Quantcast
Channel: Graeme Moffat – The Province
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 5

Rugby Canada men’s head coach Mark Anscombe confirms staff

0
0

New Rugby Canada men’s head coach Mark Anscombe has confirmed the coaching and training group who will assist him in his first foray into Canadian rugby.

The Kiwi has been in Victoria since the beginning of May and has been developing his squad, which is expected to be announced soon. (Our understanding is a number of domestic players, beyond those who participated in the recent Americas Rugby Championship, have already been approached.)

Anscombe’s staff features some continuity from the Kieran Crowley era: most notably in assistants Mike Shelley and Graeme Moffat.

Shelley, who played more than 200 games in the front row for Leeds Tykes in Engalnd, carries on as the scrummaging guru. It was Shelley who Crowley credited with coming up with Canada’s quick-ball approach at scrum time.

Moffat was a finalist for the head coaching job this spring, after a successful run as coach of the Canadian Rugby Championship’s Calgary-based side the Prairie Wolf Pack. He worked with Crowley at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, serving as attack coach. Along with Leo Crowley, he developed the wide game plan Canada used at the RWC, placing the flankers in the wide channels among other things. It would seem he is the “Canadian pathway coach” which was identified as a need in the Rugby World Cup review.

Anscombe has brought Paul Feeney along with him from New Zealand as a specialist backs coach. Feeney has extensive experience coaching in New Zealand, Japan and Fiji and is currently an assistant with the Blues in Super Rugby under Tana Umaga. He’s also the skills and kicking coach for the Blues. He’s been credited with helping to develop a number of young players in the Auckland area over the past four years, including Blues players George Moala, Melani Nanai, Lolagi Visinia and Bryn Hall. According to Rugby Canada, he’ll be involved with the squad over the month of June, while Super Rugby takes its mid-season break to accommodate inbound summer tours.

Other new hires include Michael Deasy, who replaces Andrew Evans as strength and conditioning coach – Evans and his family are moving back to the Vancouver area. Deasy worked with Manu Samoa at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. The men’s squad is gaining a full time analyst in Aaron Takel. Takel is originally from Wales but has been living in the Edmonton area in recent years. He was working as Rugby Alberta’s technical director.

Mallory White, who worked with UBC’s rugby program, is the new physiotherapist and Jessica Smith is the new athletic therapist.

pjohnston@postmedia.com
twitter.com/risingaction
facebook.com/tryandtackle



Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 5

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images