The Melbourne Rebels have pulled off a major addition to their coaching staff, recruiting Tim Sampson as attack coach for the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season.
Sampson heads to Victoria after five years at the Western Force, helping the club to its inaugural finals appearance in 2021 after their return to Super Rugby.
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He replaces Ryan Martin, who heads to Toyota Verblitz in Japan as assistant to former Otago coach Ben Herring.
Ironically, Herring fills the role left by Simon Cron, the man brought in to replace Sampson at the Force.
“I can’t speak more highly of the experience, IP, and expertise these three people will bring to these roles,” Melbourne Rebels CEO Baden Stephenson said in a statement.
“I know Tim will come in and compliment the core coaching group that returns from the 2022 season.
“It was a thorough process we worked through in collaboration with Rugby Australia’s High-Performance department to secure Tim, and we’d like to thank Matt Wilkie (National High-Performance Coach Development Manager) for his support in the appointment.
“Looking at the bigger picture for our code, we must keep smart, talented people in Australian Rugby, so we are excited to bring Tim to AAMI Park."
The Rebels also confirmed Katherine Rottier has been appointed as Head Physiotherapist, whilst Will Nicholson moves into the new Rugby Operations role.
Rottier returns to Australia after spending time with the Chiefs, NZ Men’s 7s and High Performance Sport New Zealand, whilst Nicholson slots in after spending time with Rugby Australia as National Competitions Manager along with serving as Match Manager at the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
“I’m also thrilled to be welcoming Katherine Rottier back to Australia as the Club's Head Physio, she brings a wealth of experience working with elite teams and athletes, and in particular, her Super Rugby experience was highly regarded. We also want to thank Kieran Cleary (Head of Wallabies Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation) and the Wallabies for their input in that process," Stephenson added.
“Finally, Will Nicholson is a name well-known to those in the Victorian Rugby community already. He has a great family connection and a great community connection to our Club as well as experience in high-performance environments, so we couldn’t think of a better person to look after our Rugby operations.”
