Feeney to join Stormers

Former Blues and Auckland coach Paul Feeney has signed a three-year deal with Western Province and the Stormers in South Africa.

Feeney and his wife leave tomorrow for Cape Town where he’ll take on the role as assistant coach; his brief focusing on attack and skills under head coach Robbie Fleck, the former Springboks midfielder, and director of rugby Gert Smal.

A well-travelled coach, having also worked in France, Japan and Fiji, Feeney spent 10 days with Western Province at the end of August after completing a one-year stint as Blues skills coach under Tana Umaga.

Feeney attended trainings, met players and coaches, and visited the academy in Stellenbosch where he viewed the under-19s and 21s and was impressed by the budding talent the region has to offer. The Stormers also boast the likes of Springboks locks Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit, along with midfielders Juan de Jongh and Damian de Allende.

‘‘I’m excited by the opportunity to go and coach in South Africa,’’ Feeney told Fairfax Media of his new role which is expected to be formally announced overnight. ‘‘When you’re a young kid you talk about South Africa and New Zealand all the time. Now I’ve got the chance to go over there and see what they do first hand. I’m going to learn a lot and hopefully I can help them as well.’’

After a season where the Stormers played no Kiwi teams during the Super Rugby round robin, and were then embarrassed 60-21 in their home quarterfinal against the Chiefs, the union clearly believes harnessing a New Zealand influence will be beneficial.

‘‘They’re keen to get an overseas coach and one from New Zealand as well. We can bounce ideas. They’ll look at some of my skills and blend them with their own. It’s always good to get ideas from outside and a different culture as well. We had a good chat about that with the coaching staff.’’

Feeney walks into South African rugby at an interesting time. The Stormers reportedly projected a loss of 11.2 million rand ($1.1m) this year, and the Springboks under former Stormers mentor Allister Coetzee are also in crisis after a record 57-15 thrashing from the All Blacks in Durban.

‘‘Since I’ve been there there’s been a lot that’s gone on in the press in the last eight weeks in relation to South African rugby. I’m just looking forward to getting over there. I’ll probably get a clear picture of it after the first year. I think it’s going to be a really good fit.’’