91�ȱ�

Hull FC have appointed Peter Gentle as their new head coach to replace Wakefield-bound Richard Agar.

Gentle, the current assistant coach for NRL side Wests Tigers and Australia, had also been linked to jobs at Castleford, Hull KR and Salford.

He was recommended by Hull's new director of rugby Shaun McRae, with whom he shares a manager.

"I'm delighted to take over as head coach at Hull and get a chance to test myself in Super League," said Gentle.

The former Western Suburbs and St George Dragons half-back will leave both his roles in his native Australia, which will be filled by his former mentor Tim Sheens, to take up his new job in East Yorkshire.

"I have spent some valuable years working with the likes of Tim," said Gentle, whose previous experience in English rugby league was as a player with the long since defunct Mansfield Marksmen.

"But I've always had the ambition to step up to the role of head coach, as well as to go to England, so this is the perfect opportunity for me.

"It is a really exciting challenge for me and my family. To be handed the chance to coach at such a prestigious club like Hull, with their history and heritage, will be a proud moment and an honour."

McRae is understood to have picked his fellow countryman from a shortlist of three candidates.

"There is no surprise that a club like Hull FC would be such an attractive proposition to any coach," said McRae, "so we have given this decision careful consideration, not just on each candidate's coaching pedigree, history and achievements, but what they are like as people and their passion for the job and the game.

"He is without doubt one of the brightest coaches in the game and we are confident we have secured the services of a talented and intelligent football man that we feel can take the team to the next level."