We are delighted to announce the appointment of Simon Kneebone as the new Head Coach for Easts Rugby.
Simon, is a highly experienced and sought after coach, developing his skills as a Head Coach and Director of Rugby within the Crusaders / Canterbury and New Zealand Rugby systems. He fulfilled the role of Head Coach at Christchurch Rugby Club, the oldest Club in New Zealand, for 5 successful years before taking on several roles in the Crusaders High Performance Academy and Canterbury Representative program, arguably the premier provisional system in world rugby.
His track record of success is very impressive He was Assistant Coach of the Seattle Seawolves winning the MLR title in 2018. He has also won National Titles with the NZ Māori U18 side, Canterbury (NZ) U19s and in the NZ National Farrah Parmer Cup(NPC). Simon has achieved several coaching qualifications, including World Rugby Level 3 Coaching accreditation, World Rugby Coach Educator and International Rugby Academy – Professional Advanced Coaching accreditation. Simon also represented Canterbury as a player from 1992 – 2002.
Simon’s experience, technical rugby knowledge and alignment with our core values makes him an outstanding choice to continue the growth of the Easts program, producing better people both on and off the field. The opportunity to bring a new set of skills and experience within the Canterbury and Crusader’s system will be a huge benefit to players and coaching staff and an exciting new chapter for the mighty Beasties.
