Connacht coach Andy Friend has said his recruitment of Dewald Senekal as forwards coach is not a blow to Irish coaches, pointing out that the balance of homegrown options remains consistent in his province at least.

Highly-rated South African Senekal will replace Jimmy Duffy this summer, while another long-serving Galwegian, Nigel Carolan, has also announced his departure.

“I’ll start by saying we’ve promoted both Mossie Lawler and Collie Tucker up from the Academy structure,” said Friend.

“So they are two really promising young Irish coaches and they were the first two appointments we made for next year.

“So yes, we’re losing Galway men, but we’re bringing two others in, which is really important because I do believe there has to be pathways for Irish coaches.

“I think the Irish system with the players that are here and the coaching structures that are here is really healthy, and I want to make sure we support that.

“What we’ve done though, we’ve added another position in our coaching ranks and that happens now to have gone to a South African.

“And again, with Dewald coming in, he will add a wealth of knowledge and experience that will only assist both Collie Tucker, Mossie Lawler, Pete Wilkins and myself and all the players

“Because through that diversity in our upbringings, where we’ve coached and where we’ve played, we’ll get a better product out of it.

“So I’m actually really excited. I do believe we are supporting Irish coaches, I think it’s really important to do that, as it is with Irish players, but I think we’ve got the right balance here.”