We are very pleased to announce the 2020 College Rifles Premier Team Coaching Group for 2020

Mani Toailoa: Head Coach  

Mani steps up from the Assistant Coach role in 2019 to take the reigns and to drive the team toward success in 2020.  Mani brings considerable experience from a playing and coaching background and has been involved with many ARU Representative Teams through the years and has continued to develop and progress up the grades.

Known to have a physical presence on the field as a player, intensity is something he brings to the table as a coach, while also being very highly regarded & respected by the players he works with.

Ngapaku Ngapaku: Defence Coach

Ngapaku has been with the Rifles Premier team for the last 2 years and knows the club and our players well and has worked tirelessly for success and development on and off the field. Puks has been involved with many ARU Representative Teams and is now a coach with strong coaching skills. He will continue to work to grow our player group and he brings his enthusiasm and energy into helping the team towards achieving its goals in 2020.

Josh Loughnan: Skills / Kicking / Kick Offs / Exit Strategy / Counter Attack / Contact

Long time Coach, sometimes player and overall College Rifles stalwart, Josh has been a 2x consecutive Premier Development Championship coach (2018 & 2019) who has also tasted Championship success with our Women’s & Under 20’s over recent seasons.  Josh brings passion, enthusiasm and a pursuit towards excellence in his coaching and works tirelessly in the Club and his thirst for championship success will hopefully rub off on our Premier Team in 2020.

Filipo Levi: Forwards Coach

With an extensive playing background which has taken Filipo around the world, the former Manu Samoa International, Highlander, Otago, Tasman Mako, Ricoh (Japan), Newcastle (UK), Nottingham (UK), Ospreys (UK) has taken the knowledge he has gained from a range of coaches and works to assist the growth of others now as a coach.  Having worked as a Resource Coach in 2019 with many of the Senior teams at College Rifles, Filipo is keen to re-vitalise our forward pack and will bring some hustle & bustle to our team and play with some of the power and impact that Filipo developed as a player over many years.

Chad Hopa Attack Coach

Chad was a coach of our Rifles Premier Development winning team in 2019 and with this team he provided some excellent detail, technical expertise and excitement to the attack which continued to grow and thrive under his tutelage.  Chad has also coached many ARU Rep Teams and has continued to improve his coaching pedigree and his demand of excellence and rapport with players will assist us towards playing some champagne rugby in attack in 2020.

College Rifles General Manager Bevan Cadwallader noted. “After an extensive process to review our 2019 season, we have gone through an application process at the end of the 2019 season and have refreshed our coaching team, provided our players with coaches who will own their respective roles, provide the detail, energy and direction needed to surge towards our goal of being Gallaher Shield contenders in 2020. We have a group of capable and enthusiastic coaches who are good men and are aligned to work together along with their Godfather - Manager Tim Hyde-Smith to create an inclusive environment where we aim to be very competitive and ambitious as well as focused on player development and team success”.

Article added: Monday 23 December 2019