Mike Anthony appointed Head of High Performance for New Zealand Rugby

Apr 17 • General News, International • 1490 Views • Comments Off on Mike Anthony appointed Head of High Performance for New Zealand Rugby

The man responsible for identifying and developing emerging rugby talent for the past eight years, 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.

MIKE ANTHONY BIO
Anthony began his professional career in Christchurch working as Strength and Conditioning Coach for both Canterbury and Crusaders. He then worked with the All Blacks and New Zealand Sevens programmes followed by four years with Gloucester Rugby in England. Anthony returned to New Zealand Rugby in 2008 as High Performance Sports Science Manager before taking on the High Performance Player Development Manager role in 2011. During this time Anthony has managed the player pathway, led the New Zealand Under 20 and NZ Schools campaigns and worked closely with the All Blacks in a strength and conditioning capacity.