Prebbleton aim to go one better under new head coach

New Prebbleton head coach Simon Fitzgerald says the team will focus on having fun and enjoying themselves. Photo: Supplied

Covid might have delayed Simon Fitzgerald taking the reins as Prebbleton head coach, but it is now full steam ahead to get the club to its first Ellesmere senior rugby championship since 1974.

Fitzgerald, who is from Belfast in Northern Ireland, was due at the club in 2020, but lockdowns got in the way of his travel plans.

He arrived in September last year, taking up the role of Prebbleton’s director of rugby, which he will now combine with head coach of the division 1 side.

“I have coached in a lot of places, but never been this excited for a rugby season before,” he said.

Prebbleton have won the coveted Coleman Shield just twice in its 104-year history, the last time in 1974.

However, the team came close last year, with a heartbreaking one-point loss to Darfield. While in 2021, they went down to Southbridge 28-24 in the final.

Fitzgerald is the only head coaching change for Ellesmere’s division 1 teams in 2023, but many teams have other coaching changes.

Coleman Shield winners, Darfield, have Mervyn Todd leading the team again, while Waihora, Southbridge and Hornby have largely unchanged coaching teams.

This will be Fitzgerald’s first coaching job in the Southern Hemisphere.

“New Zealand has been on the radar for quite some time, so it’s great to finally be here,” he said.

After he stopped playing rugby around age 20 due to injury, Fitzgerald “fell” into coaching with his local club at the time.

Fast-forward 10 years, he has coached across the world - including the Netherlands and Canada under-20s - and has been director of rugby at several clubs.

This season Prebbleton also have some slight changes to their on-field leadership team, with last year’s co-captain Cam Hay in the United Kingdom.

Lock Tom Brand has been confirmed as captain after sharing the role with Hay last year.

Prebbleton’s preseason training programme kicked off last week, which was Fitzgerald’s first opportunity to lead a combined group of the club’s senior players.

“I just want to give our amateur players the freedom to express themselves while playing,” he said.

“We’re taking a different way than before, based on feedback I’ve heard, with different ways of looking at things.”

“We’re not the All Blacks, we’re not the Crusaders, I just want our players to have a place ... to enjoy themselves and have fun,” he said of his coaching focus.

Fitzgerald was also impressed with the environment surrounding the players at Prebbleton.

“I’ve been pretty blown away by the committed volunteer base at Prebbleton - there are some amazing people and I don’t think volunteers are credited enough.”

Fitzgerald takes over the head coach role from Dave Kettles who is no longer coaching due to other commitments.

2023 Division 1 coaches: