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Wasps confirm new deals for Blackett and four senior coaches
Wasps have announced that head coach Lee Blackett and his four senior coaches have all signed contract extensions with the club. Defence coach Ian Costello, forwards coach Richard Blaze, assistant coach Martin Gleeson and transition, skills and breakdown coach Matt Everard have all committed to the new deals ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.
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Blackett was promoted to Wasps interim head coach in February 2020 and was given the role full-time in April. The 37-year-old has 12 wins from his 15 games in charge so far and led the club to the 2019/20 Premiership Final, where they were beaten by Exeter Chiefs.
The former Leeds Carnegie player joined Wasps as backs coach ahead of the 2015/16 season from Championship club Rotherham Titans where he had been the youngest head coach in English rugby’s top two flights for the previous two seasons.
Former Nottingham head coach Costello joined Wasps ahead of the 2018/19 season as defence coach. Costello helped Wasps to concede the second fewest points and third fewest tries in the Premiership since the lockdown break in the 2019/20 season.
Former Leicester Tigers player and coach Richard Blaze is the newest recruit to the Wasps coaching team, having joined the Club during the unplanned break in the 2019/20 season.
Burns was out-half on the England team which won the Junior World Championship in 2014.https://t.co/V5mSHDigK6
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 16, 2020
Meanwhile Gleeson made the switch to Wasps from coaching in Rugby League with Salford ahead of the 2019/20 season.
Blaze and Gleeson played vital roles last campaign in helping take the Black and Golds to the Premiership Final, with the team scoring the most points in the Premiership in the process.
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Former Wasps player Everard retired from the game in 2017 to join as academy coach and was promoted to his current role ahead of the 2019/20 season.
Blackett said: “I am delighted to have agreed a new contract with the Club and that we will continue working together as a coaching team for the foreseeable future.
The people of Leicestershire have spoken and they're pure savage…https://t.co/6mKrvKg3Q7
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) November 16, 2020
“These have been challenging times for everybody, and I’m really proud of the way that the coaches and staff have stepped up during this period. We are working hard to develop a brand of winning rugby that gets supporters off their seats and having a nucleus of motivated and passionate coaches is key to achieving this.
“We showed glimpses of our true potential last season and it’s brilliant that we have been able to retain our coaching team so we have a strong base and can plan for the next few years with a level of certainty.
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“We are fully focused on preparing for the new season and fulfilling the potential this squad has.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Hi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
3 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
3 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to comments