{"id":1106807,"date":"2026-07-23T15:30:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T15:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1106807\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T15:30:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T15:30:17","slug":"rugby-transfers-bi-lions-hero-lands-full-time-coaching-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1106807\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby Transfers: B&I Lions hero lands full-time coaching role"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cardiff<\/a> and Gloucester have made key backroom staff appointments ahead of the upcoming United Rugby Championship (URC) and PREM seasons, while the Highlanders have bolstered their front-row ranks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are all the latest rugby rumours, transfers<\/a> and contract renewals.<\/p>\n

Leigh Halfpenny lands full-time coaching role following retirement<\/p>\n

British and Irish Lions and Wales<\/a> hero Leigh Halfpenny will remain at Cardiff Arms Park next season, joining Corniel van Zyl\u2019s staff as kicking coach.<\/p>\n

Halfpenny is no stranger to the coaches\u2019 office at Cardiff Arms Park, returning to the Welsh capital as a player-coach last season, but following his retirement will now take up a full-time position on the staff.<\/p>\n

The 37-year-old already boasts strong coaching experience, serving under both Matt Sherratt and Steve Tandy with the Wales Test side in the same capacity.<\/p>\n

Commenting on his new role, Halfpenny said: \u201cI am thrilled to join Cardiff on a full-time basis. It is a club that means a huge amount to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Arms Park as I continued my transition from player to coach last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a great group of players, who I enjoyed working with last season, and I believe I can add value to the group, while also helping the young players coming through.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a huge honour to work with Wales again this summer; I\u2019m extremely grateful for the opportunity and I\u2019m looking forward to bringing that experience back to the club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also commenting, Van Zyl added: \u201cI\u2019m really pleased that Leigh is joining the backroom staff as kicking coach.<\/p>\n

All Blacks: Sean Fitzpatrick reveals why Greatest Rivalry series victory over Springboks could be springboard for Rugby World Cup triumph<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is clear and evident from last year\u2019s work that all of our kickers improved. He is so professional and diligent in everything he does, so now moving into a full-time role, I am excited to see the impact he will have.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will work with all of our kickers from goal-kicking and touch kicking, etc., to our scrum-halves and their technique, but he will also work within the academy, which will be really beneficial for his growth and development as a coach.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has a great future as a coach and we are looking forward to welcoming him back to the Arms Park following another great experience with the national squad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Halfpenny will also work within the Cardiff academy set-up as a skills coach.<\/p>\n

Gloucester strengthen coaching ranks amid rebuild<\/p>\n

PREM<\/a> outfit Gloucester have appointed Ryan Bower as their new scrum coach for the 2026\/27 season, amid a major rebuild of George Skivington\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n

Bower, 35, is the latest fresh face to join the coaching ticket at Kingsholm, following Brett Deacon and Joel Tomkins to the club for the upcoming campaign.<\/p>\n

In addition to his new responsibilities with the Cherry and Whites senior side, he will continue to work at CHAMP side Hartpury RFC and scrum and breakdown coach, as well as his role within the Gloucester academy.<\/p>\n

His appointment also follows the exit of Trevor Woodman.<\/p>\n

Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n

Commenting on joining Gloucester, Bower said: \u201cI\u2019m delighted to be joining an exciting coaching group at Gloucester Rugby.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe scrum has long been a cornerstone of Gloucester Rugby\u2019s identity, so to be entrusted with playing a key role in that area is a real honour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to working alongside a talented group of players and coaches and can\u2019t wait to get started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gloucester head coach Skivington added: \u201cI\u2019m pleased to welcome Ryan to the coaching group. He is highly regarded in the Champ and has developed Hartpury\u2019s scrum into one of the competition\u2019s standout units.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hugely advantageous for us to have a specialist coach working across all levels of our pathway. Ryan will have regular contact time with all our best front row talent from the academy right through to senior, so we can ensure cohesion and consistency across the programme.<\/p>\n

\u201cStepping into the PREM environment presents an exciting challenge for Ryan, and we\u2019re delighted to add his wealth of knowledge and experience to the group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Highlanders bolster front-row depth in latest signing<\/p>\n

The Highlanders have added further depth to their front-row unit ahead of the 2027 Super Rugby Pacific campaign, with Ioane Moananu joining the New Zealand outfit on a two-year deal.<\/p>\n

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Moananu, 25, joins the Highlanders from fellow Super Rugby side the Waratahs, and has also represented the Crusaders in his career to date. Across his time in the Pacific competition, he has made 26 appearances and scored 13 tries.<\/p>\n

The hooker becomes the latest addition to Jamie Joseph\u2019s side for the upcoming season, joining the likes of Pat Pellegrini and Jermaine Ainsley to the club.<\/p>\n

Commenting on joining the Highlanders, Moananu said: \u201cI\u2019m really excited to be back playing in New Zealand. I\u2019m extremely grateful to the Highlanders for the opportunity and I\u2019m looking forward to getting stuck in and making a strong contribution to the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t wait to meet the guys, become part of the club, and embrace everything Dunedin and the South has to offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlaying indoors at Forsyth Barr Stadium in front of the Zoo is something special \u2013 Highlanders supporters create an amazing atmosphere and I can\u2019t wait to experience that again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Head coach Joseph added: \u201cIoane\u2019s journey shows his resilience and hunger to grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s performed well in two strong Super Rugby environments and we believe he\u2019ll thrive here.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis physicality, skill set and energy suit the Highlanders style and we\u2019re excited to see what he can do over the next two years.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Test power rankings: Springboks top the charts \u2018in every department\u2019 after \u2018sublime\u2019 Nations Championship while France \u2018set alarm bells ringing\u2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Cardiff and Gloucester have made key backroom staff appointments ahead of the upcoming United Rugby Championship (URC) and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1106808,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4102],"tags":[13416,126,5014,58932,225,12,6875,4151,79,10264,2357,16,15,4510],"class_list":["post-1106807","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-cardiff-rugby","tag-features","tag-gloucester","tag-highlanders","tag-home-page","tag-news","tag-premiership","tag-rugby","tag-sports","tag-super-rugby","tag-transfers","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-united-rugby-championship"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116970011266474099","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1106807","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1106807"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1106807\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1106808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1106807"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1106807"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1106807"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}