Connacht’s new interim head coach, Cullie Tucker, is keeping his cards close to his chest on his desire to take the job on a full-time basis, following the sudden departure of Pete Wilkins.
Englishman Wilkins stepped down from his post last week after two years in the hot seat, with the experienced scrum coach named to lead the Irish province until the end of the season, before he joins Paul O’Connell’s staff for Ireland’s summer tour to Georgia and Portugal.
Tucker coy on Connacht top job interest
His tenure as interim boss nearly got off to the perfect start, but a Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu masterclass ultimately handed him a 34-29 defeat at the DHL Stadium.
Connacht’s performance in that defeat has earned high plaudits, though, with some being levelled at Tucker too, but the coach insists he is just focusing on the here and now.
“For me, it’s just week-on-week. It is as simple as that,” he told SportsBoom.
“To be honest, I wouldn’t even comment on that [being head coach] at the moment. I’m just focusing on the Lions and getting the team in the top eight.”
Despite growing calls for him to be named as Connacht’s permanent head coach, Tucker is also understood to be attracting the interest of Munster ahead of next season for a possible assistant’s gig.
There is also already plenty of change in the Connacht coaching department next season, on top of their search for a new head coach. Current Brumbies assistant Rod Seib will join as senior assistant coach, and current Harlequins director of rugby Billy Millard is also heading back to Galway to join as general manager of performance.
‘Interesting experience’
Despite the defeat in his first game in charge, Tucker is still enjoying the challenge of leading Connacht.
“It has been an interesting experience,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed it, but it also has come with its challenges. I am blessed and grateful to have a coaching staff, club and players that are supportive.
“We’ve got a group of players who care about what the organisation is about.”
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He added: “In all fairness, they’ve supported me through to the end of the season. It’s been all those things, and I’ve really enjoyed it.”
He still has a tough job on his hand’s though. Connacht currently sit 12th in the URC table heading into their game with the Lions this weekend, but a win and results elsewhere going their way could see them end the weekend as high as seventh.
“We are in the country [South Africa] for another week,” he said. “We will be spending some time together. The squad is working very hard.
“It was a great week in the lead-up to the Stormers game, and we are looking forward to next week.”
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/im-just-focusing-on-the-lions-coach-addresses-connacht-top-job-links
