By Mark Cashman Northern Suburbs have appointed vastly experienced Kiwi coach Earl Va’a to lead the club’s Shute Shield campaign in 2020. The 47-year-old former Samoan Test flyhalf at the 1999 and 2003 Rugby World Cups has a much decorated CV after leading the Wellington Lions in the Mitre 10 Cup (2015-2016) and the Coca-Cola Red Sparks in Japan in recent times (2017-2019). Va’a has played and coached all over the world with jobs in Italy at L’Aquila and Worcester in England before further appointments in Japan and then the famed NZ pathway in Wellington. He takes over from Nick Hensley who led the first grade side to the Shute Shield grand final qualifier in 2019. Norths director of rugby Chris Hall said he was looking forward to working closely with Va’a. “Earl’s philosophies on the game and on how it should be coached and played along with his values really aligns with what we are about as a club,” Hall said. “He is passionate about developing