HUDDERSFIELD Giants Academy and Scholarship fitness conditioner Trevor Commons has been appointed head strength and conditioning coach for top Italian rugby union club Arix Viadana.
Arix were Italian champions in 2003, played in last season's Heineken European Cup and boast a number of Italian internationals.
Commons takes up his new post next month after six years at the Giants and will immediately begin preparing the squad for the new season, which starts in September.
The 38-year-old admits it will be a massive challenge, but believes the experience he has gained at the Giants will stand him in very good stead.
"This is a fantastic opportunity to take my career to another level and I can't wait to get stuck into my new role," he said.
"This job gives me not only the challenge of developing some very fine athletes but also learning a new language and relocating my wife Karen and children Thomas and Sophie to a new country and very different culture.
"What an adventure for all of us!
"The last six years at the Giants have been a real roller coaster but now the club is on its way to where it belongs, with a long-term plan to become a huge force in rugby league.
"I would like to thank Jon Sharp and the coaching staff for their support and encouragement. I have been proud to be part of the club for the past six years."
Commons' departure means there will be some re-structuring of the Giants coaching set-up.
But Giants general manager Richard Thewlis admitted it would have been wrong for the club to stand in his way.
"We are a club that prides itself in giving opportunities to players, staff and coaches, and in this case Trevor has earned an opportunity elsewhere which he simply couldn't turn down," said Thewlis.
"It's a fabulous appointment for him and we couldn't stand in his way, despite our obvious disappointment of losing someone who has been so pivotal in the development of many of our younger players.
"Eorl Crabtree, Phil Joseph Jon Grayshon and Paul White all played for Wigan at the weekend and all came through the junior grades with Trevor, which is something that I know he prides himself on.
"We will restructure the coaching department slightly to cover for his loss and review our structures at the season's end."
