Nathan Grey to transition to National High Performance Coach Advisor in 2020

Mon, Dec 2, 2019, 2:00 AM
Rugby Australia
by Rugby Australia
Photo: RugbyAU Media/Marty Cambridge
Photo: RugbyAU Media/Marty Cambridge

Rugby Australia has today announced that Qantas Wallabies Assistant Coach Nathan Grey will transition to the National High Performance Coach Advisor role in 2020.

The 35-Test Wallaby will work with the Australian Men’s and Women’s Sevens program as well as the Buildcorp Wallaroos, Junior Wallabies, State Under 19 programs and the Australian Under 18s beginning early next year.

In an unprecedented move, Grey will also serve as Technical Director of the Sunwolves for next year’s Super Rugby season in what will further enhance the relationship between Rugby Australia and the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU).

On the back of the hugely successful Rugby World Cup in Japan, Grey’s secondment will focus on providing technical advice and coaching to the Tokyo-based Super Rugby side in support of new Sunwolves Head Coach Naoya Okubo.

Grey will manage his responsibilities with the Sunwolves as well as fill the recently-vacated role of National High Performance Coach Advisor following Stephen Larkham’s appointment at Irish club side, Munster.

Nathan Grey said: “I’m really excited to step into this new role next year. I’ve enjoyed my time as an Assistant at both the NSW Waratahs and the Wallabies for the last four years but this is now an opportunity for me to continue my development as a coach.

“The Sunwolves have an incredibly talented group of players that are keen to learn, and the same can be said of the coaching staff in Tokyo too. We all saw from the recent World Cup just how much ability and potential there is in Japan, and I will be doing all I can to help in their development.

“I’m also really looking forward to assisting with the Australian Sevens programs, the Wallaroos as well as the Junior teams here in Australia.

“We have some really talented individuals coming through the ranks at all levels so it’s about harnessing that, and then complimenting the great work that the coaches are already doing with their respective teams,” Grey said.

Rugby Australia Director of Rugby Scott Johnson said: “Nathan has proven himself to be a great young coach and he’s one that we didn’t want to lose out of the system.“We want to see him continue to grow and evolve and that will happen now with Nathan to be given a bit more responsibility and scope.

“Nathan’s role with the Sunwolves came out of discussions with the JRFU and the support they felt they needed to continue to grow. We’re really proud of the relationship with have with the JRFU and we’ve been looking at new ways in how we can collaborate to achieve our respective goals across the business but specifically in High Performance,” Johnson said.


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