Mike Anthony appointed Head of High Performance for New Zealand Rugby

New Zealand Rugby have today confirmed that Mike Anthony has been appointed New Zealand Rugby’s new Head of High Performance.

In announcing the appointment today, New Zealand Rugby Chief Rugby Officer Nigel Cass said Anthony’s work in leading player development including the New Zealand Under 20 and New Zealand Schools programmes had established an excellent pathway into higher honours.

“Mike has been instrumental in leading the work behind developing future All Blacks and his reputation in working with all our Super Rugby clubs and provincial unions sets him up well to continue that.

“As a trusted member of the wider All Blacks management group, he has been able to form a useful link between the age group programmes and elite teams and has been responsible for managing the transition of players through to the professional game.

“We congratulate Mike and we are excited about his ability to bring real cohesion and coordination across all our High Performance programmes,” Cass said.

Anthony brings 24 years’ experience working in rugby across a range of successful high performance sporting environments both within elite teams and leading high performance programmes.

“I am excited about the challenge ahead, building on NZ Rugby’s proud legacy. My focus will be on building on our existing systems to identify and develop players, coaches and support staff and ensuring our teams continue to stay ahead of the opposition and sustain success on the world stage.