Cardiff Blues announce their new head coach
Cardiff Blues have announced that Australian John Mulvihill has been appointed head coach ahead of the 2018-19 season.
Following the announcement that Danny Wilson would depart at the end of the current campaign, a thorough search for a successor was undertaken in conjunction with the Welsh Rugby Union. That has now been completed with the vastly experienced and highly-rated Australian signing a three-year contract at Cardiff Arms Park.
Mulvihill has more than 20 years’ worth of experience coaching at the top level including stints as both assistant and interim head coach with Super Rugby’s Western Force and most recently in Japan’s Top League with Kintetsu Liners and then Honda Heat.
Signed!
Pleased to confirm Australian John Mulvihill has been appointed as our new head coach ahead of the 2018-19 season.
Full story to follow!#WelcomeMulvihill pic.twitter.com/ToLvfkIY7m
— Cardiff Rugby (@Cardiff_Rugby) March 20, 2018
He has also recently worked alongside former Wallabies head coach Alan Jones as backs and defence coach for the Barbarians.
Cardiff Blues chief executive Richard Holland said: “We’re obviously delighted to get John on board and I must thank the WRU for their support.
“I believe John will be the perfect fit for Cardiff Blues. He has an abundance of experience and a track record of bringing through young talent, which is very appealing given the age profile of our squad.
“He has played an instrumental role in the careers of numerous top-class internationals including David Pocock, Matt Giteau, James O’Connor and Drew Mitchell, who all speak very highly of him.
“Former Cardiff RFC coach Alex Evans has also mentored John and has been a great aid in the latter stages of the process.
“Not only that but he is a good man and we are very much looking forward to an exciting future with John at the helm.
“Work now begins on putting together a coaching team to assist John and our fantastic back-room staff. This will include a backs coach, forwards coach and a scrum coach.”
The former Australia age-grade international, who also forged a career in rugby league, is due to arrive in the Welsh capital in the summer but will begin overseeing preparations for the 2018-19 season immediately.
He is relishing the challenge ahead and is excited about the future at Cardiff Blues especially with such a wealth of young talent coming through the ranks.
Mulvihill added: “It is a great honour and privilege to be appointed Head Coach of Cardiff Blues for the next three seasons. I see it as not only as great challenge but as a huge opportunity to re-energise a region with awesome potential to be the best in Wales.
“A new beginning brings fresh ideas and a new approach that will assist the playing group to reach their full potential both as individuals and as a collective group.
“It is an exciting time for the club with other new coaches and players to be announced in due course.
“I can assure the supporters that both Cardiff Blues and the WRU carried out an extensive interviewing process and I fully understand the importance and responsibility that the position carries with it.
“Hard work, commitment and dedication are not negotiable in our game, add to this passion, fun and excitement and young men can achieve unlimited success.
“I am aware the team is still alive in a number of competitions and at this time would like to make sure the focus is still on their preparation and continued success.
“I would like to wish Danny Wilson, his staff and the players the very best of luck for the remainder of the season and I am sure that they will work hard to achieve the goals that they have set themselves as a group.”
Comments on RugbyPass
An on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
10 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
1 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusades , you can keep going.
1 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
24 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
24 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
24 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
24 Go to commentsHaving overseas possessions in 2024 is absurd. These Frenchies should have to give the New Caledonians their freedom.
21 Go to commentsBell injured his foot didn’t he? Bring Tupou in he’ll deliver when it counts. Agree mostly but I would switch in the Reds number 8 Harry Wilson for Swinton and move Rob Valentini to 6 instead. Wilson is a clever player who reads the play, you can’t outmuscle the AB’s and Springboks, if you have any chance it’s by playing clever. Same goes for Paisami, he’s a little guy who doesn’t really trouble the likes of De Allende and Jordie Barrett. I’d rather play Carter Gordon at 12 and put Michael Lynagh’s boy at 10. That way you get a BMT type goalkicker at 10 and a playmaker at 12. Anyways, just my two cents as a Bok supporter.
14 Go to commentsThanks Brett, love your articles which are alway pertinent. It’s a difficult topic trying to have a panel adjudicating consistently penalties for red card issues. Many of the mitigating reasons raised are judged subjectively, hence the different outcomes. How to take away subjective opinions?
10 Go to commentsYes Sir! Surprising, just like Fraser would also have escaped sanction if he was a few inches lower, even if it was by accident that he missed! Has there really been talk about those sanctions or is this just sensational journalism? I stopped reading, so might have missed any notations.
10 Go to commentsAI is only as good as the information put in, the nuances of the sport, what you see out the corner of the eye, how you sum up in a split second the situation, yes the AI is a tool but will not help win games, more likely contribute to a loss, Rugby Players are not robots, all AI can do if offer a solution not the solution. AI will effect many sports, help train better golfers etc.
45 Go to comments