Sheffield Eagles coach Mark Aston will be in charge of the Ireland Rugby League team for the 2013 World Cup.
The 43-year-old former Great Britain scrum half has been appointed as successor to Andy Kelly, whose contract was not renewed earlier this year.
Aston, who is also chief executive at Sheffield, will work part-time with Ireland and continue to coach the Eagles, although he will scale down some of his duties with the Championship club.
‘I've got a good group of directors who will take on some of the workload,’ said Aston, who was Lance Todd Trophy winner as man of the match in Sheffield's famous Challenge Cup final win over Wigan in 1998.
Aston will start work immediately on planning for the next World Cup by identifying qualified players, in both England and Ireland, and helping to establish a pathway for both players and coaches to reach the highest level.
Ireland, under Kelly and assistants Barrie McDermott and Terry O'Connor, were one of the success stories of the 2008 World Cup in Australia, where they reached the semi-final qualifier, but they have been drawn in the same group as England, Australia and Fiji for 2013.
‘I think it's a great draw,’ said Aston. ‘This is a challenge and I love a challenge.
‘Why wouldn't you want to play against the best on the big stage. We'll have no fears because nobody will be expecting us to win.’
One of Aston's first duties will be to assemble a squad for matches against France, Scotland and Wales this autumn.
