Clarke Dermody
Former Southland and All Black prop, Clarke Dermody has been unveiled as the Highlanders’ scrum and assistant forwards’ coach for the 2015 Super Rugby season.
He had a voluntary, part-time role with the Highlanders this year, before serving as an assistant with Southland during the national provincial championships.
Dermody had a remarkable playing career, which included playing for every New Zealand age-group team before playing three Tests in 2006 for the All Blacks and is no stranger to the Highlanders after representing them 44 times.
Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph hopes the fulltime work by Dermody will help shore up a scrum that was put under pressure this season.
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“Last year, Clarke volunteered his services to assist us with our scrum but it wasn’t ideal for either his coaching or the players’ development. I am confident with Clarke’s appointment and the recruitment of extra stocks in the front row we can significantly improve our scrum over the coming months which has come under pressure against the best teams.”
The appointment of Dermody coincides with a redefined role for Jon Preston in the coaching team.
“Jon will work as the Highlanders High Performance coach with a focus on individual skill development of contracted Highlanders players, in addition to developing talented youngsters within the Highlanders Region,” Highlanders General Manager, Roger Clark said.
Both roles are effective immediately.