Earlier, Sir Philip Barton, the top civil servant at the Foreign Office at the time, told the committee Downing Street had been “uninterested” in the vetting process and the focus was on making sure Lord Mandelson was able to start his job by the time of Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Even without the obvious emotional attachment, Steve McNamara feels like an excellent appointment for Hull FC; after all there are few coaches on the market who have his calibre, his experience, his list of achievements.
Hull is a notoriously intense place to be involved in rugby league, a goldfish bowl of passion and expectation that McNamara as much as anyone will be aware of and ready for, but also who understands and feels that passion himself.
It is an acquisition for the Black and Whites that makes total sense. John Cartwright has established a good culture at Hull since taking over, but you sense McNamara can take them even further.
He went into Catalans and changed the club from a stop-off point for expensively recruited flawed yet gifted imports into a proper ‘team’. The Dragons won a Challenge Cup and made two Grand Finals, despite all of the trials and tribulations faced by the Perpignan club in terms of travel and financial costs.
After being thrust into the Bradford job as a young coach, taking on England equally in the relative infancy of his career and having developed his coaching as a highly-rated assistant in the NRL with Sydney Roosters and New Zealand Warriors before his Catalans adventure, McNamara has armed himself with a variety of skills and experiences.
McNamara is likely to be backed by co-owner Andrew Thirkill and director of rugby Richie Myler, overhauling the squad in his own manner, but he is also a coach that should instill confidence in Hull’s homegrown talent – Lewis Martin, Davy Litten, Harvey Barron – all players who would find themselves a key part of the future vision.
You only have to look at the improvement at Warrington in 2026, McNamara has bolstered Sam Burgess’ staff, his fingerprints are all over the upturn in fortunes, and the results are tangible.
Importantly, you feel McNamara will have time and tremendous goodwill from the fanbase. Time to build, time to implement and time to get it right.
Of course, that brings extra pressure, being that ‘hometown’ appointment with the expectation he can drive Hull towards becoming a genuine force. McNamara is in the career arc you feel will give him the ability to cope.
Marie-Louise Eta has become the first woman appointed to manage a men’s team in one of Europe’s top five leagues after being named interim head coach of Bundesliga side Union Berlin.
Her appointment until the end of the season follows the dismissal of Steffen Baumgart, whose team lost 3-1 to bottom side FC Heidenheim on Saturday.
Union Berlin, who sit 11th in the 18-team Bundesliga, are 11 points clear of the automatic relegation zone with five matches remaining but have only won twice in 14 league outings in 2026.
Eta, 34, is no stranger to breaking barriers, becoming the Bundesliga’s first female assistant coach, also with Union Berlin, in November 2023.
She deputised for then-manager Nenad Bjelica, who was serving a three-match suspension, during a 1-0 win over Darmstadt in January 2024 to become the first woman to lead a Bundesliga team from the touchline.
Eta, a former Germany youth international and Women’s Champions League winner with Turbine Potsdam, has been working as Union Berlin’s under-19s manager since July 2025 and will become the club’s women’s head coach in the summer.
“We have had a hugely disappointing second half of the season and will not allow ourselves to be blinded by our league position,” said Horst Heldt, Union’s director of men’s football.
“Our situation remains precarious. The performances shown in recent weeks do not give us confidence that we can turn things around with the current set-up. We have therefore decided to make a fresh start.”
Eta pointed to the challenges she faces, with Union seven points ahead of St Pauli, who sit in the relegation play-off spot.
“Given the points gap in the lower half of the table, our place in the Bundesliga is not yet secure,” she said.
“I am delighted the club has entrusted me with this challenging task. One of Union’s strengths has always been, and remains, the ability to pull together in such situations.
“I am convinced that we will secure the crucial points.”