Jim Reynolds
Chairman of the Board, RLI
April 14th 2022
It is with great pleasure that I announce on behalf of the Board of RLI the appointment of Joe O’Callaghan as Assistant Coach to the Ireland Senior Men’s Squad and advisor on our Domestic Development Pathways
Joe is based in Sydney, Australia, and performs several roles, Head of Elite Pathways and Player Development, and also Development Coach all with the South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL Club under Head Coach Jason Demetriou.
Joe O’Callaghan is very proud of his Irish heritage, his new role in the RLI Senior Coaching setup, and working with newly appointed Head Coach Ged Corcoran. Ged and Joe have got to work immediately and have already developed their framework and preparation plans for our readiness for RLWC2021. Joe will be with the Squad in camp and throughout the tournament in England.
“I am very excited to be coming on board with Rugby League Ireland, after a long career now of coaching and development roles through numerous levels of pathways Rugby League up to the NRL, getting involved with an international program is something that has interested me for some time and I felt no better way to do this than with a country that holds a special space for me with my family heritage”.
“I have found the organisation extremely professional so far through all my dealings with the chairman Jim Reynolds and the men’s national side head coach Ged Corcoran. Through all our dealings and conversations to this point it has become quite clear to me key values that exist within RLI including passion and drive to reach higher goals, prepared to work hard and most of all a clear sense of humility of how important everyone is to the cause. A lot of these ingredients are key flavours of our culture here at the South Sydney Rabbitohs and these are the types of groups I love to associate with, so it was an easy decision for me to jump on board”
“I like the fact that it was RLI’s idea to bring me on with them at this stage until the end of the 2025RLWC, this clearly showed me that they are prepared to be patient and work strategically towards their goal of developing into a tier 1 Rugby League nation both on and off the field, something that I genuinely believe is attainable. I am looking forward to being able to bring any knowledge or experience I have towards achieving this goal both in the short term in my roles as assistant coach for Ged with the men’s national side as they prepare for the 2021RLWC and over the longer term in my advisory role doing anything I can remotely from over here to support Jim, Ged, the RLI board, and all stakeholders to continue to improve the game domestically in Ireland, their academy, and their female and male pathways”.
Other announcements regarding the Ireland Coaching Team will be made in the next two weeks.
