Greg McWilliams: Ireland women's head coach steps down after poor Six Nations
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McWilliams was appointed Ireland head coach in December 2021
Ireland head coach Greg McWilliams has stepped down from the position by "mutual consent" following the team's poor Women's Six Nations campaign.
A statement from the Irish Rugby Football Union said that McWilliams had departed with "immediate effect".
The IRFU said assistant coach John McKee "will oversee operations until a long-term replacement is finalised".
Ireland lost all of their Six Nations games, rounded off by last weekend's 36-10 defeat by Scotland.
That left Ireland bottom of the table, eight years after they won their last Six Nations title.
Earlier this week, following media reports that McWilliams was set to step down, the IRFU said that it was "in discussion" with the coach.
Ireland registered 25 points and conceded 192 during their five Six Nations matches.
McWilliams was head coach of Major League Rugby side Rugby United New York before being appointed by Ireland in December 2021 - three months after the country's shock failure to qualify for the World Cup in New Zealand.
It was his second spell with the Ireland women's team, having been assistant to Philip Doyle from 2009 to 2014.
McWilliams' previous time in the Ireland management also saw the country secure an historic first Women's Six Nations Grand Slam in 2013.
But after clinching the Six Nations title in 2015, the team's performances began to wane when they produced a disappointing showing as World Cup hosts in 2017.
Four years later, Ireland failed to qualify for the World Cup in New Zealand, which eventually had to be delayed to October and November 2022 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Greg McWilliams was appointed as Ireland coach after the country's shock failure to qualify for the World Cup in New Zealand
The fallout from Ireland's failure to qualify for the tournament led to 62 internationals past and present writing a letter to the Irish Government which said that they had "lost all trust and confidence in the IRFU and its leadership after historic failings".
In response, the IRFU commissioned an independent report into how women's rugby was being run in Ireland.
The IRFU later promised to implement the report's 30 recommendations which included giving increased funding to the women's game.
However, the senior women's team have continued to struggle on the field and last month, then coach McWilliams felt compelled to say that he did not believe the Irish Rugby Football Union was a sexist organisation, following media reports which outlined concerns by a current unnamed or recent squad member.
These included allegations that the IRFU had failed to explore the option of hybrid contracts for the international women's squad, which would have allowed players to also continue careers outside rugby.
The Telegraph article also included alleged disparaging comments made by a prominent Irish rugby figure about women's rugby at a dinner in Dublin during March.