Dubai Exiles have pulled off an early summer coup by announcing that former Munster full-back Denis Hurley has joined the club as their defensive coach ahead of next season.
The 32-year-old was at 15 as the Irish side toppled Toulouse 16-13 to lift the 2008 Heineken Cup in Cardiff, but was released by the Irish province last May after an injury-plagued campaign as incoming director of rugby Rassie Erasmus shook things up at Thomand Park.
It severed a career-long association with the Red Army for Hurley, having come through Munster’s academy.
Exiles head coach Jacques Benade, who coached for many years in Northern Ireland at Ballymena, Malone and Dromore High School, revealed Hurley, capped once by Ireland in 2009, emailed the club last season looking for a job as his wife had received a job offer in the UAE.
“He’s got such a knowledge of the game and we think he will make a massive impact,” said South African Benade, who revealed Hurley actually attended a few games and led some training sessions last season.
“He’s already been to a few games and we let him coach a few sessions and the players really reacted to him. It’s a massive coup for us.
“To attract someone with such a rugby pedigree is a positive for any club.
“He came last December to The Sevens. We had an email from him saying he was looking for something to do. We replied saying we’d like to meet up with him. We had a good chat about whether it would be in a coaching or playing capacity.
“He was still playing two years ago at Munster so will bring something different. He will run the whole defensive set-up this year and will help with skill development. For me as senior coach and the players, it will be nice to have someone to come in and make a big difference.
“It’s a good stepping stone for him too. We agree a lot on how we want to do things, so we can’t wait.”
During a decade in the first team, Hurley, who played at full-back, wing and centre, made 166 appearances for Munster, scoring 16 tries, winning two Pro12 titles in 2009 and 2011. He earned his only cap against the USA in May 2009 and made Ireland’s 2012 Six Nations squad, but failed to make an appearance.
Exiles chairman Mike Wolff has plans for Hurley to help at grass roots level too, but Benade is hoping Hurley’s appointment will inject some much-needed life into Exiles after they fell from grace last season.
They followed their 2015/16 West Asia Championship and UAE Premiership double success with fifth-placed finishes in both versions as they won just nine of 20 games.
“Hopefully with Denis’ appointment we can get back on the winning track,” added Benade, the former Emerging Springbok fly-half, of a man who is believed to have been in talks with a number of other UAE clubs.
“It was all new first year and we had basic plan on how to play. But it’s hard to sustain that. It’s important to have different voices. You need specialised people. That’s what we lacked last year, a different approach.
“Me and Gareth (Venter, assistant coach) we definitely needed someone serious about coaching and with a rugby background. It was getting a bit too much so was important to bring someone in, especially someone with such a great background.
“I think the guys will react, they now have another coach to impress, not just me. He (Denis) already spotted a few areas where we can work on and he’s really keen. The players start afresh and will want to impress.”
