Declan Kidney appointed director of rugby at London Irish

(Photo: Getty Images)
By Jake Jones
London Irish have announced that Declan Kidney has been appointed the club's new director of rugby.
Chief executive Brian Facer has been impressed by the positive impact that Kidney along with head coach Les Kiss and this made appointing the Irishman, who has the experience of both a Grand Slam and two Champions Cup-winning campaigns under his belt, an easy decision.
“Declan has been brilliant since arriving as technical consultant,” said Facer.
“We've seen players and staff alike bring a positive approach to their work both on and off the pitch, and this was reflected in the improved performances we saw towards the end of the Aviva Premiership campaign.
“We're delighted that Declan has agreed to take up his post as director of rugby and are looking forward to seeing him put the building blocks in place for sustainable success in the future.”
“We are excited about the future,” Kidney added.
“A number of players have moved on for one reason or another, but we are very enthusiastic about the commitment that has been shown by a talented young breed of players to London Irish.
“We have an academy with a proven track record of bringing through talented young individuals, some good new signings, and senior players who have shown the willingness to help us develop a sustainable squad. If we all work hard the future can be bright for us and we can achieve all our goals.
“We are building a squad that is not just good enough to gain promotion from an extremely challenging and competitive Championship, but who can then use the lessons from this season should we get back to the Premiership in 2019.