New Buller Heartland Coach appointed
The Buller Rugby Union are pleased to announce the appointment of Justin (known as Gus) Martyn to the Head Coach role of the Electro Services Buller side. Martyn has accepted a two-year appointment for the position starting in 2019.
Martyn headed a strong field of over 20 applicants for the role which attracted national and international attention. He has an extensive coaching background, most recently at the successful Nedlands club in Perth.
Based now in Westport Martyn said he was “excited and privileged to be chosen as the Buller Rugby Union Heartland Head Coach”. With a strong background in development of players Martyn added he was “looking forward to the challenge of bringing through Buller’s local rugby talent and building a competitive heartland rugby side”.
Buller Rugby Chairman Hugh McMillan said “the Buller Rugby Union is extremely fortunate to secure the services of such a high calibre coach who lives locally. I am sure that Gus will have a very positive influence on the Heartland team and Buller rugby in general”.
Buller Rugby Manager Andrew Duncan was delighted with the strong interest in the role stating “the Mitre 10 Heartland Championship is a great competition which gains plenty of national attention. Along with players, coaches can gain valuable experience which is why it is not surprising the role attracted so much interest”.
Duncan was looking forward to working with Martyn, adding “we are building a strong base of good young players through our well supported secondary schools programme. We are looking forward to using Gus’s expertise to further develop this group and prepare them for the challenge of Heartland rugby when their time comes”.
Martyn takes over the role from Craig Scanlon who had announced 2018 would be his final year. Scanlon and former co-coach Craig Neill, who finished in 2017, had coached the side for over 100 Heartland fixtures, including claiming Buller’s first national title in 2012 when they lifted the Lochore Cup. McMillan praised the two men stating “both Craig Scanlon and Craig Neill have made an outstanding contribution to Buller rugby over the past ten years and this is reflected in the results the Buller Heartland team has achieved over this time. The Buller Rugby Union is hopeful that both will stay connected to local rugby in some shape or form”.
