FORMER Glasgow Warriors and Scotland hooker Pat MacArthur has been appointed head coach of the Ayrshire Bulls Super6 franchise for the 2021 season, having spent the last two seasons as player/assistant coach at Millbrae under Pete Murchie.
The 34-year-old has an ideal background to help the Bulls emerge from lockdown, having started his rugby journey at Ayr as a junior before progressing through the ranks to be part of the 1st XV squad which won the Premiership in 2009, by which point he was already on the books at Glasgow Warriors.
He represented Scotland at Under-18, Under-19, Under-20, Club XV and six times at full cap level, and played 165 games for Warriors during a 10-year pro career.
He returned to Millbrae as a player coach when Ayr won the Premiership and Scottish Cup double in 2019, and continued in that role during the inaugural Super6 campaign before lockdown arrived last March.
“This is a real honour for me,” said MacArthur. “The club has been a big part of my life for a long time, so I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to be head coach of the Ayrshire Bulls.
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“I’d like to thank Pete Murchie. It was great working with him and Glen Tippett as part of the coaching team when we won the double for the club.
“I really enjoy supporting the development of players and those around me. I’m very excited about some of the players we have signed and looking forward to getting back to training.
“Because of the pandemic, life has been a real challenge for everyone recently, but I’m very confident that the Ayrshire Bulls are in a good place and we will be ready to go for the upcoming season. I want us to play an exciting brand of rugby that spectator’s, supporters and sponsors can be proud of”.
Ayrshire Bulls CEO Billy McHarg said: “I’m looking forward to the upcoming season. Under the new leadership of Pat and his exciting new coaching team I’m sure we will do well”.
Further Ayrshire Bulls squad and team management announcements will be made over the coming weeks.
There is no clarity at the moment on when domestic rugby will start-up again in Scotland, but it is understood that Super6 is targeting a return at the end of July.
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