Former Wallaby Julian Huxley will take the reins of the Sydney Rays in the 2017 NRC.
With previous mentor Simon Cron set to join the Waratahs full-time in 2018, Huxley has moved to step up from an assistant role to the head job.
Huxley has been at the helm of Shute Shield side Penrith this season, a side that has seen plenty of improvement, despite being winless in the club competition.
Cron will stay involved in the club's recruiting strategy moving forward.
Rays rugby director, Grahame O’Donnell, said Huxley's promotion was the next step.
“It’s a natural progression for our program and Julian will be able to build on the work that Simon (Cron) put in place in 2016,” he said.
“Simon has been mentoring Julian and helping him with his coaching work at Penrith and he sees him as a young coach on the rise.
“Head coaching is a big step up at this level but ‘Hux’ has earnt his chance to have a crack at the role.”
The 2017 NRC fixture is set to be announced in the coming weeks, with the competition kicking off in September.
