Australian Men's Sevens coach Andy Friend will not have his contract renewed, with Rugby Australia set to announce a new coach on Monday.
Friend was under pressure prior to the start of the 2017/18 season but he has guided Australia to a successful start to the World Series, breaking a six year World Series drought with a Cup win in Sydney and finishing third in Hamilton.
That has left the side in fourth on the overall ladder and as a genuine chance of claiming gold at the Commonwealth Games, which makes the decision a tad surprising.
Rugby Australia high performance manager Ben Whitaker thanked Friend for his work and said he hoped the outgoing coach would stay with the governing body in a new role.
"Andy is an incredibly experienced coach and he has done a first-class job in developing and implementing a quality professional program," Whitaker said.
"He has demonstrated a great ability to advance players, on and off the field and produce an outfit that is now capable of competing with any team in the world.
"The Men’s Sevens program has been through a generational change under Andy and the performances of the team have become more consistent and high level, highlighted by their first World Series tournament win in six years at the Sydney Sevens earlier this year.
"When Andy departs he will leave a significant legacy with the Men’s Sevens program and we have already opened discussions with Andy about transitioning into another role within the organisation.
"Importantly, Andy will continue to lead the team into the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games next month with a goal of winning gold on home soil."
Friend's replacement will be announced Monday.
