Rugby: Baby Blacks coaching stint excites Philpott

Craig Philpott, left.

Hawke's Bay Magpies rugby team's head coach Craig Philpott is the new assistant coach of the New Zealand Under-20 side.

Philpott replaces Counties-Manukau Steelers coach Tana Umaga following his appointment as the Blues head coach.

A former Canterbury lock, Philpott joins the coaching team headed by Canterbury coach Scott Robertson who took the Baby Blacks to World Cup glory in Italy in June.

"Craig will bring a massive amount of expertise with him to the coaching group," Robertson said.

"With his leadership and teaching skills along with his ability to get the best out of young players, he will be a huge asset to our programme."

An assistant coach of the New Zealand Barbarians team that beat the Maori All Blacks in July, Philpott, said his new role, which won't interfere with his ITM Cup commitments, will be a "massive challenge".

"Attempting to go back to back and in England. There will be some exciting players to work with too," Philpott said.

Magpies players Mason Emerson, Jonah Lowe and Hugh Renton, along with with Hawke's Bay Saracens player Mason Kean, are expected to attend the first camp of the 2016 campaign in Palmerston North in November.

"A lot of the talent from last year's New Zealand Secondary Schools team will also come into consideration," said Philpott, who sees the role as another step towards his goal of a Super Rugby coaching job.

"As current world champions, it's essential that we continue to raise the performance bar as other sides will certainly be doing so. I'm really looking forward to playing my part in helping the New Zealand Under-20s keep evolving their approach so we can stay ahead of the competition."