Otago Head Coach Mark Brown has confirmed his coaching team for the Bunnings Warehouse 2025 NPC season. Assistant coaches, Ryan Bambry and Will Henry, will return to build upon the foundation established with the 2024 team, which finished with a record of 5 wins and 5 losses, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the finals series.

Brown said, "Having Ryan and Will on board again will ensure that the foundations and continuity from last year’s campaign are maintained. Feedback from the playing group was extremely positive regarding the impact they both had, and I have personally observed their expertise and readiness for the season ahead."
Rejoining Otago Rugby is Lee Allan, who returns to the coaching group in the Defence role, having been involved previously in the 2019/20 NPC seasons. Having also played 34 games for Otago Allan has remained a strong connection to rugby and, in recent seasons, has been supporting the Big River Country women’s team and coaching staff. Allan expressed his enthusiasm for returning to coaching in a team and region he loves: "I was thrilled when Mark discussed his plans for the 2025 season, and I am itching to get started. I visited a few times last season and was very impressed with the mindset and application the team showed in their defence. I am excited to build on that this season."

The final addition to the coaching team is Mitchell Scott, who will assist the team in a voluntary part time skills enhancement role. Scott played 33 times for Otago following his debut in 2016 and has recently transitioned into coaching, working at Premier level with the Taieri Eels alongside Jason Macdonald and Kurt Hammer, and also is currently coaching the Otago Boys High School 1st XV side.

The 2025 Otago NPC squad assembles full-time on Monday the 7th of July and the Bunnings Warehouse NPC kicks off Friday 1 August 2025, with Otago taking on Southland in Round 1 in Invercargill KO 4:35pm.

For any further questions, please contact Richard Kinley richard.kinley@orfu.co.nz

Article added: Tuesday 24 June 2025