Former Fiji 15’s Captain and former Waikato Coach Greg Smith has been appointed Head Coach of the New Zealand Black Ferns team through to the next Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2017.

New Zealand Rugby General Manager Neil Sorensen today announced Smith’s appointment effective from the beginning of 2015.

Sorenson told All Blacks.com they are very excited about Greg coming on board as he will bring an extensive mix of playing and coaching experience to the Blacks Ferns programme.

As a player Smith had 48 Super Rugby caps with the Chiefs, ran out 70 times for Waikato and made 46 appearances for Fiji over nine years, 8 of them as captain including two Rugby World Cup tournaments.