Former Ireland women's hockey team head coach Graham Shaw said the opportunity to coach the New Zealand women's team was one he had to "grab".
Shaw resigned from his role with Ireland this week, announcing that he was taking over as coach of the 'Black Sticks' of New Zealand, currently ranked sixth in the world.
Hockey Ireland CEO Jerome Pels told Morning Ireland that he learned on Monday that Shaw was intent on leaving but the head coach himself said the possibility of moving to coach in the southern hemisphere was something he and his family had been contemplating for several years.
"It's a role that very rarely comes up, It hasn't come up in over ten years," Shaw told RTÉ Sport.
"When they come up, you need to put yourself out there. I'm very excited to take over the Black Sticks. It's a very exciting move for both me and my family.
"The role only came up in mid-January. We had discussed with family over many years that if an opportunity ever came up to be able to coach in that part of the world, that we were going to try and grab it."
The Dubliner, who earned 151 international caps, took over as senior women's coach in July 2015 with the side at a low ebb after failing to qualify for the Olympics in Rio.
Last year, he sensationally guided them to the World Cup final in London, beating England in the pool phase and then dispatching India and Spain on penalties en route to a final showdown with the Netherlands.
Ireland rose to eighth in the world during his tenure and last year he was named both RTÉ Sport Manager of the Year and Philips Manager of the Year ahead of Grand Slam winner Joe Schmidt.
"Timing is never a good thing in elite sport. It's very difficult to walk away from something you care about a lot. But this is a massive opportunity career-wise. It's a new chapter in my life, a new challenge and listen, I needed to take it. It might not be available next year.
"I've had 10 fantastic years with Hockey Ireland and I'm very grateful for the opportunity they've given me. It was an absolute honour to coach my country. And hopefully I'll be back one day when I can share my knowledge and experience over the next few years.
"We've had some incredible highs and lows over the last few years. But the highs completely outweigh the lows for me. The World Cup final was something special last year and it's something we'll remember for the rest of our lives.
"But elite sports move quite quickly. I'd like to wish the squad all the best for the future and Hockey Ireland all the best for the future and hopefully our paths cross some day.
"When I came in in 2015, we had just missed out on Olympic qualification and were 16th in the world.
"The fact that we're now World Cup silver medalists, ranked eighth in the world and with a massive opportunity to qualify for the Olympic games, it's fair to say that the programme and Hockey Ireland is in a better place than we were in 2015."
