped they in turn would pass on their wisdom to future generations of players and coaches.

Indigenous coaches

Whether the recent decisions to not employ indigenous coaches is a policy or simply a series of random events is irrelevant. The ramification is that there are no opportunities for local talent to develop so there will be few, if any, Irish -born professional coaches in the years to come. While Irish rugby is giving considerable support to reducing New Zealand’s chronic unemployment problem, it is denying a generation of its own coaching community an opportunity.

This conversation was precipitated by Connacht not granting Eddie O’Sullivan an interview and appointing Pat Lam as head coach.

I am in a unique position. I worked with both Eddie and Pat. Eddie and I are not best buddies. We are competitors.

In 2001 Warren Gatland asked me to coach the national team’s defence during the Six Nations games postponed due to the foot and mouth crisis, as well as a match against New Zealand.

Day one, Eddie made it clear he did not want me around. He later said that he disagreed with my defensive systems. I find that hard to fathom because, when I arrived there were no defensive systems. With Eddie, I was as popular as the rats under the house.

Many years have passed and Eddie and I have mellowed towards each other. It would be ignorant of me not to acknowledge that Eddie was and is an excellent coach. My former Leinster players, who I deeply respect, have high opinions of Eddie’s work ethic, knowledge and coaching ability. Like all long-term coaches, Eddie is a better coach today than he was four years ago.

I worked with Pat Lam when he was an assistant coach of Scotland at the 2003 RWC. I did not offer him a contract at Scotland when I took over after the tournament. I was surprised when Pat became the Auckland Blues coach.

Hugely underperformed

Pat coached an Auckland team that was very talented but hugely underperformed.

All coaches deserve a second chance and I honestly wish Pat well at Connacht. This issue is not about Pat Lam. This is about giving Irish coaches opportunities in a professional environment in their own country.

In my opinion, to suggest that Pat as a coach is so far ahead of Eddie, that Eddie did not even get an interview is an augment that is unjustifiable on coaching qualifications and past history. It beggars belief that those involved would attempt to justify their decision on rugby issues.

Any impartial observers could see that the decision to not interview Eddie were political or personal or a combination of both. Eddie’s name is on an unofficial list of those who will never coach in Ireland again. If it is of any consolation to Eddie, I think he is in excellent company as all the former Irish coaches names above and mine are also on that list.

Eddie, welcome to the list of the Irish coaching damned. If you are on that list applying for gigs in Ireland will only bring disappointment and humiliation, so don’t bother. Eddie has had an injustice done to him and Irish coaching is in the midst of a great injustice.

To Anthony Foley, Neil Doak and any other aspiring Irish coach I would recommend that you do not take out a large mortgage. Either go back to college and study for an alternative career or pack your bags and go across the water.

Follow Mark McCall, Jeremy Davidson and Conor O’Shea, because without an IRFU directive to change policy, that is the only place you will find the opportunity to become a professional head coach.