Former All Blacks fitness fan Graham Lowe has been appointed by the Scottish Rugby Union as director of performance rugby.
Lowe appointed director of performance rugby
Former All Blacks fitness supremo Graham Lowe has been appointed by the Scottish Rugby Union as director of performance rugby.
The 38-year-old will be responsible for strength and conditioning of all Scotland teams alongside overseeing medical services and coach education.
Lowe will offer full support to national head coach Andy Robinson in helping Scotland's players deal with the physical challenges of international rugby.
"We are delighted to have secured the services of Graham Lowe for this important position," said SRU chief executive Gordon McKie.
"He will play a pivotal role in the continued development of our high-performance rugby teams and management of all supporting personnel.
"During his four years as the head strength and conditioning coach with the All Blacks, he was a key member of the senior management group that delivered an 88% win ratio, which included three successive Tri-Nations titles, a Lions series win and a Grand Slam tour to the British Isles in 2005."
Departure
Following his departure from the New Zealand Rugby Union last year, Lowe was appointed physical performance manager for the BMW Oracle Racing team, which competes in yachting events including the America's Cup.
"I am determined to work with my colleagues to ensure that Scottish Rugby has a high performance strategy that is recognised as world-leading and ensures that the chances of consistent success are maximised," said Lowe, who will begin his new role next month.
"I believe I can play a critical part in ensuring that Scottish Rugby delivers on its potential to be an enduring force in world rugby and I'm very much looking forward to taking up this post."
Lowe will also join the SRU board as part of the new role, which was thought to be lined-up for Frank Hadden until he left the SRU after losing his job as national team coach.
"We look forward to welcoming Graham to the board and to working together to help Scottish rugby to forge ahead in this key area," said chairman Allan Munro.
