Bryan Redpath’s availability made all the difference – Rugby News Update
Bryan Redpath, the 40-year-old former Gloucester head coach and Scotland scrum-half who was appointed in a coaching capacity at Sale Sharks was not the first candidate to be offered the job.
Chief Executive of the Sharks, Steve Diamond, revealed that the job was offered to be another candidate before Redpath was considered for the position.
He told BBC North West Tonight, "Once I knew Bryan was available, I went back on that decision and offered him the role. Thankfully he took it up."
The former Scotland scrum-half was appointed Gloucester head coach in 2009, following the departure of Dean Ryan, under whom Redpath had joined as a backs coach in 2007. He made Gloucester a tough team to beat, and they slowly went up the ladder in the Aviva
Premiership, the top tier of rugby in England.
However, he resigned 6 weeks ago following a dismal run of games, which saw his team lose four consecutive games.
"Moving on is never easy," said Redpath. "To lose four league games as a Gloucester coach, certainly in the seven seasons I was there, it never happened.”
When he first resigned there were rumours that he would join the vacant position at Sale Sharks, and his club had threatened to pursue legal action if they found an approach had been made for their head coach by the Sharks.
Redpath believes that it is the right move for him, and he is looking forward to the challenges that await him next year, especially in the Heineken Cup. Sharks managed to bring the last Heineken Cup position via their league position.
"I'll get to know all of the players over the next three or four weeks," he added.
"The challenges lie there and we look forward to them. We won't be intimidated by potentially being in the top six and in the Heineken Cup."
Redpath was a respected scrum-half in his playing days for Scotland. He made his debut against New Zealand at Murrayfield, on November 20, 1993, and played his last international match against Australia at Brisbane, on November 8, 2003. He represented his
country a total of 60 times, starting 52 of those games, and coming on as a substitute 8 times.
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