Scarlets put a hefty price tag on head coach Brad Mooar as All Blacks come chasing
PRO14 side Scarlets are reduced to losing their head coach Brad Mooar to Ian Foster’s All Blacks coaching team, but the Welsh club won’t let their key man go unless New Zealand Rugby pay up big.
Mooar is believed to be one of four assistant coaches being pursued by new All Blacks head coach Foster, who has also targeted Hurricanes head coach John Plumtree, former Ireland scrum coach Greg Feek and current defence coach Scott McLeod.
However, WalesOnline reported on Tuesday that Scarlets have “put a price tag of around the £200,000 ($NZ400,000) mark” to grant Mooar a release two-and-a-half years early from his three-year deal to join the All Blacks.
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Although Scarlets don’t want to lose Mooar so early into his contract, WalesOnline noted that: “Power-brokers concede there’s no point attempting to hold on to the 45-year-old if he’s intent on accepting what may be a once in a lifetime approach to become a coach with the All Blacks”.
Mooar has previously said that he was humbled but “torn” by interest from the All Blacks, but was, in the meantime, committed to devoting his time to Scarlets’ efforts in the PRO14 and Champions Cup after guiding them to seven wins from his first 10 outings.
New Zealand Rugby has created an environment where people will be happy to see new All Blacks head coach Ian Foster fail, writes @HamishBidwell.https://t.co/HBDPv3g4OA
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) December 17, 2019
“The question has been asked, we are grown adults and are having responsible conversations and things will pan out,” he said.
The WalesOnline report also stated that the club have already started their search for a new head coach, which could be Mooar’s Kiwi assistant coach Glenn Delaney.
Delaney has head coach experience with English clubs London Irish and Nottingham as well as New Zealand provincial side Canterbury, and worked as an assistant coach to Aaron Mauger at the Highlanders prior to joining Mooar in Wales.
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