Toolan’s rugby rise continues
FORMER GRFC player and clubman through and through Eoin Toolan has graduated from video analyst to the Ireland team with Declan Kidney to Senior analyst of the Super Rugby side Melbourne Rebels and now head coach to the Australian National Championship side Melbourne Rising.
Toolan has been named as the Melbourne Rising NRC coach for 2018, with former Harlequin Rugby Club Coach Pom Simona joining him as assistant.
The appointment for Toolan follows a sixyear apprenticeship with the Rebels where his role as Performance Analyst has been complimented by stints as a Rebels u/20 and NRC assistant coach.
‘I think that’s going to be one of our advantages – there’s a bit of continuity,’ said former Greystones player Toolan.
‘Quite a few of our players involved in Super Rugby in 2018 will be available for NRC, so it’s about building those combinations as well as developing some of our younger guys.
‘I think it’s (NRC) become a really strong competition over the last four years.
If you look at that Wallabies 23 that played that last Test in June, twelve of them played NRC last year.
It’s becoming a real stronghold of Australian rugby and it’s going to be great testing ourselves against some of the best teams in the country.’