Latta, who played 161 games for Otago from 1986-96, is co-coach of the Otago women’s sevens team.
Latta said he was excited about the new opportunity and to get back into a game he had always enjoyed.
A South Otago combination will help coach and manage the team.Latta, a builder in South Otago, will team up with Mike Moeahu, who has been involved with the Otago sevens side for a good few years.
Moeahu, who lives in Milton, was looking to scale back his involvement as he had other commitments but would stay on with Latta.
Neville Muir, from Balclutha, will be the manager.
A sevens series is being run for eight teams at Logan Park over the next month and Latta was really encouraged by how many had turned up and showed interest.
"Sevens is a big plus for women’s rugby.
"It is really evolving as a sport and to me is a sport which can be played by everybody," he said.
"Sevens is a lot easier to play and do than 15s.
"Then you’ve got the likes of 10s which is starting to evolve. It can be a real spectacle. You get a bit more space."
Latta said he played sevens for Otago but it was completely different now and a lot more attention was given to it.
He said he enjoyed coaching women, and many were looking to get involved from other sports.
"It’s probably easier than men, to be honest. They’ve got no agendas.
"I’m not complaining about male players but the women are just real sponges. Just lap up the information."
The Otago team is focused on the South Island regional tournament which is set for Timaru on the last weekend of November.
There were likely to be a couple of warm-up tournaments before that and Latta said plans were to name an extended squad initially which would be trimmed down.
The national championships are in mid January in Rotorua and Otago will hope to qualify again, as it has in the past few years.
Latta’s daughter Mikayla played sevens and has represented Otago but Latta senior said his daughter would get no special treatment.
The former hooker coached Otago in 2010 with Phil Mooney and said he has been helping out around clubs in South Otago since, a role that he really enjoyed.
He has had two knee replacements in the past 18 months and has been concentrating on getting back to full fitness.