Former Southern Districts coach Cam Blades will join Darryl Gibson’s coaching staff in 2016, after being appointed as Waratahs forwards coach for the upcoming Super Rugby season.

Blades earned 46 caps for New South Wales during his playing career in the front row with the club from 1997-2001, and played one Test in 1997. He joined Scottish side Glasgow in the 2001-2002 season and played 22 matches for the club before his return to Australia in 2003.

Following his playing career, Blades coached Southern Districts, Combined Country and the Sydney Stars, and has most recently been part of the Australian Under-20 coaching team.

Head Coach Daryl Gibson said the appointment was an important step in continuing the development of the Waratah pack.

“Cam is very highly regarded in the rugby community here in Australia, and we’re delighted to have him on board,” Gibson said.

“Cam will play a key role not just in his positional coaching capacity, but also with his experience with the Australian Under-20s and working to develop our new crop of young players.

“We have made significant progress with our forwards this year and Cam will be a great asset to continue the development in this area of our game.”