SECOND CLASS PLAYER ...FIRST CLASS COACH

Peet never played top level rugby but at 37 Wigan will make him Super League’s youngest-ever boss

MATTY PEET will be Super League’s youngest head coach next season at 37, and hasn’t played a minute of senior rugby league at any level.

Yet the man charged with re-igniting Wigan Warriors’ fortunes has been building towards this appointment for more than 15 years.

Peet was a top-end amateur prop in Leigh’s reserve team when he decided to stop playing aged 21.

He had already caught the coaching bug, taking charge of an Under-12s team, beginning a path that took him to Wigan as a scholarship coach in 2008.

Peet coached the club’s academy and U-20s teams, became head of youth and worked with England sides at junior level.

After a brief spell with Sale Sharks, he returned to Wigan as an assistant, and heads a new coaching team that will work alongside his long-term mentor Shaun Wane in his leadership role.

Wane reckons Peet reads and watches more coaching material than anyone he knows, building a career that has now landed one of the sport’s top jobs.

“I’ve got here because of that,” Peet explained. “I know the perception is that I’m inexperienced.

“But I’ve been doing this a long time, and I’ve really exhausted every opportunity to improve.

“I’ve made mistakes, and learned from them. I like to read, see new things and bring them back and implement them into my practice and share them.

“My coaching style has evolved over the years. I’ve mellowed a bit.

“When I first came into Wigan I was constantly trying to drive everyone to be better every single minute of every day. I understand now that there have to be highs and lows in the pressure of the environment.

“You have to have some days where they come in and just care for each other, have good conversations and build that connection.

“Eventually then you get improved performances.”

Peet is open to adding to his squad before the start of next season but is more focused on improving a team that flattered to deceive in finishing fourth this year.

He added: “I’m certainly happy with the squad.

“It’s not too dissimilar to the squad that got to last year’s Grand Final, and you’ve seen that we can compete with the teams in Super League at the moment.

“But we’ve got to improve everyone. The fact that we’re a young squad means that if we do get our culture right and our practice right then there should be improvement in the group.

“We are discussing options for recruitment but it must be the right person first. We get offered players all the time, some very good players, some players in positions we’d like to strengthen.

“But there will be a process and nonnegotiables about the kind of people and characters we bring into the club.”