Less than three weeks out from the start of the Southern Inland season, the search is on for a new rugby manager.
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Mick McTaggart has been in the role for 15 years but decided to step away.
He believes it is time for new blood to run the competition.
“I was pretty drained after last year, it was a long season for some reason, and I thought after my holidays I would have come back a bit more refreshed but that didn’t happen,” McTaggart said.
“At the end of the day after 15 years, and definitely wanting to spend more time with family, I’ve decided to pull the pin.”
Weekend work and the desire to spend more time with his family, including following son Matt’s progress with the Australian sevens set-up, also factored in the decision.
Southern Inland president Dave Adamson said McTaggart leaves big shoes to fill.
“I don’t know how we are going to replace anyone like Mick, to be quite honest,” Adamson said.
“He’s got a huge wealth of knowledge in every aspect of community rugby, policy and everything you can do.”
As the search for a replacement starts, in the interim Southern Inland directors will step up to handle McTaggart’s many duties in order to get the competition up and running.
The season starts on April 7 with clubs notified of McTaggart’s decision on Monday.
Brumbies community rugby general manager Craig Leseberg echoed Adamson’s sentiments of having big shoes to fill and hopes to start advertising for a replacement later this week.