Ireland U-20 boss Richie Murphy to take over Ulster after Six Nations as province confirm Dan McFarland exit
Ireland U20 head coach Richie Murphy is being lined up to take over from Dan McFarland at Ulster Rugby on an interim basis. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
Dan McFarland is set to step down as Ulster head coach
Ulster will have to wait until the end of the U-20 Six Nations to get their hands on new coach Richie Murphy, who will take charge of the province until the end of the season.
As first reported last night in the Irish Independent, Dan McFarland is ‘stepping down’ with immediate effect after six seasons in charge with assistant coach Dan Soper managing the squad while Murphy continues with his current duties, with Ireland next taking on Wales on Friday night in the U-20 Six Nations.
Ulster also confirmed that Head of Operations and Recruitment Bryn Cunningham will expand his role for the rest of the season
Ulster face the Dragons on Saturday week and Murphy will be in place for their two-match tour of South Africa at the end of March where they face the Sharks and the Stormers before their Challenge Cup last 16 game away to Montpellier.
Murphy was a skills coach at Leinster and with the senior men's international team before striking out on his own with the U-20s in 2021.
He has led the team to back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slams and Ireland remain on course for a treble after winning their first two games of this campaign against France and Italy.
Chief executive Jonny Petrie paid tribute to McFarland.
“We would like to thank Dan for his determination in driving forward the professional squad over the past six seasons, and I would like to wish him and his family the best for the future on behalf of all at Ulster Rugby," he said.
"With Richie coming to Ulster in the coming weeks, ahead of the squad travelling to South Africa, our focus will be on consistently performing to the best of our abilities at this crucial time of the year.”
McFarland took over the province in 2018 at a point where they were being described as a ‘basket-case’ by Brian O'Driscoll and he initially stabilised and improved things, leading them to the 2020 URC final.
