Alama Ieremia has been appointed as the new Head Coach of the New Zealand Post Wellington Rugby Academy.

The 37-year-old former All Black will act as head coach for both the Wellington Development XV and one of Wellington’s representative sides in 2008, in addition to taking charge of the Wellington XV, for which his assistant coach will be Jamie Joseph. He will also be responsible for coaching the players who are contracted to Wellington and do not have Rebel Sport Super 14 contracts.

Wellington Rugby CEO Greg Peters was thrilled with this new appointment:
 
“Alama is one of the brightest young coaches in the game,” he said. “He has made great strides this year and we see this new position as another important step in his coach development.

“This is a critical role for us, and we have been searching for a suitable person to fulfil it for the last three years. Alama is the ideal coach to help develop the next generation of Wellington players into Hurricanes and ultimately All Blacks.”

Ieremia was delighted with this new challenge:

“I’m excited by this new role and look forward to the challenge,” he said. “This is a fantastic opportunity for me to continue to learn my craft as a coach, working with some young promising players who have great potential. Developing their skills and instilling a strong mental attitude will be very important.

“When I came back from Japan, it was important for me to develop as a coach. There is a lot of young talent coming through the Wellington system, and it will be my job to add `value` at this crucial stage. I see that as an important part for my development as a coach as well”

“I’ve learnt a great deal this year from Aussie and Jamie, while working with the Vodafone Wellington Lions, and now I have the opportunity to put some of those methods and ideas into practice.”