So after his first Six Nations Championship it can be said that Simon Easterby did a stellar job in place of Andy Farrell as Ireland won four of their five matches, finishing third and claiming the Triple Crown.
Easterby was placed in interim charge of Ireland with Andy Farrell getting the British and Irish Lions Head Coach position. Easterby was a worthy candidate, having. previously being a head coach at Scarlets and has been in the Ireland set up since 2014, firstly as forwards coach then as defence coach from 2021 onwards.
He's always been a well regarded coach but now with more exposure there's more talk about Easterby taking a permanent Head Coach job, specifically at Wales. The Welsh ended their tumultuous relationship with Warren Gatland after two games in this year's Six Nations, having failed to score away in Paris in round 1 before losing to Italy in Rome. Cardiff's Mike Sherratt took over on a caretaker basis for the rest of tournament and there was a visible improvement on the pitch, though Wales still finished the Championship with the wooden spoon after five defeats from five.
Wales are still looking for a permanent head coach and Simon Easterby's name has been thrown into the ring. Easterby has strong links to Wales, having played for Scarlets for the majority of his playing career, marrying Welsh TV presenter Sarra Elgan and he is currently living in Swansea.
Speaking following Ireland's victory over Italy in the final round of the Six Nations, Easterby was quick to reiterate his commitment to Ireland.
I'm committed, I think when your name gets bandied around, that’s all it is, it’s just speculation. If I’d been contacted I’d tell you, but I haven’t. So, that’s the way it is at the moment.
I love what I do. I’m very fortunate and it might be 15 minutes up the road (the Wales job) but I just feel very fortunate that I get the experiences I get to do this while Faz (Farrell) is away.
I get to work with great people and how important that is. I’m pretty happy where I am.
Easterby is set to still be in charge as Ireland go on their summer tour to Georgia and Portugal in July, though he is one of the names rumoured to be a part of the Lions coaching ticket, before Andy Farrell returns to the position in November.
