Pakuranga United Rugby Club is proud to welcome Grant Henson on board as the new Director of Rugby.

Henson joins the club with an extensive playing and coaching history south of the Bombay’s. The Counties Manukau centurion was a stalwart in the black, white and red jersey playing for fourteen provincial seasons.

As a coach, Henson has been involved in campaigns with the Chiefs age group and development sides, Manu Samoa and seven years as part of the coaching team for the Counties Manukau Steelers.

Until joining the club this week, Henson was employed by Counties Manukau as a Coach Development Manager.

Pakuranga General Manager John East said Henson, affectionately known as Boof, was a standout candidate and will bring experience and passion to the role. “We are looking forward to Boof joining the Pakuranga family. His background speaks for itself, he is an excellent rugby man and we are excited to see what he will achieve.”

East said the key areas of focus for Henson will be the retention and recruitment of players, developing the club’s girls and women’s rugby strategy and upskilling club coaches. “We have some of the groundwork in place for this work that Pita did so well in his time with the club. Boof will look to build on that great work which will serve our rugby community and continue to strengthen the club.

Henson said he is excited about emerging himself in the Pakuranga culture around the club in the next 12 months. Developing the girls and coaching programmes will be at the forefront of my activities moving forward.

Article added: Thursday 25 February 2021