Jono Gibbes named as new Waikato Mitre 10 Cup coach

Former Waikato captain Jono Gibbes has been appointed as the new head coach of Waikato for the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup.

Gibbes, 41, will return to New Zealand at the conclusion of the PRO 14 season in Europe, where he is currently the head coach of Ulster.

Gibbes moved to Europe in 2008 when appointed as the forwards' coach of Leinster. During his time there, he helped coach the side to three Heineken Cup titles.

In 2014 Gibbes joined the coaching team at French side Clermont Auvergne, helping to guide them to a Top 14 title in 2017 before returning to Ireland to become head coach of Ulster.

Gibbes takes over from Sean Botherway, who had one year to run on his contract but paid the price for Waikato being relegated from the top flight of the NPC last year for the first time in more than 20 years.

Waikato's relegation from the Mitre 10 Cup premiership prompted the Waikato Rugby Union (WRU) late last year to conduct a thorough independent review to "re-evaluate the organisation's high performance rugby from the board downwards".