Gloucester Rugby poised to appoint ACT Brumbies boss Laurie Fisher as new ...

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GLOUCESTER Rugby are set to appoint Australian Laurie Fisher as their new head coach.

The Citizen understands that the appointment of the ACT Brumbies director of rugby is imminent and the club are in the process of applying for a visa for the former Munster coach.

The move will complete a major overhaul of the Kingsholm coaching team following the sacking of Nigel Davies at the end of last season.

Former Ireland international David Humphreys was installed as the club’s new director of rugby earlier this month.

He was followed into Kingsholm earlier this week by England Under-20s supremo Nick Walshe as backs and attack coach and Australian defensive mastermind John Muggleton as defence coach.

But it is the appointment of Fisher that will most excite the Kingsholm faithful.

A larger-than-life character off the field, Fisher has garnered a reputation as one of the finest forwards coaches on the planet in a 16-year coaching career.

A specialist in the breakdown and tight forward play, Fisher returned to take the top role with the Brumbies in 2012 after a four-year stint as forwards coach with Munster.

The news of his rumoured departure broke in Australia the day before the Brumbies’ biggest game of the Super Rugby season, the Australian Conference derby with the New South Wales Waratahs.

Currently in fifth place in the table with two regular season games remaining, a win against their rivals will go a long way to earning the Canberra-based outfit a place in the Super Rugby top six and a spot in the knockout finals.

The regular Super Rugby season is scheduled to finish on July 12, with the finals concluding on August 2, meaning Fisher will be available well before the start of the Premiership season.

Reports in Australia state that Fisher informed Brumbies chairman Sean Hammond on Tuesday of his decision to leave for Gloucester.

The Sydney Morning Herald said that Fisher can opt out of the second year of his Brumbies deal at a month’s notice and that the Brumbies players have already been informed of the move.

Despite the move being imminent, a Gloucester Rugby spokesman said that the club will only comment once an appointment is made.

The spokesman said: “The process to appoint a head coach is ongoing and we don’t as a rule comment on speculation.

“The search for a new head coach is worldwide as we seek to appoint the very best individual at Gloucester Rugby.

“We will be linked with a number of high calibre candidates but will only issue a statement once a decision has been made.”

Article source: http://www.espnscrum.com/scotland/rugby/story/219807.html

Gloucester Rugby poised to appoint ACT Brumbies boss Laurie Fisher as new ...