Larissa Muldoon appointed Connacht Women's Rugby Lead

Connacht Rugby and the IRFU have announced the appointment of Larissa Muldoon as the new Connacht Women’s Rugby Lead.

Muldoon is a familiar face to those involved in women’s rugby in Connacht. Following a stellar playing career, she moved into full-time coaching in 2023 by becoming the Connacht representative in the IRFU’s Women’s National Talent Squad (WNTS) pathway staff, working to help develop the province's elite young talent. In addition, she is serving as attack coach for the Connacht Women’s team ahead of the upcoming Interprovincial Championship.

Just last year, Larissa worked as an attack and skills coach for Ireland at the World Cup, and was also part of the coaching ticket that helped guide Ireland to WXV3 success in Dubai in 2023.

On the field as a player, she earned 48 international caps and won two Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam in 2013.

As Connacht Women’s Rugby Lead, Muldoon will help design a connected provincial pathway, supporting the progression of 16-23-year-old age grade players in Connacht right through to senior level. She will work alongside the Rugby Performance and Club & Community teams, ensuring there is a sustainable and aligned system for females to progress to an elite level.

Commenting on her appointment, Larissa said: “I am truly honoured and humbled to be appointed the first Women’s Rugby Lead in Connacht. I have enjoyed every minute since joining the province three years ago, and what has been clear to me since then is the huge ambition to both grow the sport in the five counties and unlock the immense talent in the west of Ireland.

“The years ahead will be among the most exciting in the history of women’s rugby in Ireland, and I look forward to playing my part in ensuring the future of the sport in Connacht is one that is successful, sustainable, and inspires young girls from every corner of the province to play the game we love.”

Billy Millard, Connacht Rugby General Manager of Performance, stated: “Larissa’s appointment marks a major step forward in the ongoing growth of women’s rugby in Connacht. Her achievements and qualifications speak for themselves, as does her determination and ambition to grow women’s rugby in Connacht, which was clearly evident during the recruitment process. There is huge potential within our young female players in Connacht, and with today’s news we are now ready to take the next step in this exciting journey.”

In conjunction with today’s announcement, the IRFU has also announced the appointment of provincial women’s rugby leadership roles in the other provinces, representing a landmark step in the continued development and professionalism of the women’s game across Ireland.

The appointments follow the earlier advertising of these positions as part of a coordinated, nationwide strategy to strengthen player pathways and accelerate growth at all levels of the sport.

The successful candidates in the other provinces were Derek Maybury (Leinster), Niamh Briggs (Munster) and Neill Alcorn (Ulster).

Lynne Cantwell, Head of Women’s Strategy at Irish Rugby, said: “These appointments represent a hugely important step forward for the women's and girls' game in Ireland. By establishing dedicated leadership roles in each province that are centrally connected through Irish rugby, we are building the structures needed to support players at every stage of their journey within a connected system of people across domestic, pathway and performance rugby.

“Just as importantly, the movement of experienced people into these positions creates new opportunities within our national talent programmes. That ripple effect strengthens the entire system – from emerging players to the coaches and performance support staff who support them – and ensures we continue to build depth and sustainability across women’s rugby.

“It has been a difficult week for women’s rugby in Ireland following the loss of Philip 'Goose' Doyle, who was so influential in women’s rugby. Knowing him as we did, we know he would be happy to see the signs of growth in the game through the roles being announced, reflecting progress being made and building on the legacy he leaves.”