Kiwi Searancke

Kiwi Searancke (born in New Zealand) is a former rugby union player, and former head coach of Glasgow Rugby, now known as the Glasgow Warriors. He took over the club from Richie Dixon on 27 June 2002 when Dixon was appointed the SRU's Head of Coach Development.

Provincial career

Searancke was a prop for Waikato.

Coaching career

Waikato and New Zealand

He was a coach of Waikato Rugby and was also involved in developing New Zealand's young rugby talent as a national under-21 selector and a coach of the New Zealand Nike Youth Team.

Glasgow Warriors

The SRU's Director of Rugby Jim Telfer stated that he was keen for the Glasgow players to experience different styles of coaching in bringing in Searancke. He appointed Steve Anderson, previously the Australian National rugby league assistant coach, as Searancke's assistant. Also kept on as assistant was Gordon Macpherson.

Telfer and Dixon were embarrassed by the fitness of the Glasgow players returning from their holidays to start their pre-season training. A good few of the players were out of condition and two Scotland international forwards laboured on a 3 km run in Dalziel Country Park. The professional players had previously been given a fitness programme to follow in the close season in an effort to match Super12 physical standards.

Searancke was to bring in a toughness to managing the squad who he felt were under-performing. Not surprisingly though his uncompromising attitude ruffled many of the Glasgow players and soon there was a split in the dressing room between players and management.

Back to New Zealand

Searancke left Glasgow Warriors on 1 April 2003 and shortly afterwards got a job back in New Zealand coaching Poverty Bay rugby club. During that tenure as head coach he took Poverty Bay from the mid ranks of the division to win that division within a season

Searancke became a coach of the Black Ferns.