BERNARD JACKMAN HAS been named as head of coaching at Leinster Senior League Division 1A club Bective Rangers FC.
In a coup for the non-AIL outfit, former Grenoble and Dragons boss Jackman will take the reins from next season with a view to hauling Bective back into the domestic big leagues.
The Dublin 4 side suffered relegation from AIL Division 2C in 2018 following an era in which they began to plummet down the leagues.
Founded in 1881, Bective have won 12 Leinster Senior Cups and two Bateman Cups in their history. The Donnybrook-based club have produced several Irish internationals and Lions as well as five IRFU presidents. Wales and Lions legend Cliff Morgan also played for Rangers during their provincial cup-winning 1954-1955 season while working as a manager at Irish Ropes in Wicklow.
Delighted to be asked. Looking forward to lots of great matches and late nights in the bar after games.
— Bernard Jackman (@bernardjackman) May 14, 2019
“I’m excited for this new challenge and can’t wait to get started”, said Jackman, who is a regular guest analyst on The42 Rugby Weekly. “I always found Bective to be a club with great people and having helped out the squad at the end of the season I think they have the potential for future success.”
Club president, Barbara Culleton said Bective are “absolutely thrilled to have a coach of Bernard’s experience and calibre join the club”, while director of rugby Emmet Sheridan added: “After a thorough search, we are delighted to have secured Bernard as head of coaching. We know Bernard will establish the structures and processes required to bring Bective back to the AIL.”
A native of Carlow, former Ireland international hooker Jackman represented Sale, Connacht and Leinster at club level, winning a European Challenge Cup with the former as well as a Magners League and Heineken Cup with the latter.
He spent half a decade in various coaching roles at Grenoble, assuming the role of head coach in 2016. He took charge of the Dragons at the beginning of the 2017/18 season before parting company with the Welsh franchise in December of last year after 18 months at the helm.
He has also coached several club sides within Leinster, and previously fulfilled the roles of both forwards coach and director of rugby at Clontarf.
