The Blues have appointed All Blacks performance analyst Alistair Rogers as their new assistant coach, the first surprise of Tana Umaga's fledgling reign at the franchise.
Rogers, a Welshman who has been with the All Blacks for seven years, will focus on defence at the Blues, joining incumbent forwards coachGlenn Moore.
A former professional player, Rogers has coached Ballina Rugby Club in Ireland and has had a stint as defence coach at Honda in Japan and a spell as Hurricanes assistant defence coach last year.
Umaga, who took over the head coaching role after Sir John Kirwan resigned in June, said attracting Rogers from the All Blacks was significant for the future development of the Blues.
"Alistair is at the forefront of development in a critically important part of the game at the highest level," Umaga said. "He is highly thought of by the All Blacks coaches and players alike and I'm absolutely thrilled he is coming to a fulltime coaching position with us."
Rogers said the time was right for a move to a fulltime coaching role.
"Over the last few years I have been growing my experience. I have had the fortune of working with some of the world's best coaches, helping me gain a great wealth of knowledge, not only about the game but about how a top performing team operates and in turn the high standards to which I hold myself," he said.
In his role at the All Blacks, Rogers was tasked with analysing opposition teams and reviewing the All Blacks' defence.
