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Leinster recruit former Munster fly-half Tyler Bleyendaal
By Josh Raisey
Former Munster fly-half Tyler Bleyendaal has agreed to join Leinster’s coaching staff for the 2024/25 season.
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The 33-year-old played 62 games for Leinster’s arch-rivals Munster before a neck injury forced him into an early retirement in 2020.
He has worked as an assistant coach at Super Rugby Pacific leaders Hurricanes in his native New Zealand since retiring, and also served under Toutai Kefu with Tonga at the World Cup last year.
The former New Zealand U20 No10 will fill the void left by Andrew Goodman in the Leinster coaching team, who will join Andy Farrell’s Ireland coaching set-up at the end of the season. Goodman is replacing backs coach Mike Catt, who will leave his role after Ireland’s tour of South Africa in July.
Bleyendaal will be followed by Hurricanes centre Jordie Barrett to Dublin, who will make the move to the United Rugby Championship in December.
“I’d like to thank Hurricanes CEO Avan Lee, Clark and the coaching team as well as all of the players and staff involved at the Hurricanes for a brilliant few years,” Bleyendaal said to leinsterrugby.ie.
“I am very grateful for the opportunity they gave me as a young coach and the experiences we have shared together since then.
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“The opportunity to test myself in another environment and in another competition was one that I was very keen to explore, and I am equally grateful to Leo Cullen for the chance to continue my growth as a coach. I am looking forward to joining Leinster Rugby ahead of next season and my family and I are very excited for the adventure ahead in a country that we hold dear.”
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen added: “With Andrew taking up a position with the Ireland coaching group, we’ve had an opportunity not only to look at our own coaching structures here at Leinster but also to talk to a number of other coaches. Having gone through that process, we believe we are getting a really smart rugby mind in Tyler Bleyendaal.
“Tyler has been with the Hurricanes for the last few seasons and has been steadily growing as a coach – you can see that in the way they’re playing now, not just their results but specifically in terms of some of the stats around their attack.
“He’s someone who knows Ireland well and understands the rugby landscape here which is important, but ultimately, we are keen for him add to our environment and for us to learn from him, which is our approach with all new coaches.
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“We wish Tyler well for the rest of the Super Rugby season and look forward to welcoming him and his family to Leinster during the summer.”
