After five years at the Blues, Head Coach Leon MacDonald will take the next step in his coaching journey by joining the All Blacks as an Assistant Coach at the conclusion of the 2023 Super Rugby Season.

In MacDonald’s time at the Blues, the club’s seen an upward trajectory in results and he is largely credited with instilling a performance edge to his playing group.

MacDonald coached the Blues to their first Super Rugby title in 18 years with victory in the 2021 Super Rugby Trans-Tasman tournament.

He was also at the helm steering the side to Grand Finals in both the 2020 Super Rugby Aotearoa and 2022 Super Rugby Pacific competitions.

While reflective of his time as the Blues Head Coach, MacDonald was quick to note he is midway through a delicately poised Super Rugby Pacific campaign.

“I want to thank the Blues organisation for backing me in a Head Coach role back in 2019,” MacDonald said.

“I’m obviously elated to be taking my next step as a coach, it’s a dream to coach at the highest level and to do that for my country is something special I’m looking forward to.”

“While this is exciting news, the fact we are in the middle of a campaign isn’t lost on me. It’s nice to get this news sorted so our full focus can be on the second half of our Super Rugby campaign. We’ve got a job to do in Fiji and these next few games will go a long way to dictating where we end up on the table, with home advantage at playoffs time a target of ours.”

Blues CEO Andrew Hore said MacDonald has been longest serving Head Coach for the club and is proud to have created an environment where people can flourish.

“Leon’s been fantastic in his time here at the Blues,” said Hore.

“To have a side who are regularly competing at the business end of competitions is something our fan base demand and that’s exactly what Leon has provided for us in his time in the top job.”

“He’s shown professionalism and has helped develop our coaching group over his time with the club. I know he’s desperate to finish on a high and will be doing everything in his power to go all the way to the title in 2023.”

The Blues fly to Fiji tomorrow ahead of their Super Rugby Pacific match against Fiji Drua on Saturday at 2:05pm.