“The Chairman, Board, Nick Stiles, our coaching staff and myself are all delighted to welcome Brad Harris to the Melbourne Rebels at such an exciting time for our Club,” said Stephenson.
“Brad comes to Melbourne carrying a wealth of overseas coaching experience where he’s achieved great success including winning the NRC with the Drua in 2018, claiming Olympic Gold with the Fijian Sevens in 2021 and impressive campaigns with the Fijian Drua and Georgia Rugby Union.
“The Melbourne Rebels are thrilled and delighted to repatriate a highly skilled and successful Australian Rugby coach back home to Australia.
“Brad’s proven success in developing tough defensive strategies and his ability to cultivate a strong culture of discipline, resilience and hard work aligns perfectly with the environment we’re creating at the Melbourne Rebels and our game model of playing fast, fearless and resolute.
“With a Club record of 19 players selected across our 3 Australian men’s representative teams, world-class player signings, and now Brad Harris’ signature, the future’s looking bright in Melbourne. We can’t wait for the 2024 season to start.”
Brad Harris said he was grateful for the opportunity to return back to Australian Rugby and join a Club whose vision and values strongly aligned with his own.
“Throughout my discussions with the Rebels, I couldn’t have been more impressed by firstly the quality of people involved and secondly the aligned vision for the Melbourne Rebels,” said Harris.
“This is a team that I have watched closely over the past few seasons. I’ve seen first hand from an opposition perspective, the growth and development of the team.
“They were very unlucky last year, but next season, with the addition of some world-class players to the roster and the invaluable experiences the returning Wallabies will bring to the program, I believe the Club will be in a great position to challenge for finals and higher honours.
“I will be looking to build on that fantastic foundation already in place with the players and team. I am excited to connect with all stakeholders across the club and bring my passion and energy to help drive the club forward towards the forefront of Super Rugby Pacific.
“Melbourne is also a city that I have loved visiting over the past number of seasons and I can’t wait to immerse myself and my family into the culture, lifestyle and community on offer.”
Fijian Drua CEO, Mark Evans, expressed his gratitude for all of Brad’s hard work and success in his time with Fijian Rugby.
“Brad has done an outstanding job at the Drua and previously Fiji Rugby. We are sad to see him go, but completely understand the reasons behind his move. He will always be welcome back on the island and I know many of the players will miss his friendship and coaching skills.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Big empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
2 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
2 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
34 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn 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.
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