Former All White and international Shane Rufer the new Wanganui Collegiate director of football

Former All White and international footballer Shane Rufer is the new director of football at Wanganui Collegiate School.

Football royalty has been hired to lift the performance of Wanganui Collegiate players while still at school and beyond.

WCS has announced the appointment of well-known footballer and football coach Shane Rufer as Director of Football.

Rufer, former All White, brother of Oceania Player of the Century Wynton Rufer, and father of Phoenix midfielder Alex, holds the UEFA A coaching badge and is set to soon complete the FFA Pro Licence, the highest qualification in the game.

After 10 years as a professional footballer playing in the Swiss first division, Rufer has turned his footballing skills to coaching, which has seen him coach professional and semi-professional teams in Switzerland and New Zealand.

He has also coached New Zealand age group teams for tournaments in Germany and Switzerland and coach a number of national teams in the Pacific.

He is a professional, self-employed coach operating out of Palmerston North, where his own youth coaching programmes continue to provide high-quality services for U18s, while he has coached the Central League side Marist AFC for the last two years.

Rufer is a highly accomplished coach with extensive networks nationally and internationally, with a highly structured approach to coaching and an eye for talent development.

A key agenda for him already is in the area of pre-season preparation, goal-setting for all WCS players, and the development of a competitive training and playing environment.

He will bring a level of professionalism and commitment to the role not previously seen, with strong links into player pathways, team and coach development.

"We are very excited to welcome Shane to run football at our school and to add to our current list of high calibre sport coaches," WCS director of sport, Barry Touzel, said.

"This is a great step forward for football and provides a platform to develop the current talent pool. With football continuing to grow both domestically and worldwide, this is a marvellous opportunity for the school to enhance the sport and potentially create future pathways in and beyond students school years."

Touzel said Rufer was delighted to be part of the school and its sport program.

"I am really looking forward to the challenge ahead and to raise the football standard at this historic school, " Rufer said.

Launched in 1972 by then master Mike Street and current WCS master and athletics coach Alec McNab the WCS football program has flourished as a first choice winter sports option for 75 students running a total of five teams: three male and two female teams.

+The boys 1st XI play in the Palmerston North u18 Division 1 competition,

+The boys 2nd XI play in the local U17 competition in Wanganui

+The colts (U15 ) team play in the local colts competition

+The female teams play locally with the 1st XI playing in the ladies division 1 and the second XI in the ladies division 1 (bottom section).