Willie Anderson and John Connolly, the long-time Queensland coach, are among the early declared frontrunners in the race to succeed Matt Williams as Leinster coach. Although both were remaining coy about their intentions yesterday, each man has already declared his interest privately to the Leinster Branch.

Many others will assuredly enter the fray and although the Leinster Branch has moved with due speed in placing the advertisement for the vacancy today, they've already had several inquiries from English-based agents representing coaches from around the rugby world.

One of those is Connolly, aka 'Knuckles', who was head coach with Queensland for a dozen years, taking in five years as coach to the Queensland Reds' Super 12 side which twiced topped the regular league table only to be beaten in home semi-finals by Canterbury and Natal.

More recently he had a couple of years with Stade Francais, during which time they beat Munster in the European Cup semi-finals two seasons ago but were beaten in the quarter-finals by them last season, before a miserable and incomplete season with a freefalling Swansea.

Speaking from his home in Brisbane yesterday, Connolly was less than forthcoming about his interest in the Leinster job. "I suppose I've got to keep my cards fairly close to the chest at the moment. I hadn't planned on it but obviously Matt's appointment to Scotland in the last couple of days is something that's happened out of the blue. I don't want to say too much."

His parental grandparents hail from Galway and through his friendship with Ollie Campbell he coached Old Belvedere for four months in 1995, at which point he was interviewed by Tom Kiernan, Syd Millar and Eddie Coleman for the vacant position as Irish coach after Gerry Murphy. But Connolly made himself unavailable.

"I've often wondered how differently things might have panned out had I accepted, but I still had a contract to honour at Queensland."

Connolly admits he had intended taking 12 months off to co-incide with World Cup year in his native country, "but in the last couple of months I feel like getting back on the treadmill." However, Connolly's name has also been linked with some upcoming coaching positions at London Irish and Bath. The basic salary for an English Premiership coach is loosely in the realm of £150,000 and the IRFU's Director of Rugby Eddie Wiglesworth accepted that "we do realise that in order to acquire a top quality coach that's the marketplace".

Wigglesworth confirmed that "we've already had expressions of interest from people both in Ireland and overseas". As the recent examples of Williams and Steph Nel highlight though, overseas coaches don't tend to remain long in the system. Hence, the recent promotions within the coaching structure of Eddie O'Sullivan, Declan Kidney and Niall O'Donovan (to the Irish team), Michael Bradley (Irish under-21s and Connacht), Mark McCall and Allen Clarke (Irish under-23s and Ulster) Brian Hickey (Munster), Pat Murray (Irish under-19s).

"The object of the exercise where there is Irish talent is to really promote that talent but this policy has to be tempered by pragmatic reality and appointing the right people to the right jobs," added Wigglesworth.

Anderson's nature and commitment can be a bit too passionate for some people's liking - witness a recent little ruckus on the night of the Perpignan defeat with a departing Leinster player. But as a former Irish captain and ex-Irish assistant coach to Gerry Murphy, who has also coached London Irish and an AIL-winning Dungannon side and assisting Williams at Leinster this season, his credentials are unquestionably strong.

It is also expected that the well-travelled and well-respected Tim Lane will throw his hat into the ring, having coached the Queensland under-21s, Manly, Montferrand, and serving time on the coaching ticket to both the Wallabies and, until recently, the Springboks' backs coach.

One of Williams' undoubted legacies is that the lure of the Leinster job is altogether stronger now than it was three years ago, with considerably more frontline internationals in the squad, and that his upwardly mobile and high profile move to Scotland makes the need for an advertising campaign almost obsolete.

Hence, a host of other runners will soon enter the race.