Garth Brennan resigns as Tonga 9s coach

Drew Darbyshire 24 Sep 2019 8:48 AM

Garth Brennan has resigned from his role as head coach of Tonga at the World Cup 9s this autumn.

Soon-to-be St Helens boss Kristian Woolf was given his marching orders earlier this month, with the Tonga National Rugby League board then appointing Brennan.

However, Brennan thought he would be working alongside Woolf for Tonga when he was originally appointed in the position.

He told NRL.com: “I wasn’t aware that there were all these underlying things going on in the background with the board and all the players when I first agreed to the job.

“When I found out that there was a bit of a shit fight going on behind the scenes, I just felt like I didn’t want to get involved at this point so I withdrew.

“It was too political for me and I have just come out of a difficult situation at the Gold Coast so it wasn’t something I wanted to get myself into straight away.

“When I was asked to do it I thought I was doing it as a bit of a favour to Kristian Woolf and I thought it would be a bit of fun and chance to get back involved in footy but when I found out how political it was I just felt that wasn’t the best course for me at this point.”

Former Wigan and Widnes coach Frank Endacott has been appointed to replace Woolf as coach for the Test matches against Australia and Great Britain this autumn – but reports Down Under suggest he would be prepared to walk away if Woolf was reappointed.