Andy Farrell made the first major appointments of his Lions tenure on Wednesday when he appointed his five assistant coaches to tour Australia this summer.
It was an Irish rugby-dominated selection with defence coach Simon Easterby, attack coach Andrew Goodman, and scrum coach John Fogarty all getting the nod to accompany Farrell Down Under.
They'll be joined by Scotland forwards coach John Dalziel and England assistant coach Richard Wigglesworth, as well as David Nucifora, Vinny Hammond and Aled Walters the latter three of which were appointed to Farrell's staff in January.
While the greening of the 2025 Lions is showing little sign of slowing down, it does beg the question of who will accompany Paul O'Connell on Ireland's Summer Tour, which given recent results and the ageing nature of the Irish rugby team feels more important than ever.
It was confirmed on Wednesday evening that the Munster legend would lead Ireland as interim head coach for this July's tests against Portugal and Georgia. O'Connell will now have to appoint practically a whole new Irish coaching staff that's likely to consist of Mike Prendergast, Mark Sexton and Sean O'Brien and potentially even Johnny Sexton.
14 March 2025; Assistant coach Jonathan Sexton, left, and Forwards coach Paul O'Connell during an Ireland rugby captain's run at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Bernard Jackman surprised by number of Irish rugby coaches going on Lions Tour
Speaking on the RTÉ Rugby Podcast, Bernard Jackman felt that taking the Lions gig could only bode well for Andy Farrell's tenure in Ireland, breaking up what has been a long stint involved with the national set-up.
However, the former Leinster star turned pundit was surprised by the number of Irish rugby coaches Farrell chose to accompany him, claiming that even if 'Ireland won the Six Nations in a handstand' he wouldn't have foreseen the national set-up being without four of their most senior coaches.
I am very much in favour of him being the Lions head coach, I think it was perfect to keep him motivated. He's been with us since after the England World Cup, so he's been here a long time. So for his own energy mentally I think its good.
I didn't forsee as many Irish coaches to be honest. Even if Ireland had won the Six Nations in a handstand I didn't think there'd be as many Irish coaches, but that's totally his decision to make.
Considering the implications that could have on Ireland's summer tour of Georgia and Portugal, Jackman felt it imperative that Ireland now got their selection of both players and coaches correct.
Calling it a 'challenge', the former hooker said that whoever is chosen to coach Ireland's summer tour has to be able to emulate both the style and selection choices of Andy Farrell in the absence of so many of his key coaches.
The challenge now is getting the summer tour right, and this isn't a refelction on the coaches, it's more a reflection of how the game went, but there was nothing to be gained from that England 'A' game, just the way the game was so one-side, it wasn't a great opportunity for anyone to put their case forward.
I'm not saying that will happen in the summer tour but you do need a certain amount of solidity there. This (Summer) tour isn't a gimmee, so we're going to have to get that balance right.
There's lots of good coaches in Ireland, but it's just making sure there's enough there that they play like Ireland...and we don't miss an opportunity to try and test some players that are on Farrell's radar. He's a very good selector, he can spot talent and he can spot people who have the capacity to step up.
The IRFU are expected to confirm who will travel to Georgia and Portugal as Irish rugby coaches with O'Connell next week.
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