Jackson Willison will return as the head coach for Hautapu Sports’ Premier A squad for the 2025 Waikato rugby season.
Willison (36) will go into his second season as Hautapu’s head coach after leading them to the final of the 2024 Waikato Breweries Shield.
The Premier A forwards will be coached again by Elliot Sharpe, while Fraser Armstrong continues as the squad’s scrum coach.
After a year off, Will Helu returns to coach the attack and backs.
Willison is a rising talent as a coach, with experience in New Zealand and overseas, and is a former professional who has played in England, France and New Zealand.
Main photo: Jackson Willison … looking forward to a second season as head coach.
Having started his club rugby journey with Hautapu Sports as a teenager, Willison played Super Rugby for the Waikato Chiefs and the Auckland Blues, and made 60 appearances for Waikato’s Ranfurly Shield-winning team.
Jackson Willison: The player
Willison was a member of the New Zealand Maori All Blacks between 2010 and 2013.
In 2007, he was a member of the New Zealand U-19s who won the Junior World Cup. A year later, he played for the New Zealand U-20s when they were crowned Junior World Cup champions.
After captaining Waikato in 2013, Willison was awarded the Ian Clarke Sportsperson of the Year and received the Aaron Hopa Memorial Trophy for outstanding contribution to rugby.
Following 59 appearances in Super Rugby, Willison left New Zealand to play professionally in Europe, playing Premiership rugby for English clubs Worcester and Bath, and playing in the backline for French clubs Grenoble and Soyaux Angoulème Rugby.
Jackson Willison: The coach
Willison has coached women, youth players and seniors at club, provincial and national levels.
He started his coaching career as an assistant coach, combining these duties with playing, and has built his experience with New Zealand clubs Otorohanga and Te Awamutu Sports, and English clubs Droitwich and Bradford on Avon.
He is currently an assistant coach for the New Zealand Maori U-18s sevens team and a resource coach for the New Zealand Maori U-18 side.
He has Level 2 and Level 3 coaching qualifications, achieved in England, and a Level 3 diploma as a fitness instructor and personal trainer.
Hamilton Burr to coach Development squad
Waikato representative and Hautapu Sports forward Hamilton Burr will coach the club’s Development squad in the 2025 rugby season.
READ MORE: Hamilton Burr to coach Hautapu Sports’ Development team next season >>>>
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