A REVAMPED WALLABIES coaching team has been confirmed ahead of the international season.
Tony McGahan, Andrew Blades and Nick Scrivener have been added to Robbie Deans’ staff.
The trio will join the Wallabies in the lead up to the opening Test of the year against Scotland on Tuesday June 5.
McGahan will return to Australia in the newly created position of coaching co-ordinator upon completion of his stint at Munster.
The Queenslander, who has been in charge of Munster for the last four seasons, previously coached Japanese club IBM after having begun his career in Queensland where he coached both the Nudgee College and Churchie first XVs, and the Easts club in first grade.
The former Physical Education teacher is no stranger to some leading Wallabies players.
He coached both ex-skipper Rocky Elsom and fellow loose forward Richard Brown at Nudgee College, taught star flanker David Pocock in the classroom at Brisbane’s Anglican Church Grammar, while later mentoring current Wallabies captain James Horwill and fellow team regulars winger Digby Ioane and hooker Tatafu Polota Nau with the Australian Under-19 side.
McGahan will have a significant involvement in the overall coordination of the coaching and management team.
Coaching ticket
Former Wallaby, Blades takes over from Jim Williams as forwards coach, returning to the position for a second time after stints with both the Brumbies and the Newcastle Falcons in the English Premiership. Blades assisted Eddie Jones and then David Nucifora during his time on the Brumbies coaching staff.
The 1999 Rugby World Cup winner will be in charge of the scrum and lineout as part of his duties. Scrivener, who has coached at both the Brumbies and in Scotland, joins the Wallabies for the first time as the team’s Coaching Assistant.
A product of Canberra and a foundation member of the Brumbies playing squad in 1996, Scrivener arrived back in Australia last year to take up the head coaching position within the Australian Rugby Union’s Academy programme.
This followed a two-year stint in Europe where he was head coach of Edinburgh in the Celtic League and the Scotland A side.
Prior to his departure, Scrivener was a part of the Brumbies coaching staff for 10 seasons, working alongside experienced coaches in firstly Eddie Jones, and then David Nucifora.
Scrivener has previously been involved coaching at a national level as an assistant backline/attack coach on the staff of the Australian Under-21 and Australia A teams.
Deans thanked axed assistants Jim Williams and Phil Blake for their contributions but believes his new-look coaching crew will bring out the best in his young Wallabies line-up this season.
“Those blokes gave good service and can be very proud of the fact that they achieved a Tri Nations victory, which hadn’t been done for a while,” Deans told reporters.
We’re moving on and we’re looking to add value to the playing group and move on and up. We’ve been through a very thorough process in terms of a review, we wanted to add some substance around the playing group in assisting them to cater for their needs.
The Wallabies will play Scotland in a Test match in June, followed by the first of three Tests for the James Bevan Trophy against new Six Nations champions Wales.
