Galway journalist John Fallon elected as chairperson of the Rugby Writers of Ireland.

Galway journalist John Fallon has become the first from Connacht to be elected as chairperson of the Rugby Writers of Ireland.

He took over as the 20^th chair of the RWI at the organisation’s AGM at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday prior to the Ireland v Scotland Six Nations clash.

The organisation, founded in 1986, represents over 80 journalists who report on rugby across all the broadcast, print and online media in this country.

The RWI performs many functions throughout the year. A large part of it is being the link between journalists and the communications wing of the Irish players and management, not just at senior level but across the other grades and the provinces.

The annual RWI awards, which are again set for the Guinness Storehouse later in the year, are regarded as the most prestigious set of rugby accolades in this country.

Fallon has been reporting on Connacht rugby for 40 years since joining The Connacht Tribune in 1984, where he remained for 18 years.

He became the first full-time team manager for the Connacht professional rugby team in 2002 and two years later set up Media West (Ireland), a freelance news and sports organisation based in Galway which supplies print, broadcast and online to over 40 media outlets throughout Ireland, the UK and France.

A former chairman of Galway United FC, Fallon will chair the RWI for the next two years, having taken over at the weekend from outgoing chair Ruaidhri O’Connor of The Irish Independent.