Force moving in on new coach
RugbyWA, the governing body of the Western Force, revealed that they are “well advanced” in their search for a head coach to replace Richard Graham – who was forced to resigned the role last month.
In a statement RugbyWA said “strong interest from around the world” has been received from prospective candidates and the franchise itself has also sought interest in the position from a few particular highly qualified senior coaches.
The organisation said they understand there will be continued media speculation around the head coach position, but re-iterated their position that they will be finding the best possible candidate to fill the role.
This process, which has already started, will continue over the next few weeks and the list of candidates has now been trimmed to a final list for interview.
According to reports in the Australian media names such as All Blacks great John Kirwan, Stade Francais mentor Michael Cheika, former Wallabies assistant Tim Lane, former Reds’ coach Phil Mooney, Andy Friend and John Mulvihill have been thrown into the Force hat.
“I can appreciate that there is great interest in our selection of a new head coach, as it is a highly desirable role in world rugby,” said Western Force CEO Vern Reid.
“However, we will continue the process of assessment and take the necessary amount of time to choose the best possible coach for our franchise.
“The Board has confidence that its initial decision to appoint Phil Blake as interim senior coach with input from Nick Stiles and Andrew Scotney together with leadership roles for captain David Pocock and Western Force legend Nathan Sharpe, is the right one to see out the season as the coaching group until a decision is made on the head coaching position for 2013,” said Reid.
Although the list has been trimmed, as late as last Friday another highly credentialed coach threw his hat into the ring and there may still be others who put up their hands for consideration.
In this constantly changing environment the franchise will continue to speak to appropriate candidates across the board and move forward in a timely manner to make the correct decision for this vital role for the next stage of the franchise’s development.
In parallel with this process the ongoing recruitment of players is taking place and it is anticipated that a series of announcements will occur between now and the end of the season.
The struggling Force have won just two of their 11 games this season, and take on the Melbourne Rebels at Perth’s nib Stadium on Sunday.
