The missing piece has been found in the Super Rugby coaching jigsaw puzzle for next year.
1News understands the Blues are about to confirm Vern Cotter as their new head coach, replacing All Blacks-bound Leon MacDonald.
Cotter’s arrival at the Blues means plenty of change for the current assistant coaches, which include forwards assistants Tom Coventry and Paul Tito as well as backs and skills coach Daniel Halangahu.
Cotter will join the Auckland franchise with an already impressive CV, having started out at Bay of Plenty 20 years ago before joining the Crusaders, then winning multiple French club titles over a 10-year period.
The 61-year-old then coached Scotland at the 2015 World Cup and most recently was in charge of Fiji.
It means the coaching void left by Scott Robertson’s recruitments for next year’s All Blacks staff have now all been filled, with Clark Laidlaw taking over from Jason Holland at the Hurricanes and Rob Penney tasked with keeping the Crusaders dynasty alive.
It’s understood the Blues and other teams are also chasing former Hurricanes captain Jason O’Halloran for their staffs.
O’Halloran has been building his resume as an assistant coach in Scotland but most recently has been making significant input to the success of Suntory Sungoliath in Japan.
