The former West, Wakefield, Stockton, Darlington and county forward will lead the club into their assault on Durham Northumberland Division Two in September.



Hartlepool had previously said that a coaching panel of Murray, Brown and try-scoring sensation Ian Coulson would be in charge.

But following a meeting of the club's committee, Pool have had a re-think and placed Brown in sole control, though he will be assisted by Coulson.

Murray's exit will shock many, particularly after the New Zealander took Pool to the Durham Northumberland Three title in April – Pool lost only once and scored over 1,000 points in a memorable campaign.

Pool swooped for the Kiwi in the summer of 2005 after the club suffered relegation to Division Two.

Though the squad improved, the back row forward was unable to save Pool from dropping into the bottom league.

Murray just missed out on promotion in his second year but the side, strengthened by the signing of national league players Brown and Coulson, were unstoppable last season.

Director of rugby Stewart Hind, who was involved in bringing Murray over from Ireland, where he had been playing, explained that it was with a heavy heart Pool had taken the decision.

"Howie has been running the show for nigh on three years and the general consensus was that it was felt it was probably time for a change," said Hind.

"When Howie took over, he effectively had a second-team outfit to coach after all the players we had lost.

"He more or less had to build the club back up from scratch.

"Howie arrived just before the start of the 2005-06 season so it took a while to implement his philosophies.

"We were third his second season and last year he got us back up again.
"He has brought a lot to the club, not just the first team – he's coached the Ladies and also helped the kids.

"He's a top bloke and I'm sure across the board there will be a lot of sadness.

"Wherever Howie goes, I'm sure he'll do a great job.