REMAINS WITH IRELAND

JAPAN-BOUND FEEK

IRELAND scrum coach Greg Feek will continue in his role until after the 2019 World Cup despite moving to Japan to coach Ricoh Black Rams in the Top League.

The IRFU confirmed the move, which was first reported in the ‘Irish Independent’ in March, as they also announced that Andy Farrell, Simon Easterby and Richie Murphy will continue in their positions as assistants to the national team’s head coach until June 2020.

Joe Schmidt, however, is currently in contract until the end of the Japanese World Cup and will hope to be Ireland coach until the final on November 2 at least.

Despite the sizeable commute, the highly-rated Feek (above) will juggle both positions in the interest of continuity.

The former All Black is a key member of the Ireland coaching setup having previously worked under Schmidt at Leinster.

The retention of the rest of Schmidt’s support staff allows the IRFU some continuity in the postWorld Cup season if the head coach opts to leave after the tournament.

It is expected that the experienced Kiwi, who has been living in Ireland since 2010, will return to New Zealand at the end of the campaign next year.

“We have a world-class coaching group that has driven and sustained high levels of performance on the international stage,” IRFU performance director David Nucifora said.

“They also support the work of the provinces with their technical expertise.”