By MARK CASHMAN

Sydney Uni’s Shute Shield winning coach Rob Taylor is off to Japan to take on the head coach’s role at the NEC Green Rockets.

Taylor who won the club’s last premiership in 2019 will stand down this week and hand the reins to his defence coach Phil Blake.

The Green Rockets appointed former Wallabies coach Michael Cheika as their Director of Rugby in late May and this is the first significant hire of his tenure.

A statement on the club’s website said: “The club is proud to be able to provide opportunities and support our players and coaches to achieve their goals in professional rugby, and we wish Rob all the best for the future.”

The new man Blake has extensive coaching experience around the rugby world including stints at the Western Force, the Leicester Tigers in the English and a period of time working with Robbie Deans at the Wallabies.

The former rugby league great has also worked as head coach at the Manly Marlins.

Blake’s first game in the chair will be against defending premiers Gordon at home on June 19.

Rugby News heard whispers of Taylor’s impending departure in the lead up to the Students Round Nine match against Randwick.

Blake joined Taylor’s coaching team at the start of the year and has had an immediate effect dragging the Students up to No.2 on the defensive rankings in the Shute Shield.

Sydney Uni sit on top of the Shute Shield premiership ladder after Nine Rounds and had a walloping 57-17 win over Cheika’s old club Randwick at Coogee Oval on Saturday.

Taylor brought razor sharp fitness as well as a relentless and clear game plan to the club at the start of the season after spending 2020 at Leicester.