KEY POINTS:
Former All Black and Canterbury stalwart Todd Blackadder will take over as coach of the Tasman rugby team for the next two years, replacing Dennis Brown who stepped down last week.
Brown, who had a year left to run on his contract, agreed to sever ties with the province by mutual agreement.
Blackadder, Tasman's director of rugby, will continue to run the high performance aspect of Tasman rugby in combination with his head coach role.
Union chairman Max Spence said Blackadder, 36, was the obvious choice to succeed Brown.
"It was a logical step ... He has done the ground work over the last two years having been intricately involved in the daily operation of all rugby matters within the union."
Blackadder first ventured into management as the player/coach of Scottish club Edinburgh after leaving New Zealand in 2003.
The former All Blacks captain also assisted Australian Matt Williams with the Scottish national side before returning home to help ease the amalgamation of Nelson Bays and Marlborough into Tasman for the revamped provincial competition.
His previous roles had given him a good feel for the challenges Tasman faced, Blackadder said.
"Tasman is a union and a region of great potential.
"The key for me is to harness all of that potential to create a team that upsets the odds in the Air New Zealand Cup."
Blackadder told Radio Sport earlier the structure of the Air New Zealand Cup, now in its second year, needed to be looked at.
"This competition doesn't quite fit.
"We don't get to play everyone, and the timing meant we don't get All Blacks back," Blackadder said.
- NZPA
