Around 30 minutes before any other players had made their way up to the practice pitch at Towcesterians Rugby Club on Wednesday, Neve Jones, Clíodhna Moloney-MacDonald and Beth Buttimer were practicing their darts.
Alex Codling had a series of throwing games lined out for the hookers, who were trying to hit footballs placed on top of long tackle-bags, competing for points and bragging rights.
Across the next half an hour, Codling had them working on their throwing in a variety of different ways. After that short game, he moved to the ladder where they had to hit him at full reach, double tops. Then the long fishing net came out, where they were working on their range; front, middle and back.
Finally, they moved onto role play. While Jones threw into the lineout, Moloney-MacDonald acted as the ball-kid, squirting water onto the ball to make it greasy, while Buttimer played the role of a fussy assistant referee distracting the thrower.
Hookers out early for some darts... 🎯 pic.twitter.com/XvgOXpv7r1
— Neil Treacy (@neil_treacy) August 27, 2025
You get the impression Codling could have stayed there all day.
"It's well documented I like lineouts, it’s probably the reason I’m on this planet," the forwards coach said about his area of expertise.
"I love the game generally, but I love the combat, the technical area around how you can win the ball, how you can take the ball away from the opposition, the tactical element, trick plays and all the bits and pieces, ultimately how you make players better."
The former England international joined up with Scott Bemand’s coaching ticket just over a year ago before the WXV1 campaign in Canada, taking a leap into the unknown a few months after being let go from Newcastle Falcons, where he had been head coach.
A former team-mate of Bemand’s at Harlequins, Codling’s main task was to set Ireland’s struggling lineout straight. The setpiece had been a glaring issue in the 2023 and 2024 Six Nations, operating at 69% and 61% respectively on Ireland’s throw, and by the end of the 2025 championship, that number had rocketed to 86%.
Unfortunately for the Ireland women’s team, they’re set to lose his services after this World Cup. When Graham Rowntree and Andi Kyriacou departed Munster last season, Codling was sent down to Limerick to help out the interim coaching team, double-jobbing for several months.
Just as he was with Ireland, he was instantly popular at Munster, whose lineout performances visibly got better... and worse on the weeks that Codling was and wasn’t available. He’s set to join Clayton McMillan’s coaching team full-time after Ireland’s World Cup adventure.
"I couldn't do it long term because ultimately you have to compartmentalise," he says of the last 10 months double-jobbing.
"It's like everything in life, if you do two jobs there's a risk of doing two not as well as you’d like.
"But the thing with it is when the opportunity arose, you look at it and if the opportunity is given to you, and you look at it, both parties were very open, they both understood.
"We got there at the end. There's times where there's pinch points but that’s how it is.
Key to balancing the two jobs is to treat them just the same. In the course of the last year, Codling (above) has been showing footage of Munster’s lineout to Ireland and vice-versa.
"I think that was really important when I walked in the building.
"I know they can keep growing as people and as players. And I wanted to keep challenging. I've another one this morning, I've just done a review of the Rugby Championship.
"I've just shown them some clips on that around language we're using, things we're doing so I think it's really important. From a personal level, I want to challenge players. Look at the way they embrace the challenge. As a coach, it's inspiring, you just want to keep helping them.
"The one thing I’ve always tried to do is treat this as any other environment. From a personal perspective, be authentic."
However, as much as he has treated the Ireland and Munster jobs the same, he admits his eyes have been opened to the distinctions between the men’s and women’s game.
"I think the thing I found the difference between the two games is that the girls take everything literally, and I mean literally. So we've had some absolutely hysterical moments in meetings and on the field.
"She's the one who adds the niggle" - Former Ireland international Hannah O'Connor talks about the importance of Aoife Wafer's presence around the camp as she continues on her road back to full fitness #RTErugby pic.twitter.com/22S8n1GJtX
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 27, 2025
"This is what things are about, having a laugh and enjoying each other.
"That's the first thing, and then just the inquisitiveness. They ask loads and loads of questions because they're so keen to learn. You've just got to be available, in my mind, all the time, to answer the questions.
"We have a good laugh. When you spend this much time together it's really important when you’re on, you're on, when you're off, you're off. And I think just having a laugh in meetings [is important].
"I think trust is everything. I think the reason I took up coaching is around someone being honest and open with you, someone who's got your best interests at heart, but ultimately you know is there for you in the good and the bad times.
"I think for me as a coach, it’s really just being open and honest in helping them. Trying to deliver messages in a really good way.
"Front and centre has to be the players and that's all I care about."
Depending on results at this World Cup, he could be an Ireland coach for two, three or even five more games, starting with Sunday's Pool C meeting with Spain in Northampton.
And while his replacement on the coaching ticket has big shoes to fill, he’s predicting this Irish squad will go on to bigger and better things without him.
"I say this to the girls on a regular basis, whenever I speak about this group, there’s a massive smile on my face.
"I genuinely didn’t know what I was walking into but they’ve been incredible. The growth across the group, they’re a young group, this programme is very young compared to England but their appetite to learn and their desperation, for me as a coach, it gets me up in the morning.
"I’ll look back with great fondness. Some of that will be dictated by how far we go in the competition, you always like to keep winning. Overall, I’m delighted I took on the challenge. I see this programme going from strength to strength.
"It’s about the players, they take this from where they were 12 months ago to now. They’re the ones on the field, they’re the ones who drive it, enjoy what they do, it’s been an incredible experience."
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