Tributes paid to former Ireland rugby international and coach Tom Tierney who sadly died aged 46 – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

Tributes paid to former Ireland rugby international and coach Tom Tierney who sadly died aged 46




Image source: RTE

Former Irish rugby union player and women’s national team manager Tom Tierney has died aged 46.

The scrum-half, who played eight matches for Ireland and started four games in the 1999 World Cup, passed away on Thursday night.

At club level he played for Richmond, Garryowen, Munster, Gallagherians, Connacht and Leicester during his career, reports RTE.

The Limerick native went into coaching after hanging up his boots and worked with Garryowen and Cork Constitution before taking charge of the Ireland club international team in 2013.

In 2014, Tierney was appointed head coach of the Irish women’s team and his pinnacle came in 2015 when he led Ireland to their second Six Nations title, only to deny France a Grand Slam by a narrow margin. with defeat.

Tierney resigned from his role with the women’s team following a disappointing 2017 World Cup campaign, but remained with the IRFU and worked with the Ireland men’s under-20 and under-19 teams.

Most recently he has been appointed as the IRFU National Talent Coach, based at Munster Rugby’s High Performance Center in UL from 2021, working with the province’s academy and talented national team players.

“Everyone in Irish Rugby is deeply shocked to hear of the sudden loss of Tom Tierney,” said IRFU chief executive Kevin Potts in a statement, reports RTE.

Munster Rugby CEO, Ian Flanagan, said: “On behalf of Munster Rugby, I would like to express our deepest condolences to Tom’s wife Mary, daughters Isabel and Julia, and the wider Tierney family. We are shocked and deeply saddened by Tom’s sudden passing. A great servant to Munster and Irish Rugby he will be dearly missed. The younger players and his colleagues in the HPC enjoyed working closely with Tom each day as he brought a great energy and unique personality to his role, always ensuring the future of Munster Rugby was in safe hands. May he rest in peace,” reports RTE.

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