Edge back as assistant coach for Pulse

After a successful first season, former Silver Fern Sandra Edge has been reappointed assistant coach of Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse for the 2018 ANZ Premiership.

Edge will reunite with head coach Yvette McCausland-Durie after the pair joined forces for the first time this year, guiding the Pulse to the final of the inaugural league for the team’s best-ever finish.

Having coached in a variety of capacities, including School, Club and NPC level in different parts of New Zealand over the last 35 years, Edge thrived in her first foray at the elite level and is now keen to build on the experience.

“Great organisation, great planning and a great group of people, who all contributed to the overall outcome, made for a really good season as part of the Pulse family this year,” Edge said.

“Even though we’ve got some new ones (for next year) I can only see things getting stronger and having the opportunity to be a part of that is really exciting.

“I’ve got more of an understanding of how the whole (high performance) operation runs and how the schedule runs and now I’d like to get a little bit more on-court specific, in terms of tactical play and being innovative with how we approach different challenges.”

With continuity being a key component heading into next year, coach Yvette McCausland-Durie is delighted the stable and fruitful coaching partnership has been retained.

“Given we hadn’t coached together before, it worked really well for us this year,” she said.

“We’re quite different people but I think that makes it complimentary.

“She has a number of standout qualities, the first being her court craft in the attacking end and the ability to read and see some of the little subtle nuances that happen on attack.

“She has real clarity, and works really hard to make sure, from an analysis perspective, she’s looked at the pieces, she understands what the opposition are doing and she’s really comfortable to bring a host of different things to the table. I’m really confident in all the roles she plays and what she offers.”