RLI building towards the World Cup

Rugby League Ireland (RLI) have announced details of a new strategic development plan as they continue to build towards the Rugby League World Cup in 2013. Including the removal of existing head coach Andy Kelly.

Working closely with the Rugby Football League (RFL), a thorough review was undertaken of all RLI operational processes starting with the domestic game and extending to the national Wolfhound Senior team.

The new strategic plan will see a unified coaching and operational strategy deployed at all levels of the game in Ireland. This will further assist the development of domestic Irish Rugby League players whilst ensuring that all representative teams are suitably prepared to deliver results on the national and international stage.

Rugby League Ireland will, therefore, advertise the position of Head Coach with responsibility for all representative teams, for developing and delivering a Coach the Coaches program in Ireland and for developing and maintaining a performance pathway for domestic Irish players. It is expected that this appointment will be made in the near future and will extend up to and including the World Cup in 2013.

Irish Rugby League has continued to grow over the last ten years, with provincial leagues and representative teams now established in Leinster, Munster and Ulster and with an Ireland Student team, made up of domestic Irish players only, participating in the Student Regional Tournament every year . Much of the development over the last 10 years has been spearheaded by the Wolfhounds Senior coach Andy Kelly and his management team who helped steer Ireland through a phenomenal 2008 World Cup campaign.

The Wolfhounds emerged as one of the undoubted success stories of the tournament reaching the Quarter Finals and qualifying out of what was widely regarded as the ‘pool of death’ with Samoa and Tonga. That terrific campaign by ‘Kelly’s Heroes’ saw Ireland reach their highest ever seventh place, in the Rugby League World Rankings.

RLI would like to recognise the hard work and success of the Senior Management Team over the last 10 years. Andy Kelly and his team leave behind a legacy of success that will prove invaluable to Rugby League Ireland in its efforts to grow and develop the game in Ireland. The board owes a huge debt of gratitude to Andy and his assistants Barrie McDermott, Terry O’Connor and Mike Callaghan who were all instrumental in helping Andy produce those teams that were so successful in Australia and elsewhere.