Sir John Kirwan

Tana Umaga

Sir John Kirwan:

Blues rugby legend Sir John Kirwan has resigned his role as head coach of the organisation.

Kirwan, who has been head coach for 3 years, has announced that he will not seek reappointment for a further term as coach and will step aside, effective immediately.

While Kirwan had put up a proposal to the Blues board for his continued involvement, he said that he had reconsidered over the past few days after talking with his family, colleagues and friends.

“I had a chance to take a breath and reflect about the situation, my future and above all my love of this Blues club and the players,” Kirwan said.

“People who know me well know that I do not walk away from a challenge and that was what was driving me because I know what has been set-up in terms of organisational structure in the last 2 years.

“However I always said that if I didn’t bring about the results that the players, the club and the fans wanted, then I would step aside.”

Blues CEO Michael Redman said that the organisation owes much to Kirwan who will leave a real legacy at the club, which became a stand-alone organisation last year.

“When JK arrived 3 years ago he had the courage to shine a spotlight on the areas within the organisation that were in serious need of an overhaul,” said Redman.

“The playing record of the Blues under JK has not reflected his work and the determination he had to create a pathway for sustainable success going forward, based on strong values.

“That reform is now unstoppable and JK has to take a significant amount of the credit for it.”

Tana Umaga:

Former All Black captain and current Counties Manukau coach, Tana Umaga has been appointed the new head coach of the Blues.

His 3-year appointment, confirmed jointly by the Blues and New Zealand Rugby, was announced on Tuesday at the site of what will be the new base for the Blues, at Alexandra Park in Auckland.

Umaga has enjoyed an impressive career on and off the field, as a centurion for Wellington, 122 caps for the Hurricanes and 74 appearances for the All Blacks including being a successful All Black captain. He was a player-coach, head coach and Director of Rugby at Toulon in France for 4 seasons where he coached the team from the 2nd division to be promoted to the Top 14 in his 1st year in charge and also to a European final.

It is widely recognised that he played a major role in where Toulon now sit as the 1 of the most successful teams in Europe.

In 2010 he returned to take up a coaching role at Counties Manukau where he again started as a player coach before moving into an assistant coaching role and then head coach. He has been responsible for 1 of the most successful periods in Counties Manukau’s history which included being promoted to the ITM Cup Premiership in his 1st year as head coach and winning the Ranfurly Shield for the 1st time in their history.

This year he has also been assistant coach of the New Zealand Under 20’s who were undefeated at the recent Junior World Cup and won the final.

Umaga said it was an honour to take up the role with the Blues.

“I am excited at the opportunity and of course understand there’s a big challenge ahead for us all. 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.”

Chairman, Tony Carter said the Blues are delighted to welcome Umaga as head coach, following unsatisfactory results in the 2015 Super Rugby season.

“The Board of the Blues has agreed unanimously that we have the right person for the job, and are thrilled Tana has accepted what we believe is both a hugely exciting opportunity and a massive challenge,” he said.

“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.

“At the same time in the 2 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.”

New Zealand Rugby Chief Executive Steve Tew welcomed Umaga’s appointment.

“Tana is very well equipped to step up to this challenging role. He has spent valuable time in the ITM Cup environment with Counties Manukau, has coached at the top level in France and was part of the coaching team that steered New Zealand Under 20 to success in the recent World Championship,” said Tew.

“He has made the successful transition from professional player to coach so is very aware of the demands on athletes and what it takes to succeed at the highest level of the game. We wish Tana all the best and will certainly ensure he has all the support he needs to allow him to make his mark.”

Umaga will take up his position full-time at the end of his duties with Counties Manukau in the ITM Cup this year.

Appointments to fill the vacant assistant coach roles will be made within the next 2 months.