Stephen Hoiles, Darren Coleman defect to US Major League Rugby in further blow to Australia
Los Angeles have just signed two of Australia’s most promising rugby coaches to head to the USA. And now they’re ready to raid Super Rugby teams for players anxious about the domestic future.
Rugby
Don't miss out on the headlines from Rugby. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Lucrative overseas deals leave Rebels on tenterhooks
- Force may be with you, RA, but Twiggy wants change
It’s the new frontier for professional rugby, and the American competition has just lured former Wallaby Stephen Hoiles and club rugby coaching legend Darren Coleman to guide Los Angeles next season.
Hoiles will officially step down as assistant coach of Australia’s men’s Sevens rugby team in September, while Coleman will finish coaching Gordon in the Shute Shield in late October, before they take over the “LA Giltinis”, named after a martini cocktail brand and based in Venice Beach.
Rewind the clock and watch Super Rugby classics with Kayo. New to Kayo? Get your free trial and start streaming instantly >
Coleman will be head coach, assisted by Hoiles, for 2021 and 2022, and they’re already targeting Super Rugby stars from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.
With Australian rugby in a state of flux without a broadcast deal beyond this year, anxious players are seeking alternative competitions to earn their wages, and the United States has suddenly emerged as a genuine option alongside Europe and Japan.
“If they’re going to allow the Wallabies to play all over the world, then the American competition works with its timing during the February-June period, allowing players to play in the MLR then return for Test matches,” Hoiles said.
“In the four years it’s been around, there has been more interest growing in the league and higher quality players going there, we will see more of that, and not just high quality players at the back end of their careers but in their prime.
“It’s not just a place to go to retire any more.”
Hoiles was placed on JobKeeper by Rugby Australia two months ago, and with no guarantee he’d have a job to return to with the Sevens team, he told them he’s taking the offer to join the LA coaching staff.
“It was a very difficult decision, it was all planned so I would help the Sevens team during the Olympics in Tokyo this year, obviously that got postponed, I got put on JobKeeper and there wasn’t a lot of stability,” Hoiles said.
“It was tough to walk away from that commitment, but I had no guarantees of being there next year [at the postponed 2021 Olympics] so I’ve accepted the offer from LA and I’ll try to get over there by September.”
Coleman, a Shute Shield-winning coach who has also plied his trade in Ireland, Italy and Japan, said his motivation is different to most who have no ideas if their contracts will be honoured.
“I’ve been coaching for 20 years, had stints all around the world but never in the States, and that is an exciting challenge for me,” Coleman said.
“I put my hand up for various Super Rugby jobs and didn’t get them, I want to be coaching a professional team. I’m not moving because of COVID.
“I am really looking forward to finishing the season with Gordon and winning a premiership before I leave.”
Both Coleman and Hoiles believe the 13-team MLR – which has a cap of 10 foreigners in each match-day 23 – will begin to lure freakishly talented athletes who miss the cut for the NFL, like those who are now seen in the United States Sevens team.
But the talent drain from the southern hemisphere to the US will be vital for LA’s immediate success, chief executive of parent company Loyals Rugby, Matt Burgess, said.
“The rugby talent on and off the field in the Oceania region is unparalleled, and we absolutely intend to bring world’s best rugby talent to the world’s best sports market for many years to come,” Burgess said.
“Signing Darren and Stephen was a critical step to ensure we have access to the Oceania region’s incredible rugby talent both on and off the field.
“With them leading our rugby unit, Los Angeles goes a long way to being MLR champions in its inaugural year – and nothing short of the championship is the goal.”
Unlike most rugby tournaments, the MLR is not reliant on a singular broadcast deal, with each team able to sell their home match to local broadcasters.
Games are televised on CBS Sports Network, Fox Sports 2, ESPN+, Facebook Live (for international viewers) and on different platforms in each local market.
The LA Giltinis are in talks with the owners of the 78,000-seat LA Memorial Coliseum, recently upgraded with $US325 million grant, to play home games there from 2021.