SUPER RUGBY STRUGGLERS the Blues have named Tana Umaga as their new head coach for the next three seasons.
The Blues made the announcement in Auckland today, after John Kirwan resigned on Friday following just 17 wins in 58 games over three years.
Umaga — a former All Blacks captain — joins the Blues after an impressive stint with Counties Manukau, who he steered to ITM Cup Premiership success in his first year as coach.
The 42-year-old, a former head coach at Toulon and a member of the coaching staff for New Zealand’s recent Junior World Cup winning squad, also won the Ranfurly Shield for the first time in Manukau’s history.
“I am excited at the opportunity and of course understand there’s a big challenge ahead for us all,” said Umaga, who will link up with the Blues once his commitments with Manukau conclude at the end of the ITM Cup.
“I know there are a lot of very good players signed on and I look forward to working with them. There’s no quick fix to turn things around. It is going to take a lot of very hard work which will be my focus. I want to let our performances on the field do the talking.”
The Blues only won three of their 16 games in 2015 and chairman Tony Carter is relishing Umaga’s arrival.
“We understand our fans and sponsors, along with everyone on and off the field in this club, are not satisfied with our results, especially this year,” Carter said.
“At the same time, in the two years since we have been a stand-alone organisation we have developed a solid business from scratch. Within the playing unit we have begun to develop a positive culture and beliefs, while we’ve worked hard on our relationships within the region and on identification and recruitment of future Super Rugby players.
“We will work tirelessly in support of Tana to assist him in now pulling this together and guiding our on-field performance to a sustained, competitive playing unit.”
