Profile: John Muggleton

'To be prepared is half the victory' (Miguel de Cervantes)

John Muggleton is truly a world class coach. A former Rugby League player with Parramatta Eeels the new Scarlets coach has learnt about defense the hard way. Playing Rugby league in Australia means he knows what is involved when having structured defensive systems and he also knows just how much physical effort it takes to implement.

That is where the preparation comes into it. You just have to look at Wales' Grand Slam success to see how important preparation is when competing with the best. John Muggleton has spent the last ten years preparing Australia's defense to compete with the like of New Zealand and South Africa year on year and has also been a major part in the their World Cup success, only conceding 1 try in 1999's competition.

Sydney-born Muggleton will no doubt be missing his homeland when he arrives in Wales. He recently applied for Eddie Jones' old job with the Wallabies which was eventually given to Robbie Deans. The opportunity which now sits in-front of him will be of different proportions altogether but the size of the challenge remains. Muggleton has been given the job of turning the Scarlets' leaky defence around, which was the cause of ending the season with one of the worst defensive records in the Magners League and Heineken Cup.

Although he has not arrived yet, the Scarlets await Muggleton's new regime with anticipation. Currently, the squad are being put through their paces by another Sydney-born coach, Brad Harrington and his assistant Ryan Campbell. Harrington was part of the successful Waratahs set-up in this years Super 14 and will no doubt be looking forward to working with his fellow countryman given his impressive reputation.

What will be interesting to see is how the squad react to Muggleton's coaching style. Renowned for being a straight talking coach, the Scarlet players will be expected to put more effort in than ever before if they are to gain the respect of the new man.

Australian Rugby Chief holds Muggleton in high regard with this particular quote proving that the Scarlets will be learning quite a few new things.

"But I think John Muggleton, with his particular skills and unique ways of getting the message across, will ensure that the Wallabies' defensive pattern is back to where it should be." (O'Neill on Muggleton after the Australian Super 12 teams underperformed in 2003)

Fans and Players will be looking forward to Muggleton's arrival in the next few weeks and will wait with expectation to see the results of the new regime as the season progresses.