Anscombe lands Ulster job

FORMER AUCKLAND mentor Mark Anscombe has been named as Ulster’s new coach.

Anscombe, who was dumped as Auckland coach last year, has signed a two-year contract with the Irish province.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on Ulster for a while now and I’m very impressed with the plans and what’s happening at Ulster rugby and I’ve very excited about the prospect at being involved in that,” says Anscombe.

“It goes without saying that the job will present me with an exciting challenge. Ulster have been developing over the past few years, they’ve had some new players come in to strengthen the squad so the foundations are there, but there’s a lot of work to be done in terms of moving on to the next stage and that will be a challenge for me and for all of us.”

Ulster director of rugby David Humphreys says Anscombe, who coached last year’s New Zealand Under 20 side to Junior World Championship glory, has the experience, ability and knowledge to build on the success the club has experienced in the last two years.

“We were all very impressed with Mark during the interview process, he know what it takes to get the best out of players and has an in-depth understanding of the game,” he says.

“He has strong leadership qualities and will challenge both the players and staff in ways some of them haven’t been challenged before.”

Anscombe will arrive in Belfast on June 1.