Huddersfield Giants director of rugby Andy Kelly has issued an update on the vacant coaching position at the club.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Luke Robinson had been relieved from his duties as head coach, putting an abrupt end to a 20-month stint that began in July 2024.
Initially named as interim boss, he was made permanent head coach of the club ahead of 2025, but since then it has been an incredibly difficult task, with injures decimating he squad for the past two seasons.
With Robinson gone, Kelly himself has taken over as caretaker boss as they look to appoint the 41-year-old’s successor. That appointment is set to be made soon, with the club already receiving word from a number of interested parties.
The Director of Rugby was surprised by how many people have been in contact, something that bodes well for the club and it’s future.
“Despite what people might put forward publicly, we’ve had a lot of interest in the UK and overseas,” he confirmed in a weekly press conference.
“It took me by surprise in the first 24 hours how many expressions of interest were put in front of me. That process will continue until Saturday, so I would urge anybody else who has an interest in actually coming forward and being part of the Huddersfield Giants to do so, but we have a healthy number of applicants.”
He continued: “I’ve been pleasantly surprised by a lot of them, to be honest, because they’ve all got different capabilities and they’re all very ambitious coaches in their own right.
“There was one I’d have been interested in who was not available to us, and I have spoken with that person, but I won’t change his mind.”
Asked whether that person was former England boss, Shaun Wane, Kelly said: “No, it wasn’t Shaun Wane, no.”
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The club are not going to rush making what is such a key decision in the club’s future, and whilst there is a deadline for expressions of interest, Kelly could not give a time frame for when the appointment will be made.
“We need the right person,” he explained. “We need the right calibre of person, and if we have to wait a little bit longer, then I’m sure we will as a club.
“But in respect of where we are now, the applications are open until Saturday, and then we’ll sit down and review what’s been collated so far in terms of names and capabilities.
“If the right person’s not in that group, I’m also extremely confident in the short term with Liam Finn, Leroy Cudjoe and Darren Fleary, who have all stepped up to the mark and taken the on-field coaching this week.”
