The Nigeria Rugby League Association has reinforced its backroom staff with the addition of a director of high performance and mentors for both the men’s and women’s national teams, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The governing body announced Luke Shearman as Director of High Performance, International Teams and Competitions, moving from his former role as assistant women’s team coach.
The NRLA also announced the appointment of New Zealand international, Njavada George, as the women’s national team mentor, while Ashley Klein comes in as referee mentor and Tara Jones will support the development and increased participation of women referees in Nigeria.
“The Nigeria Rugby League is proud to announce the appointment of Luke Shearman as Director of High Performance, International Teams and Competitions,” the NRLA announced on Wednesday.
“Luke brings extensive international experience across high-performance systems, elite athlete pathways, competition delivery and global rugby league development. In this role, Luke will oversee all national team programmes, high-performance frameworks, international competitions and strategic pathways from grassroots to elite level.
“His appointment marks a significant step forward in Nigeria Rugby League’s commitment to world-class standards, professional structures and long-term international success — ensuring Nigeria continues to set the benchmark for rugby league development across Africa and on the global stage.”
Referee mentor Klein is widely regarded as one of the best referees in the world. The Australian officiated the National Rugby League Grand Finals in 2018, 2022 and 2024.
Alongside Jones, the only full-time female referee in the UK, their addition is to further strengthen Nigeria’s officiating structure.
The Nigeria Rugby League Association, through its partnership with Alaro City, hosted a high-performance camp that saw players and staff from Australia, Canada and the UK join locally based colleagues for a week at Rugby School Nigeria, followed by two weeks at Alaro City.
As part of the camp, Nigeria welcomed neighbours Ghana for two senior international matches, which Nigeria won 40–0 and 24–8, before proceeding to the World Series in Canada, where the Green Falcons lost 62–4 to Fiji in the final. Before then, they beat Ireland 10–0 in the semi-final.
