Another Ranfurly Shield-winning Stag enters coaching game
Robbie Robinson had a stint last year playing for Martinborough in the Wairarapa Bush club competition last year before now eyeing up a shot at coaching with Manawatu.
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Southland’s 2009 Ranfurly Shield-winning hero Robbie Robinson has entered the coaching ranks.
The Manawatu Turbos have confirmed Robinson will join them as an assistant coach for the 2024 NPC season.
Robinson and has joined another former Chiefs Super Rugby player Hayden Triggs in the Manawatu coaching setup under head coach Mike Rogers.
Robinson will look after the Manawatu Turbo’s attack this year.
The 34-year-old carved out an impressive professional playing career after leaving Southland Boys’ High School in 2008 which included Super Rugby stints with the Highlanders and Chiefs before heading off to Japan.
Robinson landed three penalties in 2009 to help Southland to a 9-3 victory over Canterbury and win the Ranfurly Shield for the first time in 50 years.
Robinson returned to his rugby roots in 2022 in what was a swansong with the Stags in the NPC.
He has since made the move north to Martinborough with his family where Robinson has been working in the building industry.
He did have a stint last year playing for Martinborough in the Wairarapa Bush club competition last year before now eyeing up a shot at coaching with Manawatu.
Robinson has joined the ever-growing wave of new coaches who were once part of the 2009, 2010, 2011 Southland Stags Ranfurly Shield teams.
James Wilson and David Hall coached the Stags last year, while Matt Saunders is Rugby Southland’s director of rugby.
Scott Eade is Rugby Southland’s academy manager and is a coach on the rise, while Jason Kawau has previously been an assistant coach with the Stags.
Jamie Mackintosh is an assistant coach at the Hurricanes, while Kendrick Lynn has joined the Highlanders as an assistant coach after a successful stint playing and coaching in France.
Jason Rutledge is still playing club rugby, but he too is part of Rugby Southland’s high-performance coaching setup.
Brayden Mitchell has this year taken up the head coaching role with Star for the 2024 Southland club season.
Another former Stag John Hardie is in Scotland and has taken on a job as a defensive and collision coach with Herriot’s Rugby Club in Scotland.
Herriot’s Rugby Club plays in the Scottish Super Series which is a six-team competition involving part-time players and full-time coaches.
Meanwhile, the 2024 NPC draw is scheduled to be released on Wednesday.