Simon Easterby Lions role criticised by Ireland fans

Some are not happy with the appointment

After achieving four wins from five in the Six Nations under the guidance of Simon Easterby, there will be further shake-up in the Ireland coaching setup for their summer Tests against Georgia and Portugal.

Not only will Easterby be heading off with Andy Farrell and the Lions, so to will Ireland coaches Andrew Goodman and John Fogarty, as well as analyst Vinnie Hammond and fitness coach Aled Walters.

This provides a golden opportunity for provincial coaches such as Denis Leamy and Mike Prendergast to step in for the national side and hone their craft further, but it will also be detrimental to the group of inexperienced players expected to tour.

With a significant portion of the Ireland squad set to be selected for the Lions, and with the recent retirements of Cian Healy, Peter O'Mahony and Conor Murray, the summer tour is seen as an opportunity to freshen up the squad and for hands-on coaching with these players.

However, with further disruption to the backroom staff and without Andy Farrell in camp, it will be more difficult for these players to get the most out of the tour.

Murray Kinsella of the The42 alluded to this on their podcast, saying: "This is a really important window of development for this Ireland team, to hopefully to even get a handful of players who can push harder for places in the 2026 Six Nations.... and obviously the World Cup down the line.

"So from that sense it is a blow to Ireland."

Extra.ie said: "The Lions have benefitted enough from the expertise Farrell has assembled around the national team over the past half-decade, and Irish rugby owes the concept nothing more.

"But until then, he [Farrell] should lead the Lions without any further Irish expertise."

Fans also took the X to voice their concerns.

Seems like it’ll be a bit of a farce of a tour if most of the coaches aren’t there.

— serfyjfer (@hfdnvfdeyh) March 26, 2025

Any idea on attack, scrum and defence? Pretty significant losses, particularly after a sub par six nations.

— K (@Kieranbcfc2) March 26, 2025

IRFU Performance Director David Humphreys said: “Simon’s appointment means that an opportunity arises for a new interim head coach for the two-match summer tour to Georgia and Portugal.

“Paul O’Connell will assume the role for this tour. Details around the remainder of the Ireland coaching team will be announced next week.

“On behalf of the IRFU, I would like to congratulate Simon, John, and Andrew on their respective selections for the forthcoming British & Irish Lions tour to Australia.

“It is a huge statement of faith in their skill-sets and standing within the wider game, and I have no doubt that they will contribute greatly to a successful Lions tour.”