Hull Kingston Rovers have decided that the former Australia coach Tim Sheens will be their new head coach for 2017.
The 65-year-old is midway through a three-year deal working as the director of rugby at Salford, but it is understood he has been lured from that role to return to coaching, his first such role at club level since leaving Wests Tigers in 2012.
Hull KR have been on the hunt for a coach for next season ever since Chris Chester was sacked only three games into the season, and the Guardian understands that Sheens, who guided Australia to World Cup success in 2013, is set to take over at the Lightstream Stadium after agreeing a deal to take charge providing the club secure their Super League status in the Qualifiers.
Since Chester’s departure, the former Wakefield coach James Webster has been working as the interim head coach on the assumption he would be replaced at the end of this season – but he has been offered a role in the new coach’s backroom team.
A plethora of names had been linked with the job, most notably Steve McNamara, the former England coach who was released from his duties as national team coach following the series victory against New Zealand last year.
The former Castleford coach Terry Matterson and Justin Morgan, the man who guided Hull KR into Super League in 2005, had also been mentioned.
