Conor O'Shea has resigned from his role as head coach of the Italian national team, with the country's rugby federation accepting his letter of resignation this afternoon.
The Irishman had been in charge of Italy since 2016, failing to win a Six Nations game during that span. In fact, the country only managed to get one point on the board in the three years with O'Shea at the helm, a losing bonus point against Scotland in 2018.
It was widely expected that the former Harlequins coach would step aside after the Rugby World Cup. Italy secured wins over Namibia and Canada in Japan, but were hammered by South Africa. While the record books will also show they drew with New Zealand, that game was called off due to a typhoon.
O'Shea was thought to have made progress with the team during his first year in charge, but they would stagnate over the following couple of years. Now at the beginning of another World Cup cycle, this feels like the right time to move on.
Having spent the majority of his playing and coaching career in England, the former Ireland international has been linked with a role at the RFU. Sky Sports are reporting that this is the reasoning behind his exit from Italy, where he had a contract in place until May of 2020.
