North Otago coach Jason Forrest was unsure about his future following the Heartland season, taking a break to spend time with his family and speak to the right people.
But being part of the New Zealand Heartland XV campaign as an observer-coach last month reinvigorated Forrest’s ambition for the top job.
"That’s when I decided to have another crack," Forrest said.
Forrest has been reappointed for his sixth season as Old Golds head coach, following an interview with an independent panel after North Otago elected to advertise the role.
He was "hugely excited" to return, wanting to focus on more family and community engagement, but admitted there would be some changes in his approach next season.
"We’re going to be a bit more hard-nosed around things.
"We just want [players] that want to wear the jersey . . . fully committed to making the top four, and getting the Meads Cup back."
The Old Golds have finished fifth the past two seasons, losing both their Lochore Cup semifinals and dropping out far earlier than they should have.
"For me, a successful season is making that top four.
"We had some ups and downs this year — some real big ups and some real big downs as well."
Forrest will also return to his roots next season, coaching Excelsior, the club for which he played over 100 games and coached previously, for the Citizens Shield.
The North Otago board agreed it was in the region’s best interests to have their top coaches involved at club level, allowing Forrest to coach Blues and Heartland.
Returning to club coaching is already giving Forrest the same "buzz" as when he coached Maheno in 2019, when that club won the shield and the Old Golds won the Meads Cup in his first year in charge.
He would be able to build deeper player relationships throughout the season for one-on-one discussions and have his hand on the pulse of the local players more, he said.
"It doesn’t matter that they play for another club. It’s about those players being better and having the tools to be able to do that."
North Otago chief executive Colin Jackson was pleased at Forrest’s appointment.
He was satisfied the union underwent a thorough process, an independent board interviewing four "extremely good" candidates before deeming Forrest was the right choice.
Ralph Darling will continue as assistant coach, focusing on the forwards, while Marty McAtamney will join them as the new manager.
Barry Matthews has been appointed North Otago director of coaching, a new role to support all representative coaches from Heartland, development squads and age groups.
Matthews, who previously coached North Otago and South Canterbury, will be a mentor and resource for the region.
"Barry has such an incredible coaching knowledge, and across our representative coaches, they’ll now have the opportunity [to] tap into Barry’s rugby brain," Jackson said.
"He’ll be there as a coaching resource."
As well as Forrest, Matthews (Valley), Darling (Old Boys) and McAtamney (Maheno) have been involved in club rugby for years.
"We hope that the hard work that they’ll put in at club rugby level will go right through [and] be positive for Heartland," Jackson said.
Jackson was excited to see what next year would bring.
"We just missed out on the top four.
"We were the only union that got really close to South Canterbury on the field, so we know we’re not far away."
