Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

Ex-All Blacks hooker Dane Coles confirms new coaching gig

Former All Blacks hooker Dane Coles (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

The Wellington Lions have announced that former All Black Dane Coles will join as a spot coach for the 2024 Bunnings Warehouse NPC competition.

ADVERTISEMENT

Coles – who debuted for the Lions in 2007 and earned 71 caps – is a well-known figure in Wellington rugby.

Born and raised in the region, Coles has spent his entire domestic career with Poneke, the Lions, and the Hurricanes. The club say his addition to the coaching staff brings extensive experience and a deep connection to Wellington rugby.

Video Spacer

Rassie Erasmus on his touring squad plans

Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:46
Loaded: 0.00%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:46
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • captions off, selected
    • en (Main), selected
    Video Spacer

    Rassie Erasmus on his touring squad plans

    “Wellington has given me so much throughout my career, and for me to give back to the game and the Union that started it all is a no brainer really,” says Coles.

    “I’ve got some great memories with the Lions. My time in the black and yellow jersey is done, but I’m excited to direct my energy and efforts into coaching and hopefully giving back to the next generation of players.”

    Wellington Lions Head Coach Alando Soakai welcomed the new addition.

    “I first reached out to Colesy and asked whether he was keen to play. He mentioned coaching, and the rest is history.”

    “We know he’s got a lot of knowledge to pass onto the next generation of hookers, and we’re lucky to have him. For him to offer some of his time to us, is a testament to his incredible character, and his love for the Lions, the team that started it all.”

    ADVERTISEMENT

    WRFU CEO Tony Giles shared these sentiments, adding “We’re honoured that Colesy has offered up his time to move into a spot coaching role with us. The level of talent and mana that he’ll bring to the table is huge, and we’re excited to see what our coaching group will achieve this season.”

    The Wellington Lions will start their season against Auckland at Eden Park on Friday the 9th of August.

    Related

    ADVERTISEMENT

    Wolfhounds vs Gwalia | Celtic Challenge 2024/25 | Match Highlights

    Watch now: Lomu - The Lost Tapes

    O2 Inside Line: This Rose | Episode 2 | Ireland Week

    New Zealand vs Australia: Behind the Scenes with the Black Ferns Sevens Team | HSBC SVNS Embedded | E06

    O2 Inside Line: This Rose | Episode 1

    Argentina v Australia | HSBC SVNS Perth 2025 | Men's Final Match Highlights

    The Dupont Ploy: How France went from underdogs to Olympic gods | The Report

    Former rugby player is truly an NFL superstar | Walk the Talk | Jordan Mailata

    Boks Office | Episode 33 | Dupont's Toulouse Too Good

    Trending on RugbyPass

    Comments

    0 Comments
    Be the first to comment...

    Join free and tell us what you really think!

    Sign up for free
    ADVERTISEMENT

    Latest Features

    Comments on RugbyPass

    f
    fl 7 hours ago
    Steve Borthwick urged by predecessor to make radical Ben Earl decision

    1) I didn’t say he wasn’t good enough for Wales. I said he wasn’t good enough for England or SA, but that he would be good enough for Wales.


    2) I didn’t include the u20 games which Ojomoh and Atkinson played in. Ojomoh has played 69 senior professional matches for Bath, and a further 4 for the England under 20s. Atkinson has played 52 senior professional matches for Gloucester and 10 for Worcester. He has never been capped by England u20s.


    3) Ojomoh is pretty much a guaranteed starter. He started some games off the bench when he was returning from injury, but before the international break he had a run of 4 consecutive starts.


    4) Atkinson is absolutely a guaranteed starter. He’s been a starter in 47 of his 52 games for Gloucester. 1 minute off the bench counts as a pro game so is important to note that BJVR has his appearance stats inflated by a relatively large (compared to Atkinson) number of appearances when he was on the pitch for less than 5 minutes.


    5) It is genuinely impressive that you managed to get so many basic facts wrong in just one relatively short comment. It is a shame that you are not coming to this with an open mind, but to be clear no one is saying that BJVR is a bad player, but given there are good young English options, it makes more sense to develop them rather than expect a 29 year old (as he will be when he becomes eligible for England) to come into the team and immediately excel.

    13 Go to comments
    LONG READ
    LONG READ Jack Conan: A Lion longer in the tooth, but bearing his claws Jack Conan: A Lion longer in the tooth, but bearing his claws
    Search