Hurricanes manager Ross Mills "gutted" to leave

Matt Jones - Editor 18:30 15/09/2015
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    • Leaving: Ross Mills.

    Ross Mills says he is “gutted” to be leaving his post as Dubai Hurricanes head coach after accepting a job offer in the Far East.

    – AWCCL: Abu Dhabi Saracens fall short against Doha
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    – UAE: Exiles beat Amblers in explosive friendly

    The 48-year-old Englishman is moving to Malaysia at the end of the month after five years in the UAE and a season at the Canes’ helm.

    Prior to that he was head coach at Jebel Ali Dragons, guiding them to a second successive treble of UAE Premiership, Dubai Sevens and West Asia Cup titles in 2013-14.

    Canes and Mills have completed a crazy couple of months in domestic rugby by becoming the sixth and final team from last season’s Premiership to change head coach during the summer.

    “I’m sad to be leaving. I’ve been very privileged to have coached the two best teams in the UAE and there was no question of me going elsewhere,” Mills told Sport360.

    “I was offered a job in Kuala Lumpur and it was too good to turn down. The job came out of the blue and I sat down with the wife and we had a decision to make. We did so and informed chairman Simon Lewis and the club two weeks ago.Aiming for success: 'Canes.

    “Canes are absolutely gutted I’m going and I’m gutted myself. We’ve had a good pre-season, recruited really well and I think we were looking good to win something this season.”

    Mills will be replaced by his assistant last season, James Ham, the departing head coach believing the transition will be seamless.

    He said: “Assistant coach James Ham will step up into my role. The game plans and structures will stay the same. We’ve kept that in place and just developed it a bit further. 

    “We’ve had 40 boys at training since July and I think it will be easy for Hammy to step up. He’s a lot more methodical than I am, I’m more expressive, but I think we complimented each other well last season.”

    Canes started the previous campaign on fire, winning four of five Premiership games to gain a place in the final, where they wereblown away 39-19 by a resurgent Abu Dhabi Harlequins.

    After that a promising season unraveled as they were knocked out of the Gulf Men’s League Trophy semi-finals by Doha at the Dubai Sevens, going on to finish a disappointing fourth in the Gulf Top Six.

    Despite that, Mills said he felt he was starting to build something special at Canes after a season of stability.

    “I took over last year with the club lacking a bit of direction, needing someone to lead it and say ‘this is the way, follow me’,” said Mills.

    “I’m leaving having galvanized them and improved them. I did feel I was starting to build something special. Canes are a tight-knit family and I’m going to miss that camaraderie. I sincerely hope they do well.”

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