Another Kiwi takes up position on the Wallabies' coaching staff

Wallaby coach Joe Schmidt has appointed vastly experienced Kiwi Mike Cron as his latest assistant.

Cron has been coaching for more than 30 years, most notably in New Zealand where he was an assistant with the All Blacks for more than 200 Tests.

Having spent time working across six continents, Cron has also been a consultant with World Rugby in recent years.

“Mike has added tremendous value in every programme he has been involved with and brings a wealth of knowledge to our coaching group,” Schmidt said.

Cron joins veteran forwards coach Laurie Fisher on Schmidt’s team.

Bringing two decades of professional coaching experience to his second stint with the national side, Fisher previously held an assistant role in 2022 under Dave Rennie.

The Wallabies on Tuesday also confirmed Chris Thomson has been appointed as team manager.

Thomson joins the Wallabies from the Brumbies, where he has been working in the role of general manager of professional rugby and pathways since 2022.

He was previously employed at World Rugby in the high-performance and player development units after a stint as general manager of the Fijian Drua.

“Knowing Chris from his time at World Rugby, he will work extremely hard behind the scenes to make sure we are well organised from an off-field perspective,” added Schmidt.

Like Cron, Schmidt had previously worked with the All Blacks.

He was assistant coach to New Zealand at the last World Cup, where they finished runners-up to South Africa.

The pair’s first game with the Wallabies will be against Wales in Sydney in July.

Australia will also host world champions South Africa twice in 2024.