Josh Syms in one of his last visits to McLean Park last year. He's now off to Italy. Photo / NZME
A bombshell has been dropped on Hawke’s Bay rugby with the resignation of Magpies head coach Josh Syms just 12 weeks from the start of the 2023 National Provincial Championship.
But the Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union has gone for the seamless approach, with the appointment to the job of Brock James, deputy for the last year and acting head coach during Syms’ off-season stint with US Major League Rugby side Old Glory DC.
The announcement, made in a Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union media release, was embargoed until 6am today, with Syms still in the US and soon headed for a two-year stint with multi-nations United Rugby Championship side and Italian club Zebre.
Magpies successor James is possibly the first non-New Zealand appointment to the top job on the Hawke’s Bay Magpies’ coaching staff.
Originally from South Australia and a former Queensland Reds and Western Force Super Rugby player, he also had a significant history in international sevens.
Syms, a 42-year-old former coach of Wairarapa Bush in amateur rugby’s Heartland championship, has been on the HBRU payroll since he was appointed as technical adviser in late 2017, and became assistant to then-new head coach Mark Ozich.
He was appointed to the top job when Ozich headed for the Western Force in Australia at the end of 2021, and last year the union agreed to Syms having an off-season stint in the US with Old Glory DC, under a contract which ends in July.
His new team represents Italy in the URC, which also features professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa and Wales. Now in its second season, Zebre is out of contention for top honours this year, with the semifinals being played this weekend.
During Syms’ tenure in Hawke’s Bay, the Magpies held the Ranfurly Shield and won the Mitre 10 Cup Championship division and promotion to the Premier division in 2020, and alongside Ozich he transformed the Magpies into a competitive unit with a winning culture.
In the media release, Syms is quoted as saying: “The Hawke’s Bay Rugby Union took a punt and Oz (Mark Ozich) and I hope that we have returned that favour to them through the past 60-plus games.
“There have been so many memorable moments over the past six years, but I take the most satisfaction in the growth and promotion of so many local players going on to higher honours, both in Super Rugby and internationally.
“I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone in Hawke’s Bay, from the Union staff and club representatives to the public. Since moving here in 2017 we have had unconditional support and my family and feel like true Hawke’s Bay people now. We will certainly miss the Bay.”
HBRU chief executive Jay Campbell said: “While we are disappointed that Josh has decided to move on, especially just out from the start of the NPC, we do understand the international coaching market and that the offer was simply too compelling to turn down.
“Just as we see with the frequency of player movements, our best coaching talent now are also moving on or being moved on more regularly, which from my perspective is just part of the continued development of professional rugby.”
Syms departs having made some “significant improvements and professionalism, especially in the high-performance pathway which is now one of the best-performed in the NPC. We wish him, Ash and the family all the very best for their future endeavours,” Campbell said.
James will be assisted by current scrum coach and former Chile international Francisco Deformes, and in Syms’ absence in the last few months has been supported by four recent former Magpies in Premier club coaches Sam McNicol (Central), Ellery Wilson (Napier Old Boys Marist) and Jason Long (Hastings Rugby and Sports), and former All Black Bryn Evans.
“While there is no doubt Josh will be a loss,” Campbell said, “we are extremely happy with where we currently stand with regard to our planning for the campaign. Brock has been outstanding in the six months to date, while our investment in our young promising coaching talent means we have a couple of readymade replacements in some areas.”
Campbell said James, with about 15 years of coaching experience in Europe and Australia, has become well respected in his time in Hawke’s Bay.
A final decision on the full make-up of the Magpies coaching group for the upcoming NPC will be made over the coming month once ongoing discussions resume.
The Magpies’ first game in the 2023 Bunnings NPC is against North Harbour in Napier on August 5.
Syms’ departure is the second of an NPC coach in a fortnight. The Northland union on May 1 announced the departure of Marty Veale just five months after he was appointed successor to former Hawke’s Bay Magpies centre George Konia, who after three years in charge of the Taniwha, was heading back to Hawke’s Bay to also take up a role with the HBRU.