Connacht and the IRFU have announced the appointment of Pete Wilkins as Head Coach of the province from next season. Wilkins is set to lead a new coaching team at Connacht which is set to be revealed in the coming weeks.
Prior to joining Connacht in 2017, Wilkins gained experience in both the Northern and Southern Hemisphere rugby environment.
He had several roles in the Queensland Reds in Australia from 2011 to 2015, before being appointed as a defence coach at Edinburgh.
Having joined Connacht in 2017 as a defence coach for four seasons, Wilkins was promoted to the role of Senior coach. After it was announced that Friend would become Director of Rugby, Wilkins was promoted to Head Coach, and will now have complete charge of Connacht next season.