England Rugby Union assistant coach set to take over as Manly Sea Eagles head coach

Manly Sea Eagles are looking for a new head coach following the sacking of Des Hasler.

The decision to remove Hasler has had a mixed reaction among the Sea Eagles players and fans, with star player Tom Trbojevic reportedly wanting out of the club.

But attentions now turn to who will be next in the door as coach, with former South Sydney Rabbitohs and Brisbane Broncos coach Anthony Seibold the front-runner if reports are to be believed.

Seibold is currently the assistant coach of the England Rugby Union side to fellow Australian Eddie Jones. He was brought in last year to lead the defence coaching of the national side in the 15-man code.

Reports down under suggest Seibold has already returned to his homeland following the approach from Manly, where he is expected to be announced in the coming days.

On Seibold, Manly CEO Scott Penn told Fox Sports: “Anthony has been at the club before, he has demonstrated phenomenal intellect, he is a great tactician, he is really good with the players and he has shown he has got credentials as a head coach.

“We are still working through our pathway whether that is assistant to start or the full process but right now we have identified him as someone we are very interested in and someone who certainly had a few false starts himself but he is very capable and would do a tremendous job.”

Seibold is expected to be present in the England cap for their upcoming four-game series versus Argentina, as well as games against Japan, New Zealand and South Africa following that.

They will likely be his last matches as an England coach in the 15-man game, and his return to the NRL will mark a fresh start for him and the Sea Eagles ahead of the 2023 season.