One of rugby’s worst-kept secrets was confirmed on Monday afternoon with Connacht confirming that Andy Friend would be leaving the province at the end of the season.

Speculation as to his future was rife when he stepped down as Head Coach back in August as part of what Connacht described as “a number of structural changes to the professional coaching team for 2022/23”.

Friend was appointed to the new role of Director of Rugby, with Peter Wilkins taking on the role of Head Coach, but there was no change to the two-year contract extension Friend signed with the province in January 2021, leading to a growing belief that he would leave the province when that contract was up this summer.

That is now confirmed as the case, bringing an end to his five-year spell at the province, and Friend admits that his departure in the summer of 2023 was always likely.

“My wife Kerri and I have made the decision that our time at Connacht Rugby will finish at the end of this season. This was always on the cards when I signed my two-year extension in 2021, and one that I discussed openly with Willie and Connacht Rugby.

“It’s certainly not an easy decision to make as we have both genuinely loved everything about our time here in the West of Ireland. From the minute we arrived we were welcomed with open arms and made to feel very much a part of the community and the rich history of the club.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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