Former Ireland rugby international and coach Tom Tierney dies aged 46

Former Ireland rugby player and women's international coach Tom Tierney has died, aged 46.

The scrum-half, who was capped eight times for Ireland and started four games at the 1999 World Cup, passed away overnight.

At club level he played with Richmond, Garryowen, Munster, Galwegians, Connacht and Leicester during his career.

The Limerick native moved into coaching after hanging up his boots and worked with Garryowen and Cork Constitution before taking charge of the Ireland Club International squad in 2013.

In 2014, Tierney was named as head coach of the Ireland women's team and his high-point came in 2015 when he led Ireland to their second Six Nations title, with only a narrow defeat against France denying them a Grand Slam.

Tierney stepped down from his role with the women's team after a disappointing 2017 World Cup campaign, but remained with the IRFU and worked with the Irish men's Under-20 and U-19 teams.

Most recently he had been employed as an IRFU national talent coach based out of Munster Rugby's high performance centre in UL since 2021, working with the province's academy and national talent squad players.

"Everyone in Irish Rugby is deeply shocked to hear of the sudden loss of Tom Tierney," said IRFU chief executive Kevin Potts in a statement.

"Our immediate thoughts are with his wife Mary and daughters Isabel and Julia, as well as his many friends, colleagues and former team-mates.

"Tom was an outstanding scrum-half and his time in the Ireland jersey will always be an immense source of pride for his family and the clubs that supported him on his journey.

"He also amassed an impressive CV as a coach and we were honoured to have him as a colleague in the IRFU from 2014 to present.

"He will be sorely missed."

Munster Rugby