Former Leinster defence coach Kurt McQuilkin believes that Connacht have completed a “good bit of business” in bringing in Kieran Keane as their new head coach.
Keane will join the province as head coach ahead of the 2017/18 season on a three-year contract, replacing the Bristol-bound Pat Lam at the end of the current campaign.
The former All Black joins Connacht from the Chiefs, where he currently works as Assistant Coach to Dave Rennie, heading up the attack.
McQuilkin’s father Noel has worked alongside Keane with the New Zealand Divisional side and the former Leinster player believes that he’ll prove to be a successful appointment at Connacht.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport, McQuilkin said: "He’s a pretty straight shooter, he’s old school, he knows what he wants and he’ll drive pretty hard to get it.
"He’s been doing some great work with the Chiefs. He stepped into the breach last season and has brought their game on, especially their attacking side of the game.
"Over the years he’s been involved in teams, in particular Tasman and his association with Leon McDonald. They took Tasman from the cellar up to the boardroom – he’s a good coach with a lot of knowledge.
"I think it’s a good bit of business from Connacht in getting Kieran on board."
McQuilkin believes that Keane will continue the work of Pat Lam, who has turned Connacht into an exciting, attacking side, but that he’ll also put his own stamp on the province.
"He’s quite innovative in what he wants but he assesses what he has to work with first and then tries to bring that to the level necessary to play the kind of game he wants to play.
"You’ll find a lot of off-loads in contact but also a lot of expansive rugby so it’ll be something I’m sure the Connacht fans will be looking forward to watching.
"He’ll call a spade a shovel, he’s pretty up front with players, media, all sorts, so you’ll definitely know how he’s feeling."
