The search for Tom Tierney’s successor came to an end on Friday. Adam Griggs has been appointed as the new Ireland Women’s Rugby head coach.
He has agreed a part-time short term contract that will be reviewed after the 2018 Women’s Six Nations.
The IRFU’s decision to alter the role of head coach has drawn widespread criticism from fans, pundits and even players.
Ireland centre Jenny Murphy last month branded their decision to offer only a six-month contract to the next head coach as a "kick in the teeth".
She claimed downgrading the role to a short term part time contract was "5-steps backwards" for the women’s game in Ireland.
Following the feedback, the IRFU said they regretted causing unintentional concern and confusion around the future of the Women's game in Ireland.
The union are in the process of conducting a strategic review process involving volunteers and senior IRFU staff from both the high performance and grassroots participation areas of the game.
Griggs has promised a fresh start and a clean slate as he looks to distance himself from the controversy that enveloped the women’s programme after their failed World Cup campaign.
He comes from Leinster Rugby, where he will likely continue to hold the role of Leinster Women's Head Coach. He’s been in that post since 2016, in that time he guided the province to the 2016 Interprovincial Championship and also worked as Assistant Coach with the Leinster U19s.
He began life at the province in 2009 as Community Rugby Officer, before gaining coaching experience as he helped steer Old Wesley to the Ulster Bank League Division 2B Play-Offs as a player-coach last season.
As a player, he came though the Canterbury Crusaders Academy before moving to Ireland. He won the Ulster Bank League with Lansdowne FC in 2015 and has also lined out for Leinster A.
Griggs said "I'm delighted to be named as Ireland Women's Head Coach and having coached during the inter-pros I know the huge amount of talent there is in Ireland.
It's a new challenge for me, but it's an exciting one. This is a fresh start for all of us within the squad and I know the players are highly motivated to do well.
