Jed Holloway answers Stephen Larkham’s call to join Munster on short-term deal
While the Waratahs edge closer to finalising a new head coach for next season, NSW backrower Jed Holloway has jumped at the chance to secure a short-term deal in Ireland.
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Waratahs backrower Jed Holloway has answered an SOS call from Wallaby legend Stephen Larkham to play club rugby in Ireland during the World Cup.
Larkham, who has signed as an assistant coach at Pro14 side Munster, needed some spare backrowers while his team’s Irish internationals are away in Japan so rang Holloway out of the blue and asked if he’d be interested in a two-month deal.
“It all happened very quickly, in the space of a week, but I’m aiming to head over there next Saturday and will be there until the end of November,” Holloway told The Daily Telegraph.
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“Everyone I’ve talked to says Munster is world class, especially around set piece, so it’ll be a whole new perspective around footy for me.
“I’ve played all my professional rugby at the Waratahs so an opportunity like this will open my eyes up to a few new things and the Waratahs were really supportive.”
The Waratahs are still finalising their coaching and playing roster for 2020 but time is running out with the next Super Rugby season starting in late January, and trial matches scheduled for the middle of the month.
NSW’s Wallaby players won’t be eligible to resume training until the first week of January while the rest of the squad won’t start until late November because they need to take a break after the National Rugby Championships ends.
The Waratahs have already re-signed most of their current squad and all their Junior Wallabies who played for Australia at the unders-20s World Cup but are waiting on the appointment of the next head coach, believed to be Rob Penney or Damien Hill, before filling some specialist senior roles.
“The biggest thing we’re waiting on right now is finalising our head coach so he can make those finals calls on some key positions,” NSW Rugby general manager Tim Rapp said at Wollongong’s WIN Stadium, where the Waratahs will host the Chiefs next season.
“Obviously we’ve got a real focus on our tighthead prop spot with Sekope Kepu leaving and we’re also looking at adding some bulk in our locks.
“And obviously with the likes of Israel (Folau) and Taqele (Naiyaravoro) gone, we need to add some spark to score more tries but we want to give the opportunity to the new coach to make those calls.”