Reds target takes Canterbury job

Munster’s list of prospective backs coaches was reduced by one yesterday after Canterbury confirmed Rob Penney’s assistant Tabai Matson had been appointed as his replacement at the New Zealand province.

Matson had been an assistant to new Munster coach Penney at Canterbury since 2009 and with Munster looking for a new backs coach when Jason Holland departs at the end of the season, the former Crusaders and All Blacks centre had been mentioned as a possible candidate.

Instead, Matson, who earned five All Black caps and also played twice for Fiji at the 1999 World Cup, was announced as the man to take over Penney’s head coach role at Canterbury, with their chief executive Hamish Riach saying: “We are delighted that Tabai has accepted the job. He has been a superb assistant coach for Canterbury, helping to lead the team to successive provincial titles.