Fed up Connacht lose patience with ex-Chiefs and Highlanders assistant Keane - reports

Connacht are on the hunt for a new head coach with Kieran Keane to be given the boot.

The former Chiefs assistant coach only lasted a year into his three-year deal, but has been sacked after an awful campaign by the 2016 PRO12 champions.

News of his imminent departure broke in the Independent newspaper on Monday night, but the club have yet to confirm the reports when contacted by RugbyPass.

Not even a rousing 47-10 win over Champions Cup finalists Leinster on Saturday could save Keane.

Connacht finished second from bottom in Conference A of the PRO14, a mere three points above Zebre, winning just seven league matches all season.

They did fare better in Europe, topping Pool 5 of the Challenge Cup with five wins and a draw, however, they were eliminated at the quarter-final stage, losing 33-28 at home to Gloucester.

The All Black certainly had coaching pedigree too, he worked with current Glasgow coach Dave Rennie at the Chiefs and was Assistant Coach to Jamie Joseph at the Highlanders from 2011 to 2012.

His most notable success as Head Coach came at Tasman Makos where he earned an ITM Cup Championship victory and promotion into the Premiership in 2013. In 2014 he took them to the Premiership final, which they ultimately lost to Taranaki.

Keane also coached the New Zealand U-16 and U-17 age grade sides for seven years.

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The task of replacing Pat Lam was always going to be difficult, but club CEO Willie Ruane said at the time that Keane was the “perfect fit for Connacht Rugby”, but it hasn’t panned out that way.

Keane often bristled when dealing with the media, one notable instance coming in September when Sky Sports’ Graham Simmons interviewed the Connacht head coach in the aftermath of his side’s 17-15 home loss to Cardiff. 

Connacht are the second Irish club to change their coach after Ulster sacked Les Kiss at the end of January.

On Monday ex-Connacht man Dan McFarland was confirmed as the new head coach at Kingspan Stadium, on a three-year deal.

Englishman McFarland, who is currently working with the Scottish national team as Assistant Coach to Gregor Townsend.

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He made a seamless transition from playing to coaching at Connacht in 2006, taking up the Forwards Coach role before becoming their Assistant Coach in 2010.

During his time with Connacht he also held Head Coach positions with Emerging Ireland and the Ireland Wolfhounds.

McFarland took over as Assistant Coach at Glasgow Warriors in 2015 and he worked alongside Townsend before the pair took up posts with the national side in May 2017.

Commenting on his move to Belfast, McFarland said:

“I am really excited that I will be taking on the Ulster Head Coach role. I know first-hand from my years visiting with Connacht and Glasgow the passion and fervour that makes playing in front of Ulster fans so special.

“It’s a club with a great history and I welcome the challenge of being a part of their future.”

Bryn Cunningham, Ulster Rugby’s Operations Director, welcomed the appointment.

“Dan was our number one candidate so we’re obviously very happy to have secured his services for the next three years. Dan’s CV is hugely impressive and he commands great respect within the game.

“He enjoyed successful spells with Connacht and Glasgow, and the fact that Gregor brought him into the Scotland set-up speaks volumes for how highly he rates him.

“Our priority in this process was to identify and recruit the best possible candidate first and foremost. With the confirmation of Dan’s appointment, we will be announcing at least one further addition to the coaching team in the near future to ensure that we have a strong unit in place in advance of pre-season.”

Shane Logan, Ulster’s Chief Executive added:

“I’d like to congratulate Bryn and our Professional Game Board for conducting such a thorough process that has led to this appointment.

“We have worked closely with the IRFU and are very pleased with the outcome.”