Jeff Wilson quits Otago
Mon, 26 Nov 2007 09:44
All Black wing Jeff Wilson stepped down as the Director of Rugby at the Otago Rugby Football Union (OFRU) on Monday after an 18-month stint, saying he wished to pursue a career in coaching. Wilson, who cited his desire to coach at the highest level as his major reason for stepping down, said that while he had enjoyed his time back in Dunedin and the opportunities he had been given, he needed to develop his coaching ability. "I intend to do more coaching with the international rugby academy in Wellington and to sit for the necessary New Zealand Rugby Union coaching certificates with the ultimate aim of coaching to the highest level I can reach," he said. "None of that would have been possible while fully employed in Dunedin." With his wife, New Zealand netball captain Adine Wilson, announcing that she was three-months pregnant after the World Netball Championships earlier this month, parenthood also figured in the dual international's decision - Wilson also played cricket for New Zealand. Their first child is due in May. "Adine and I will move back to our farm south of Christchurch and it will give us time together as a family," Wilson said. "However, as I said when I retired from playing and moved to Canterbury, I will always regard myself as an Otago rugby man." ORFU chief executive, Richard Reid, said that he fully understood and supported Wilson's aspirations, adding that there were no plans to appoint a replacement.
