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Bath confirm appointments of Todd Blackadder, Tabai Matson

Premiership club Bath name Crusaders head coach Todd Blackadder as their new director of rugby and his assistant Tabai Matson as head coach.

Premiership club Bath have confirmed the appointment of Todd Blackadder as director of rugby and Tabai Matson as head coach.

Blackadder replaces former head coach Mike Ford, who was sacked in May after a ninth-place league finish last season.

The former New Zealand captain has been in charge of Super Rugby's Crusaders since 2009, taking them to four Super Rugby semi-finals and two finals and making the play-offs in all but one season.

Matson, meanwhile, served as Blackadder's assistant coach at Crusaders from 2013, having led Canterbury to their fifth straight ATM Cup as head coach in 2012.

"Bath are an ambitious club, with very talented players, and a clear vision of where they want to be," Blackadder told a press conference.

"Tabai and I are really excited to be part of that and to develop it further over the coming seasons."

Previous coach Ford led Bath to the Premiership final in 2014-15 but they won just nine of their 22 league matches in 2015-16, finishing 17 points below the playoff places.

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Mike Ford, the Bath director of rugby looks on during the Aviva Premiership match between Bath and Northampton Saints at the Recreation Ground on December 5, 2015
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