Barbarians have injected some new blood into its coaching ranks as they endeavour to put an end to the Armidale Blues’ three-year stranglehold on the New England Rugby Union competition.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Rugby union nomad Tom Bower has been appointed head coach of first grade and will have three experienced assistants at his disposal for the 2016 season.
Bower will be assisted by 2015 head coach Sam Piddington, Nick Dooner and Gary Wallace.
“It’s a good mix,” Bower said.
“Sam and Nick will do a lot of the set piece and forward work. Gary will do strength and conditioning. And I’ll try to cover all bases a little bit and do work with the backs.”
Rugby has taken Bower across the globe.
After completing a teaching degree at UNE, he moved to Ireland to take on a development officer role with European rugby powerhouse Leinster and also played with Irish side Boyne.
After 12 months in the land of the leprechaun Bower moved to Germany to play for Berlin.
Bower returned to Australia to take on a development officer role with the Queensland Reds before moving back to Armidale in March of last year.
He immediately became involved with the Baa Baas, helping Dooner coach the second grade side.
With Piddington and Brett Monley looking to take a step back from first grade this year, Bower decided to throw his name in the mix for the role.
“I was happy to step up,” he said.
“I want to bring back a lot of the stuff I learnt from my days working with the Reds.
“It’s just going to be about finding what works and what doesn’t.”
Bower is expecting to have a strong squad at his disposal in 2016 with large numbers at pre-season training coupled with minimal loses from last season’s player group.
After watching the Blues lift the premiership shield three years in a row, Bower said the club has only one goal in mind for 2016.
“We want to win it,” he said.