WORLD RUGBY HAVE appointed ex-Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt as their Director of Rugby and High Performance.
The Kiwi native, whose six successful years in charge of Ireland ended with defeat to New Zealand in a World Cup quarter-final 12 months ago, is set to begin his new role in November.
Today’s announcement says 55-year-old Schmidt will “head up a new department in the international federation responsible for the high performance, match officials and technical services functions, including player welfare as well as training and education”.
A former Leinster head coach and Irish citizen, Schmidt will be based out of World Rugby’s headquarters in Dublin.
“I’m really looking forward to getting started,” he said. “I’m passionate about the game and keen that people continue to enjoy being involved in it, from the young to the young at heart. The professional game is the showpiece for our sport and involving key stakeholders in our discussions about how the game is played and how players are managed will be beneficial.
“It has been a challenging year thus far and likely to remain difficult for some time, but it has been great to see the resumption of numerous competitions, with plenty of entertaining and exciting matches.”
World Rugby Chief Executive Brett Gosper added: “We are delighted to appoint a person of Joe’s calibre, expertise and global credibility to this newly-created and strategically important position within the organisation.
“As an international federation we must strive to continually increase our connection and collaboration with the most important stakeholders in our game – players, coaches, match officials, unions and, of course, fans. It is fantastic to have an individual who has been at the forefront of the high-performance game management evolution at the very highest level for well over a decade.
“With international rugby set to restart this weekend and less than a year to go until Rugby World Cup 2021 kicks off in New Zealand and rugby sevens showcases itself at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Joe joins us at a very exciting time for the sport, which continues to advance and grow rapidly across the globe.”
Bernard Laporte, World Rugby Vice-Chairman and High Performance Rugby and Community Rugby Committees Chairman also expressed his delight with the appointment: “I warmly welcome Joe to this important, newly-created role, leading the new Rugby and High Performance department.
Joe is a great technician and a big-picture thinker. His expertise is perfectly suited to the High Performance Rugby Committee’s ambition of making the game even more attractive and accessible to all, while ensuring the highest standards of player welfare.
“Having Joe’s world-class level of technical game leadership at World Rugby is essential to drive this vision with stakeholders.”
The42 is on Instagram! Tap the button below on your phone to follow us!
