Kennedy quits as London Irish's director of rugby

Kennedy, who was named director of rugby in 2016, was given the opportunity to continue in his role after a shake-up of the relegation-threatened club's coaching staff but follows former technical director Brendan Venter who left the club earlier this month.

(Reuters)

"London Irish will always have a special place in my heart," Kennedy, who helped steer the team to promotion via the Championship playoffs last season, told the club's website (www.london-irish.com).

"I'm proud I helped change the academy from a two star to a five star RFU rating and to have gone undefeated for a season to win the under-18 Premiership Rugby title.

"I'm proud we won the Championship at the first time of asking, only losing one game all season, and I'm very proud of the players and how they fought to the end of every game."

Irish have won two out of their 17 matches this season and are bottom of the table with 15 points.

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)