Rebels appoint Tony Thorpe as new Team Director

The Melbourne Rebels have lured former All Blacks manager Tony Thorpe across the Tasman to fill the club’s new Team Director role.

The appointment of the former New Zealand representative player and successful manager for the 2018 Super Rugby season is the first major coup for the Rebels following the announcement of new head coach David Wessels.

The newly established Team Director role will drive standards, discipline, travel and high-performance outcomes after an end of season review into the Rebels rugby program identified areas that required attention.

A Canterbury representative lock from 1982-1986, Thorpe joined the All Blacks in 2002 after three years as Team Manager with the Hurricanes underage programs.

Thorpe followed All Blacks assistant coach and former Canterbury teammate Robbie Deans to the Crusaders in 2004, where he played an integral part in establishing the club as Super Rugby’s most successful franchise. After three titles in his eight years at Crusaders, Thorpe first crossed the ditch to work for three years under former Springboks head coach Jake White as Team Director at the Brumbies in 2012.

Thorpe, a New Zealand underage and Sevens representative, most recently held the role as General Manager Rugby for the Fijian Rugby Union, where he was a part of the country’s historic Olympic gold medal Sevens program.