Wasps confirm new deals for Blackett and four senior coaches

Wasps have announced that head coach Lee Blackett and his four senior coaches have all signed contract extensions with the club. Defence coach Ian Costello, forwards coach Richard Blaze, assistant coach Martin Gleeson and transition, skills and breakdown coach Matt Everard have all committed to the new deals ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.

Blackett was promoted to Wasps interim head coach in February 2020 and was given the role full-time in April. The 37-year-old has 12 wins from his 15 games in charge so far and led the club to the 2019/20 Premiership Final, where they were beaten by Exeter Chiefs.

The former Leeds Carnegie player joined Wasps as backs coach ahead of the 2015/16 season from Championship club Rotherham Titans where he had been the youngest head coach in English rugby’s top two flights for the previous two seasons.

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Former Nottingham head coach Costello joined Wasps ahead of the 2018/19 season as defence coach. Costello helped Wasps to concede the second fewest points and third fewest tries in the Premiership since the lockdown break in the 2019/20 season.

Former Leicester Tigers player and coach Richard Blaze is the newest recruit to the Wasps coaching team, having joined the Club during the unplanned break in the 2019/20 season.

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Meanwhile Gleeson made the switch to Wasps from coaching in Rugby League with Salford ahead of the 2019/20 season.

Blaze and Gleeson played vital roles last campaign in helping take the Black and Golds to the Premiership Final, with the team scoring the most points in the Premiership in the process.

Former Wasps player Everard retired from the game in 2017 to join as academy coach and was promoted to his current role ahead of the 2019/20 season.

Blackett said: “I am delighted to have agreed a new contract with the Club and that we will continue working together as a coaching team for the foreseeable future.

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“These have been challenging times for everybody, and I’m really proud of the way that the coaches and staff have stepped up during this period. We are working hard to develop a brand of winning rugby that gets supporters off their seats and having a nucleus of motivated and passionate coaches is key to achieving this.

“We showed glimpses of our true potential last season and it’s brilliant that we have been able to retain our coaching team so we have a strong base and can plan for the next few years with a level of certainty.

“We are fully focused on preparing for the new season and fulfilling the potential this squad has.”