NEW QBE NORTH HARBOUR HEAD COACH APPOINTED!

The new Mitre 10 Cup Head Coach for QBE North Harbour has been appointed, and with Steve Jackson's departure to the Blues following the strong campaign this season. Tom Coventry has recently returned to New Zealand from a stint coaching in England, to lead Harbour in our first foray into the Mitre 10 Cup Premiership in 2017, with Daniel Halangahu retained as his assistant.

"The timing was great", Tom said.
"I wanted to come back to NZ, and with Steve's departure, an opportunity arose to join Harbour and keep the momentum going from this year. I had a coffee with Daniel and he told me about the culture of the union, the great group of guys in the squad, that they're ambitious, and there is a lot of good in the Union right now which I'm keen to build on. There are lots of positives which is great for a new coach." 

He said retaining Daniel Halangahu as his assistant was an easy decision.
"Daniel is highly respected in the Province, he's very analytical, experienced having played Super Rugby for the Waratahs, and after the success of 2016, provides continuity, so it just made sense."

QBE North Harbour Director of Rugby Russell Hilton-Jones said Tom was a perfect fit.
"We wanted to keep the momentum going following the success of 2016 and Steve Jackson's excellent work with the side, and so put together a profile of what we were after, in the hope that we would find someone of Tom's quality. Based on that profile, he was the perfect candidate and we're very excited to have him on board."

Waikato born and raised, Tom played 52 games for Waikato between 1988 and 1994, scoring 14 tries and winning the NPC in 1992 before his coaching career began with Otago University. Since then he’s had hugely successful roles with New Zealand Schools, four years as Co-Head Coach of Hawke’s Bay where he won the ITM Cup, and 4 years at The Chiefs as assistant coach to Dave Rennie, where they won two Super Rugby Championships.

Welcome aboard Tom!