Ulster call in Ireland's coaching expertise

TRANSFER NEWS: Pro14 team Ulster announced that Ireland forwards coach Simon Easterby will be drafted in to help prepare the club for the new season.

Easterby will provide coaching support at Ulster in the interim period before the arrival of the province's new head coach, Dan McFarland.

Simon Easterby will commence work with the Ulster coaching staff this week. The former Ireland flank and captain has been national forwards coach since 2014 and has been part of two Six Nations title successes, including this year's Grand Slam, and historic wins over New Zealand in Chicago, South Africa in Cape Town, and Australia in both Melbourne and Sydney.

Easterby, who was head coach of Llanelli Scarlets between 2012 and 2014, joins an Ulster coaching set-up that includes his former Llanelli teammate Dwayne Peel as assistant coach, scrum coach Aaron Dundon, recently-appointed defence coach Jared Payne and skills coach Daniel Soper, as well as head analyst Niall Malone.