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John Afoa to move into coaching role with Bristol

Bristol's John Afoa. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

Bristol Bears have announced that John Afoa will become the club’s new scrum coach. Afoa, 37, will take over from Alasdair Dickinson ahead of the 2021/22 season and will carry out the role alongside his playing commitments.

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Afoa recently signed a new one-year extension to his playing contract with the club.

Director of Rugby Pat Lam said: “Jonny has been planning and preparing for a few years to transition into coaching so I’m very pleased to add Jonny to our Coaching Team from next season.”

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“I first worked with Jonny back in 2004 and after playing over 450 first class games in both hemispheres, it’s fair to say he is hugely knowledgeable about the scrum and all its fine arts.

“Jonny is a massive leader, mentor and player for the Bears, and he has played a big part in driving our culture and performance on and off the field.

“He has the utmost respect from the players and management alike and I believe he will be an excellent addition to the coaching team and he’ll continue to add real value on and off the pitch.

“A big part of our culture is about growing our people from within. Jonny becomes the fourth member of our playing Leadership Group over the last four seasons to join the Management Team, following Nick Fenton-Wells as our Team Manager, Sam Jeffries as our Professional Development Manager and Jordan Crane as our Senior Transition Coach.”

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Afoa added: “This is an exciting step for me personally and I’m grateful to Pat for the opportunity. There’s a significant responsibility and it’s one that I’m relishing alongside representing the Bears on the field.

“We’ve developed a good reputation with our scrum so the impetus is on me to build on that and work with the guys to continue our growth in that area.”

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J
JW 47 minutes ago
Super Rugby is booming, but is it actually helping the All Blacks?

Theres still the problem of it all being behind doors, no consultation or notice of their decision to remove injury checks on the field, an attempt ambitious but which wholly had failed when it had to be removed half way through the competition. How may they have introduced that better if they had of consulted fans and teams? The new body still has a long way to go to be a real pro body like those mentioned.


I certainly hope they can show they can evaluate feedback and reintroduce the idea in an improved concept next year.

two hemispheres.

LOL are you a flat earther as well Gregor?

The average game length (excluding half-time) was 90 minutes and 11s, compared with 91 minutes and seven seconds in 2024.

This stat combined with the ridiculous amount of overtime played must mean theres more than 5minutes of rugby played in SR than any european competition. Incredible.

As an entertainment product, Super Rugby is starting to rebuild itself as one of the game’s hottest properties.

But what’s not clear yet, is whether it’s is going to deliver on its other goal: a competition with the necessary physical and competitive intensity to prepare New Zealand’s best players for what they will encounter in the international arena.

It has been since it’s formation. It was the second attempt and what the Aratipu report considered the best way forward for the game. Which was a move away from the orginal foundations of SR as being just a test ground for the respective National teams. It was time to make it a financially successful competition instead.

And this is the reality of picking an All Blacks squad in the Super Rugby Pacific era

It’s always been the reality even for Super Rugby, even if much less so for ALL other pro sports.

he was practically hinting to media they shouldn’t always be seduced by what they see in Super Rugby

Sititi was the form SR selection, it’s the only reason he made it in.

This year, there could again be a few surprises. Could Dalton Papali’i– a prominent force for the Blues – miss out to the rugged Simon Parker who has been a workhorse for the Chiefs, carrying with an impact his 1.96m, 117kg frame enables?

That would be selecting of form, not who you believe is best test suited.

but will it be the Highlanders’ Fabien Holland who wins a spot because he carted the ball up the middle of the field thanklessly and relentlessly

Yes hopefully, he’s been the stand out Lock this year.

or will the latter’s deft touches and smart kicking be preferred?

Depends on what the teams lacking.

is it mad to wonder whether the combative and defensively adept Finlay Christie is better equipped to play Test rugby

Yes, he’s been proven to not be good enough.

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