Former England coach lands international job
NEWS: Georgia have bolstered their coaching staff ahead of the Rugby World Cup next year, with the addition of Graham Rowntree as the team’s forwards coach.
Rowntree has been out of rugby since he parted ways with Harlequins, where Adam Jones was retained as scrum coach and Alex Codling was brought in as forwards coach.
The former England and Harlequins man can also list the British and Irish Lions and Leicester Tigers on a coaching resume that has spanned 11 years to date. Before hanging up his boots in 2007, Rowntree made nearly 400 appearances for Leicester Tigers, as well as representing England 54 times and touring with the Lions in 2005.
The addition of a coach with the wealth of experience that Rowntree has is quite the coup for Georgia, who parted ways with their former forwards coach Brad Harris in July.
Rowntree will now link up with Georgia head coach Milton Haig and attempt to add to the already formidable proposition of the Georgian pack and, in particular, the Lelos’ renowned scrummaging ability.
The first test Rowntree will face comes this November, when Georgia take on Italy on November 10 in Florence, in a match that is highly-anticipated given the clamour for the Georgians to be admitted to the Six Nations in recent years.
Breaking | Former @EnglandRugby and @lionsofficial International and forwards coach Graham Rowntree appointed as Georgia forwards coach for the period including @rugbyworldcup
Details to come #1YTG #RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/EWaqYXebsU
— Georgian Rugby Union (@GeorgianRugby) September 25, 2018
Rowntree, the former British and Irish Lions coach who quit Harlequins in the summer, has revealed that becoming Georgia’s forwards coach for their World Cup campaign was an “opportunity I just couldn’t miss,”
Georgia are in Pool D at next year’s World Cup in Japan alongside Australia, Wales, Fiji and Uruguay and Rowntree’s background knowledge of those opponents and his love of forward play will be a major asset to Georgia.
“I have not felt like this before about a role. Probably the most excited I have been for any job,” Rowntree said after being presented to the media.
“For an Englishman to be coaching the Georgian forward pack it’s… but I have been a big fan of Georgian forward play for a long time and to have the opportunity to be associated with such a forward pack and help to get the best out of that forward pack. It is such a big year coming up – it is an opportunity I just couldn’t miss,”
“The warmth that has been shown by Milton [Haig] and everyone else in the organisation has furthermore increased my excitement. I cannot wait to get stuck into the games,”
Head coach Haig added: “The most impressive thing, certainly from my point of view, when I first met Graham was his enthusiasm to be able to be involved in the Georgian team.
“Right from the start and his very first words when I met him four weeks ago was his excitement and his enthusiasm to be involved with this Georgian team and that for me said everything about the guy, as a person first and obviously as a coach,”
