The Super Rugby fall-out has begun! Not three days after this year’s final log positions were confirmed, Blues coach Pat Lam has paid the price for leading his start-studded team to an embarrassing twelfth-place finsih, well at the bottom of the New Zealand conference log.
Speculation has been doing the rounds that Lam would be sacked and the Blues have now confirmed that the former Samoan international’s four-year stint at the helm is indeed over. Former Blues stalwart John Kirwan has been appointed as head coach for the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
Kirwan, of course, has plenty of coaching experience at the highest level, having led both Japan and Italy in international rugby.
“This is an exciting time. I am honoured to be given the opportunity to lead the Blues next season in what I hope will be a new era of success and innovation,” Kirwan told New Zealand website www.stuff.co.nz.
“I’m also thrilled about coming back to New Zealand and home to Auckland after several years overseas. I am a proud Blues man and I started my rugby career in the region so I am really excited about connecting with fans and working with the Blues community. There is certainly some hard work ahead and I am looking forward to the challenge.”
Tweet
Good for the Blues, they will definitely climb the ladder next year.