Gotta disagree with you about Pope of the three at least he hinted why EOS didn't get an Interview. The o'brien fella I couldn't care less about and Horgan is a EOS fan after working with him for years.

Cant stand that daire o'brien go easy fella, another cork man who thinks they have some right to tell the connacht board who is the right man for our top job, i wonder why he wasnt so shocked that munster didnt hire his fellow corkonian and brent poop can shove his on the way on down bull. I wont be rooting for munster in any interpro's for a long while at least the leinster fans have a bit of tact.

mary hinge wrote: I, for one, feel EOS should've been given an interview for the position. Surely we can agree his CV reads better than Sean Holley or this Hanks guy. His exclusion smacks of politics, and that's wrong.

He would be a better choice than at least 3 on the final shortlist and he should have been given a chance but so be it. The CEO and new coach will be judged on results as to the success of otherwise of their final appointment.

It might smack of politics but there is a certain degree of irony in that as the reason he got the Irish job was through his manipulation of internal IRFU politics.

What goes around comes around.

in reply to columoc incase you missed this

AS news filtered through that Connacht's win over Biarritz had caused Serge Blanco to sack his coaching team at the Basque club, the work towards replacing Eric Elwood continued at the Sportsground.

Chief executive Tom Sears is in the midst of the interviewing process and a clear set of six front-runners has emerged from the 40 applications that were received.

Now that the initial shock that Galway resident and former Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan has not yet been interviewed despite his obvious attributes has subsided, fans can focus on the men who would be king.

The potential in the province was displayed last Friday night when a young team were too strong for the two-time European finalists.

Shorn of most of their leadership corps, Elwood fielded a team with an average age of 25 and, although the two over-30s Dan Parks and Mike McCarthy played a big role in the win, the youngsters like Eoin McKeon, Kieran Marmion, Dave McSharry and teenager Robbie Henshaw all put in impressive shifts.

Choosing the right man to guide them forward is a crucial decision for a province that is finally being taken seriously. Their performance last Friday can only have helped.

So, who are the sextet of front-runners hoping to replace Elwood?

1 Pat Lam

Capped once by the All Blacks before making the switch to Samoa, for whom he played in three World Cups, the barnstorming back-row was an inspirational figure in his playing days and was part of Northampton's victory over Munster in the 2000 Heineken Cup final.

He moved into coaching on retirement and took charge of Auckland in the NPC before being promoted to the Blues Super Rugby side.

His reign ended badly when he was sacked in July after a disastrous run of form, but he took charge of Samoa during the November tour, overseeing a famous victory over Wales at the Millennium Stadium.

Undoubtedly a fine player, his coaching pedigree is mixed and, if appointed, all of the Irish provinces would be coached by New Zealanders.

2 Sean Holley

The Welshman knows this territory well, having managed the Ospreys for four seasons between 2008-12 – he had been at the region in various capacities since their inception in '03.

He was removed from his position in February after the Neath/Swansea outfit had been dumped out of the Heineken Cup, having guided them to the quarter-finals the previous two years.

His dismissal came despite the Ospreys sitting in second in the Pro12, a competition they would go on and win. He was widely credited with bringing steel to a region that had been known for its prima donnas, signing the likes of Tommy Bowe and establishing a hard edge up front that was on display when his side stunned Leinster at the RDS in the 2009/10 Celtic League final.

3 Dan McFarland

Connacht's current assistant coach was the second man – after Elwood – to reach a century of caps for the province and is a popular figure out west.

Having played for Richmond and Stade Francais, the prop moved to the Sportsground in 2000 and became part of the back-room set-up as Michael Bradley's forwards coach. McFarland was then promoted to assistant coach when Eric Elwood took over.

He has played a big role in Connacht's improvement over the past number of years and has always been a strong, outspoken advocate of the province's virtues.

4 Billy Millard

The former Australia Sevens coach was brought to Galway as backs coach in 2011 and his imprint is all over the side's incisive play behind the scrum this season.

Working with a crop of highly talented backs, Millard – who was at the Cardiff Blues before heading west – has overseen the development of Henshaw, McSharry, Eoin Griffin and Marmion this season. He can take credit for the huge contribution the backs made to the win over Biarritz.

He was a head coach with Sydney University and Melbourne Rebels before they became a fully fledged Super Rugby side and appears to possess plenty of inventive ideas about how the game should be played. Could team up with McFarland, given their prior working relationship.

5 Alex King

A key leader of Warren Gatland's no-nonsense, all-conquering Wasps side alongside Lawrence Dallaglio, Josh Lewsey, Raphael Ibanez, Simon Shaw and Phil Vickery, former fly-half King is building a reputation as backs coach at Clermont, where he finished his playing career.

He replaced Joe Schmidt at the Stade Marcel Michelin and has continued the Leinster man's fine work.

Appointing the Clermont backs coach worked well for Leinster in 2010 and, while it might be a somewhat left-field appointment, the Brighton native appears to have stellar credentials – Wales defence coach Shaun Edwards tipped King to become part of Stuart Lancaster's England set-up earlier this year.

6 Tony Hanks

A former head coach of English Premiership sides Wasps and Sale, Hanks was sacked by the Sharks last March.

The New Zealander served as part of Gatland's regime at Wasps and returned to the club after they had hit harder times in 2009 after a spell in charge of Waikato in the NPC. He was dismissed in 2011 and took over at Sale for a short period.

His previous clubs appear to have been in some level of difficulty before he arrived, and he would look for a clean slate at Connacht.

If EOS has been told he is not being interviewed, it suggests they have a short list. Apart from Holley & King, does anyone know who else is being considered. Dr Phil?

_nobody_ wrote:

Creedence wrote: My guess is that he wasn't interviewed because Connacht didn't want to find themselves in the same situation as Munster when Anthony Foley was 'days away from being announced as Munster boss'.....for about a month because the press were backing him.

He was definitely the choice of the press. I found this strange. As soon as the announcement about Eric was made there were full page articles on how Eddie was the man for the job.

Reading on other forums it appears everybody wants him in the Connacht job except the Connacht fans, who are the ones that matter.

He was nowhere enar good enough for Ulster or Munster so why should we have to be the ones who are missing out?

The press would like him simply because as you point out, your non-Connacht supporting Irish rugby fan wants him in the job. And they only want him because it would be interesting to see if he could cut it, but at no risk to them. I'd like to see him get a job with any of the other provinces because I have a sneaking regard for him, just not mine.

Why didn't he get the interview? Because Sears knew that he'd automatically alienate a huge part of the fan base and probably a lot of the dressing room as well. Your also forgetting the whole Gatland/EOS thing. As popular as Gatland was here with the blazers EOS wasn't. So why even bother going through with the pretense?

Creedence wrote: My guess is that he wasn't interviewed because Connacht didn't want to find themselves in the same situation as Munster when Anthony Foley was 'days away from being announced as Munster boss'.....for about a month because the press were backing him.

He was definitely the choice of the press. I found this strange. As soon as the announcement about Eric was made there were full page articles on how Eddie was the man for the job.

Reading on other forums it appears everybody wants him in the Connacht job except the Connacht fans, who are the ones that matter.

He was nowhere enar good enough for Ulster or Munster so why should we have to be the ones who are missing out?

My guess is that he wasn't interviewed because Connacht didn't want to find themselves in the same situation as Munster when Anthony Foley was 'days away from being announced as Munster boss'.....for about a month because the press were backing him.

mary hinge wrote: I, for one, feel EOS should've been given an interview for the position. Surely we can agree his CV reads better than Sean Holley or this Hanks guy. His exclusion smacks of politics, and that's wrong.

At Pro Club level his doesn't even come close to theirs, and it is the reason why he has not got a Club job since he lost the Ireland Job.

Personally for me if he's still resident in Galway as they state and serious about the Connacht role then why hasn't he / doesn't he offer himself to some schools or local Junior clubs and prove that he can deliver in a more similar environment (even if amateur). The International job is not the same as being a Club coach an environment he hasn't been in for well over a decade, and as mentioned before Eddie has many bridges to build from his time around the Ireland setup...

Alternatively why doesn't he do what the rest of us have to do during the current economic troubles and adapt and move on...

I don't think anyone would question his coaching credentials, but we've all seen him being interviewed. Do Connacht really need that type of negativity at the top of the coaching ticket?

I'd say there are a lot of issues - not to mention the cost. I guess EOS would have high salaruy expectations.

I don't doubt his rugby knowlege, but imo he would become the centre of attention not the team; plus as said earlier he would drop us for next best offer. I'm happy to trust Sears on this one.

I think he deserved at least an interview. Wasn't his biggest fan, but I thought he had Ireland playing some beautiful rugby when there.

Eddie has had only 1 coaching role since his "successful" tenure as Ireland coach, and that was with the semi-pro USA national squad.

Why should a professional team like Connacht HAVE to interview him when he has effectively been out of the professional game for over 4 years now.

I don't remember him putting his name forward 2 years ago when Eric was the only candidate to have the balls to take on a job that noone else would touch with a barge pole.

When you consider the political machinations that were involved with Eddie getting the Ireland job it is hilarious to see complaints about politics preventing him getting the Connacht job.

People are either pro O'Sullivan or very against him. I personally am against him as a coach.

By all accounts he burned an awful lot of bridges in Connacht when he was previously here. When he was the International coach he showed us very little affection. As International coach he got rid of most of his coaching team and made it a one man show. It seemed like a power struggle and in the end it was his downfall.

He has also been linked with every job in world rugby since he has become available. Edinburgh turned him down for Bradley. Why does he feel that he should have been interviewed by Connacht when every other them did not have to interview him? He was seeing it as a stepping stone again. I don't think he would have believed in the work that has been done here. Tom Sears said he wants somebody to buy into the whole idea of Connacht. I feel that as quick as Eddie may have been given the job, he could have been gone if something better came along. We want somebody who wants to be here.

I think whoever is advising him is very foolish to have let a statement like that come out.

I, for one, feel EOS should've been given an interview for the position. Surely we can agree his CV reads better than Sean Holley or this Hanks guy. His exclusion smacks of politics, and that's wrong.