Former Otago prop new coach of Spirit

Scott Manson
Scott Manson
Scott Manson is set to take charge of the Otago Spirit.

The former Otago prop has been announced as the new head coach of the Farah Palmer Cup side.

He takes over from Kane Jury, who has moved on to be the Otago Mitre 10 Cup side's skills coach.

The Spirit is coming off a season of progress - in which it was edged 7-5 in the championship division final by Bay of Plenty - and Manson is keen to ensure Jury's work was continued.

''Obviously we'd like to go one better than last year and take out that championship final,'' Manson (30) said.

''So the planning's going into place for how we're going to do that.

''I caught up with Kane from last year and sat down and had a really good meeting about what went really well and what still needs development.

''Just try to keep that ball rolling from all the good work he's done.''

Having previously coached high school teams and been the set piece coach for the Otago under-19 team last year, he was excited about his first major coaching role.

Indeed it was not that long ago he was playing in the blue and gold, turning out for Otago 32 times between 2010 and 2015.

That experience would be useful in his coaching.

The skills he had picked up in his job as a teacher at Kaikorai Valley College would also be an advantage.

''I think I can bring a bit of expertise and knowledge from playing at a relatively high level.

''And I think for me being a teacher and being able to get what I want out of the girls and put that across and get the best out of them.''

Manson added that teaching experience would enable him to learn from the Mitre 10 Cup coaches and adapt things easily to make them work for the Spirit players.

He would be assisted by Karina Nafatali, who had plenty of experience coaching women's rugby.

That experience was something he was keen to tap into and he was looking forward to her input.

He will begin training interested players on Sunday, although he had an idea of what was around.

''There's some really talented girls, for sure.

''From what I've seen so far, and it must be quite common in women's rugby, we've got some really talented athletes from other sports that have transferred over.

''It's just about trying to utilise those transferable skills and develop the specific rugby skills that need developed as well.''

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