Highlanders lose out again as Delaney the latest to decide his future is best served in Europe

Kiwi Glenn Delaney, the former London Irish player and assistant coach, will be back working in the UK by the end of the year as he has agreed to trade in a Super Rugby defence coach role at the Highlanders for a similar position with the PRO14 Scarlets. 

Born in Christchurch, Delaney had spells playing in Japan and in England and was part of London Irish’s Powergen Cup-winning squad in 2002, making 68 appearances for the club. He spent seven years as director of rugby at Nottingham before becoming Irish’s forwards coach, head coach and finally head of rugby operations.

Delaney returned to New Zealand to join Mitre 10 Cup side Canterbury in December 2016 and went on to lead the side to a ninth title in 10 years. He is in his second year with the Highlanders.

Delaney replaces Byron Hayward and will link up with incoming Scarlets head coach Brad Mooar in the summer once his Super Rugby commitments are over. “I am really looking forward to this opportunity at a big club who have great support and a pretty cool stadium," he said. 

“It is an exciting prospect to try and build on the previous foundations and look for long-term success for the Scarlets. I'm excited by the vision that has been put out and the way we are going to attack it. 

“Scarlets are a side with proven pedigree who have won a PRO12 title and competed at the top end of European rugby in recent years. The opportunity to build on that and move it forward is exciting for me.”

On the prospect of linking up with Mooar, who replaces Wayne Pivac as head coach ahead of the 2019-20 campaign, Delaney added: “We have known each other since school days in Christchurch, we go back a long way and Brad was coaching with the Crusaders while I was at Canterbury. I'm looking forward to linking up with Brad and being part of his vision for the Scarlets.”

Commenting on Delaney’s appointment, Scarlets general manager of rugby Jon Daniels said: “It is a real coup for the Scarlets to bring on board a coach of Glenn’s experience and pedigree.

“He has a huge amount of experience coaching in the northern hemisphere during his time with Nottingham and London Irish and has recently coached an outstanding Canterbury side to the Mitre 10 Cup

“He is going to be a huge asset to the Scarlets working alongside Brad and his appointment is another indication of our ambition and desire to be challenging for silverware again.”

WATCH: The RugbyPass behind the scenes documentary on the 2018 PRO14 final featuring the Scarlets versus Leinster