Irish Rugby

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Ireland women's head coach Scott Bemand has shaken up his backroom team ahead of next month's Test against Australia and the start of the WXV1 campaign.

Bemand, whose side secured qualification for next year's Rugby World Cup with a third-place finish in the 2024 Six Nations, has added former England international Alex Codling as forwards coach.

Codling was most recently Newcastle Falcons head coach but stepped down in January.

Former Leinster and Scarlets coach Hugh Hogan takes over as defence coach while Armagh-born former Exeter fly-half Gareth Steenson is the new kicking coach.

The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) have also confirmed that Ireland's former Grand Slam winner Maz Reilly has joined the coaching team as a 'World Rugby coach intern', while Denis Fogarty will continue overseeing the scrum.

John McKee, previously a senior coach in the set-up, has moved into a new role within the IRFU's women's high performance programme.

"We have recruited an exciting calibre of coaching personnel, all of whom will bring huge experience and expertise to the group," said Bemand, who joined Ireland in 2023 after a stint as England attack coach.

Ireland host Australia at Belfast's Kingspan Stadium on 14 September and begin their WXV1 campaign against New Zealand in Vancouver on 29 September.

Bemand will name an extended squad for the Australia Test on Wednesday.

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Leinster have confirmed that they will play their home pool games in the Investec Champions Cup at the Aviva Stadium in the forthcoming season.

The Irish province were drawn in a pool with La Rochelle, Clermont Auvergne, Bath and Bristol Bears, with home games against Clermont on 14 December and Bath on 18 January making up two of their four group fixtures.

Italian side Benetton are also part of Pool Two but, as with last year, clubs from the same domestic league do not play each other in the Champions Cup pool phase.

The RDS Arena is unavailable for 2024-25 because of redevelopment work so the Aviva Stadium will be home for the majority of Leinster's home matches this season, with Croke Park also available.

Leinster have been runners-up in each of the past three Champions Cups, losing narrowly to La Rochelle in the 2022 and 2023 finals, then going down to Toulouse in extra time in the 2024 decider.

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Ulster have confirmed that Ireland Sevens star Zac Ward will join the province's senior men's squad for an "extended trial" until the autumn international window.

Ballynahinch native Ward, 25, scored four tries for the Ireland Sevens side at this summer's Olympic Games in Paris, helping them finish sixth.

Ward's displays in the sevens code saw him named the men's sevens players' player of the year award at the Rugby Players Ireland awards in Dublin earlier this year.

“It’s great to be welcoming Zac into the squad, as we ramp up preparations for the new season," said Ulster head of rugby operations and recruitment Bryn Cunningham.

"Zac is coming off the back of a successful period playing with the national Sevens set-up, and we feel this is a good opportunity for him to bring his skills and qualities into the group in the weeks ahead.”

Ulster, who are preparing for their first full season under head coach Richie Murphy, have also signed former New Zealand Under-20 fly-half Aidan Morgan and South African wing Werner Kok during the off-season.

Ulster face Benetton and Exeter in pre-season friendlies before beginning their 2024-25 United Rugby Championship season at home to holders Glasgow on 21 September.

Ulster trailed 25-11 in the final ten minutes of their Women's Interprovincial Championship clash with Connacht at Kingspan Stadium but late tries from India Daley and Stacey Sloan, both converted by Vicky Irwin, rescued a draw.

Read more.

Ulster winger Megan Edwards was a latecomer to the game but soon found a home in "extremely inclusive" sport of rugby.

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Ulster wing Megan Edwards says the province might "surprise a few people" as they prepare for their opening Women's Interprovincial fixture against Munster in Cork on Saturday.

Murray Houston's side come into this season's championship off the back of ending an 11-year wait for an Interpro victory with an impressive 36-14 triumph over Connacht in last year's third/fourth-place play-off.

Now with a new confidence and the experience of winning, 33-year-old Edwards feels her side have the "talent" to be competitive in the series.

"We're under no illusions that it's going to be a tough game," Edwards told BBC Sport NI.

"It is Munster, they have won the championships before but I think we might throw in a few surprises.

"The talent within the Ulster squad is there and we've been building and building for a number of years now, it's about showcasing that talent on game day and our goal is to build on the win in Cork last season."

Women's Interpros - Fixtures and coverage details

10 August

• Munster v Ulster (14:30 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

• Leinster v Connacht (16:45 BST)

17 August

• Ulster v Connacht (14:30 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

• Munster v Leinster (16:45 BST)

24 August

• Connacht v Munster (14:30 BST)

• Ulster v Leinster (16:45 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

31 August

• Third/fourth play-off (14:30 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

• Final (16:45 BST) - live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport website

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Aled Walters has left his role as England's head of strength and conditioning to take up a position as head of athletic performance with Ireland.

Walters joined England from Leicester Tigers before the Rugby World Cup in 2023, having worked in rugby for 18 years including roles with Munster and South Africa.

The highly-rated Welshman, who was head of athletic performance for the 2019 Springboks' Rugby World Cup-winning squad, replaces Jason Cowman in the role.

Walters began his association with Irish rugby when he was Munster's head of athletic performance for almost six seasons and was Leicester's head of physical performance between 2020 and 2023.

He has also held senior performance roles with the Brumbies and Taranaki Rugby Football Union.

'Exciting time to rejoin Irish rugby'

"I am delighted to join the Ireland national team and am excited about the opportunity to work with such a talented group of coaches and players," said Walters.

"The Ireland team has gone from strength to strength in recent years and it's an exciting time to rejoin Irish rugby as the team looks to achieve more success in the years to come.

"I've made some great memories coaching England, and I want to thank Steve, the management team and the players for their friendship and support."

Ireland head coach Andy Farrell was fulsome in his praise for the new recruit to his backroom team.

"He has a wealth of experience and has been a key part of many successful environments over the course of his career to date," he said.

"I know how excited he is to return to Ireland and hit the ground running and I'm confident that he'll play an important role in the squad as we embark on a busy international season, starting with the Autumn Nations Series this November.

"Aled replaces Jason Cowman who departed after the Guinness Six Nations success in March. Jason contributed a huge amount to Irish rugby over 15 years and we thank him for his incredible service over that time."

Ulster Rugby is facing a deficit of between £2.5m and £3m, according to new chief executive Hugh McCaughey.

However, McCaughey expects Ulster to "break even within two to three seasons".

The former health trust chief executive explained that a plan is in place to deal with the province's financial issues.

Read more here.

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Hugh McCaughey is to remain as Ulster Rugby's chief executive until the end of 2025.

Former health trust chief McCaughey took over as Ulster interim CEO in March after Jonny Petrie left the position.

Ulster Rugby and the IRFU announced McCaughey's continuation in the post on Monday afternoon.

“We were confident that Hugh was the right person for us to bring in to lead the province at a challenging time last season, given his extensive organisational leadership experience and understanding of the game," said the chair of Ulster's management committee Paul Terrington.

"This extension of his contract is testimony to the progress made to-date."

McCaughey coached Ulster and Ireland players at youth level and was manager of Ulster Rugby and the Irish Sevens team at the 2009 World Cup.

“I have relished the challenges and opportunities that have come from leading Ulster Rugby since I took up the role of CEO in April, and I look forward to continuing to move the province forward over the course of the next season," said McCaughey after the announcement of his contract extension.

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Leinster have confirmed Croke Park will host their United Rugby Championship encounter with inter-provincial rivals Munster on 12 October (17:45 BST).

With their RDS Arena home being redeveloped, Leinster will play their 2024-25 home matches at Croke, which is the home of the GAA, and the Aviva Stadium.

Leinster hosted Northampton at a sold-out Croke Park in the Investec Champions Cup semi-final in May.

Leinster also faced Munster at Croke Park in the Champions Cup semi-final in 2009, which the former won 25-6.

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Ireland will face Great Britain in the 7th/8th place play-off of the Olympic rugby sevens after a 19-7 defeat to France.

A 40-7 reverse to Australia on Monday evening had dropped Allan Temple-Jones' side out of medal contention and defeat to the host nation was their fourth in five games in Paris.

Back at the Stade de France, Ireland had taken a 7-0 lead through Eve Higgins' first-half score but Seraphine Okemba crossed twice in the second half, with Carla Neisen also going over, to give France victory.

The meeting with Great Britain, which is Ireland's last outing of their first Games, will be held at 17:00 BST on Tuesday.

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Ireland's hopes of a rugby sevens medal at the Paris Olympics are over after a 40-7 defeat to Australia in the quarter-finals.

Allan Temple-Jones' side had been beaten just 19-14 by the same opposition in a pool stage game earlier in the day, but were undone come the knock-outs by a brilliant Maddison Levi.

The 22-year-old scored her side's first three tries of the evening, taking her personal tally at these Olympics to 11, with Faith Nathan, Isabella Nasser and Bienne Terita also crossing for the victors.

Ireland, whose consolation score came through Stacey Flood, will now go into the 5th-8th place play-off bracket that begins at 2pm BST on Tuesday.

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Ireland have made it through to the quarter-finals of the Olympic rugby sevens despite defeat to Australia in their final pool game.

Allan Temple-Jones' side put in a spirited performance in the 19-14 reverse and will likely feel they could have taken something from the contest if not for some handling errors close to the Australian line.

Having fallen behind with fewer than 30 seconds on the clock, Ireland would strike back when an excellent Erin King offload set up the first of Eve Higgins' two scores.

Teagan Levi had put Australia back in front before the break but the game swung on Maddison Levi's second-half score, coming when Ireland were attacking in search of an equalising try only to be turned over and concede from deep on the counter.

Higgins would go over again in the closing stages but, despite Australia finishing with six after a yellow card for Tia Hands, Ireland could not force another score in the final seconds.

The defeat meant Ireland had to wait for their quarter-final place to be confirmed by later results but they now know they will face either a rematch with Australia or New Zealand in the last eight this evening.

Ireland's hopes of a first Olympic medal in rugby sevens are over following a 19-15 defeat to Fiji in the quarter-finals at the Stade de France.

James Topping's side had led the back-to-back gold medallists by 15-7 in the second half but would let slip their second two-score advantage of the day after an earlier pool-stage defeat to New Zealand.

In what was Ireland's first quarter-final at this level, Fiji had the game's first score within the first minute of the contest.

Iosefo Baleiwairiki fended off the tackle of Niall Comerford to make the key break and finished off the try despite a spirited chase from Chay Mullins.

It was Mullins who would drag Ireland back into the game, scoring a double before half-time to put his side ahead at the break despite both tries going unconverted.

His second felt especially timely, coming just before the interval and from an attack where Ireland had looked to be drifting towards the touchline before Mullins took on Gavin Mullin's pass and burst through the tackle to score.

In the second half, Zac Ward, who has been in excellent form in Paris, put Ireland eight points ahead with an opportunistic finish down the blindside of a ruck after his own strong carry had advanced his side to within a metre of the whitewash.

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But the same missed tackles that plagued Ireland against New Zealand earlier on Thursday started to creep back into their game and Selestino Ravutaumada shrugged off defenders too easily before sending Waisea Nacuqu over for the try to bring Fiji back into things.

When Ireland made a mess of the restart, after 15s star Hugo Keenan was caught underneath the high ball, Terio Tamani capitalised for what proved to be the winning score.

Fijian indiscipline would allow Ireland a last opportunity to snatch victory but, into the fourth minute of added time, a knock-on would end their challenge and medal ambitions.

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Ireland advanced to the quarter-finals of the Olympic Rugby Sevens with a pair of wins on the opening day of the tournament.

James Topping's squad were the first representatives in action at the 2024 Games for Team Ireland and booked their spot in the the knock-outs with a game to spare thanks to victories over South Africa and Japan.

After finishing 10th at the delayed Tokyo Games three years ago, Ireland ran in eight tries across Wednesday's play, beating South Africa 10-5 before crossing for six scores to get the better of Japan by a score of 40-5.

Ireland will now face New Zealand in their final pool game at 15:30 BST on Thursday before the knock-outs begin in the evening session.

After the earlier victory against South Africa, Topping had the luxury of rotating his panel for the game against Japan, ensuring all 12 squad members had featured come the final whistle of the 40-5 victory.

Terry Kennedy was the star of the first half against the Brave Blossoms, following up his earlier try against South Africa by scoring the opener in the game's first minute.

He would then create the second from well inside his own territory, breaking from deep after a period of Japanese pressure and unselfishly switching the ball inside to Chay Mullins for the score just before half-time.

Early in the second half, Harry McNulty's intercept try put Ireland in a comfortable position and Topping turned to his bench to see out the win.

Among the replacements were Leinster full-back Hugo Keenan, but it was his fellow substitute Niall Comerford who was next across the whitewash, scoring after McNulty had found his run back against the grain.

Mullins would get his second of the night as Ireland attacked straight from the restart, although Japan responded through Shotaru Tsuoka.

Bryn Ward would ensure Ireland had the final say however, the replacement using a huge fend to create the space for his try in the closing moments.

In their earlier victory over the Blitzboks, Jordan Conroy's try with the final play of the first half had given Ireland a 5-0 lead at the break.

Kennedy scored a second try with two minutes remaining but South Africa set up a grandstand finish when Shelvyn Davids squeezed over the line with 30 seconds left.