Scarlets appoint Sean Holley to coaching team during Six Nations

Posted on Jan 18, 2013

The Scarlets have secured experienced Welsh coach Sean Holley to boost the Scarlets coaching set-up during the international window.

Holley will work alongside Head Coach Simon Easterby and his coaching team following the announcement that Scarlets Attack Coach Mark Jones will join Wales for the Six Nations campaign.

The experienced 42-year-old who is the longest serving Welsh regional coach ever, has worked at elite level in rugby for the past 15 years, was formerly with the Ospreys since their inception in 2003 initially as assistant coach and then in 2008 when he was appointed as Head Coach where he remained for three years.

During that time Holley lead the Ospreys to notable victories including Magners League Champions in 2004/5, 2006/7, 2009/10 and 2011/12 and Heineken Cup quarter finalists three years in a row in 2007/8, 2008/9 and 2009/10.

Prior to his role at the Ospreys, Sean Holley was Director of Rugby at Hartpury College and Head Coach at Gloucester RFC Academy.

He has strong links with the West Wales region having been brought up in Carmarthenshire and was a lecturer at Coleg Sir Gar where he developed the first of its kind “Rugby Studies” educational programme launched by Graham Henry and Phil Bennett at Coleg Sir Gar, where he taught and coached for six years. He has a Sport Science degree from Loughborough University.

Scarlets Head Coach Simon Easterby said it was a positive for his team to have Sean Holley’s knowledge and experience of the regional game; his success in developing Welsh players and detailed appreciation of competing in the LV=Cup and RaboDirect PRO12.

Easterby added that his prior experience would allow for a quick and seamless transition into coaching at the Scarlets and he welcomed the opportunity for Holley to bring a new and fresh perspective to training at Parc y Scarlets.

Simon Easterby said:  "To have a coach of Sean’s experience, expertise and technical ability at a key time for us is vital as Mark goes away on Wales duty.

"Mark Jones has contributed a great deal to our rugby environment and team this season and deserves his opportunity with Wales and we are pleased to support the national set-up and his coaching development.  Sean will be looking to continue the good work Mark has already put in place.

“We have a crucial period ahead of us while nine of our senior players are away during the Six Nations and need to make significant progress in the RaboDirect PRO12.

"We are fortunate, given the time-frame and midway through the season, to have secured the services of someone of Sean’s capability and background.

“He will also bring a fresh new perspective to our team environment which will be healthy for our coaching group and our squad of players.

“We look forward to his input; he will challenge and support our players which will add to the energy in our group and I know he will put his all into this role with us.

“With the level of experience and professionalism Sean has, he will hit the ground running with the knowledge he has of our region, players and the game in Wales.”

Sean Holley who joins the Scarlets officially next week said:  "I’m looking forward to working with Simon and his team – they are a hard-working and committed coaching team with clear goals, real ambition and a strong set of values.

"It’s a close-knit group at Parc Y Scarlets.  As a team, the Scarlets are destined to achieve success with the number of exciting players they have with real talent and passion for the shirt they wear.  They have worked hard to put themselves in a strong position in the RaboDirect PRO12 and they need to cement that in coming weeks.

"It will be a great environment to experience with an excellent stadium and rugby facilities and I hope to add real value to the drive and ambition at Parc y Scarlets for the time I am here.”

Sean Holley will be working as backs and skills coach in the interim period while Mark Jones is away.

Forwards Coach Danny Wilson will continue to coach at Parc y Scarlets during the Wales U20 Six Nations period – alternating his time between Parc y Scarlets and the WRU Centre of Excellence at the Vale Resort.

McBryde to step up as Interim Head Coach for tour of Japan

Posted on Dec 12, 2012

Robin McBryde is to step up as Interim Head Coach of Wales during the 2013 two-Test summer tour of Japan when Warren Gatland and Rob Howley are both on duty with the British & Irish Lions in Australia.

It is the second time the Wales Assistant Coach has taken on the role following his successful stint in charge of the 2009 summer tour to Canada and the USA.

The WRU is hoping McBryde and his team can repeat the player development successes achieved during the 2009 tour of North America.

On that tour the national coaching team fielded five new caps including Sam Warburton, Jonathon Davies and Craig Mitchell who remain key contenders for Wales squad places.

McBryde will lead a powerful coaching team featuring Neil Jenkins, Shaun Edwards and newcomer Mark Jones as assistants for the tour which is being seen by the WRU as an opportunity to enhance the development pathway structure process.

The inclusion of Edwards and Jenkins ensures that McBryde will  be able to draw on the experience and skill of the Warren Gatland coaching team through the build-up and delivery of the tour.

Mark Jones will be given an opportunity to boost his career development pathway within the Wales structure while offering his own proven level of expertise to the coaching mix.

The announcement of the British & Irish Lions backroom team has offered further opportunities for WRU coaching and backroom staff development within the senior environment.

The  tour party led by 37 times capped McBryde will play Test matches in Osaka on Saturday, 8 June and Tokyo on Saturday, 15 June.

He said: “I am delighted and extremely proud to have again been handed the honour of leading Wales on an important tour.

“It is a privilege to coach my country and I will embark on this tour determined to get the best out of the squad against what I know will prove to be tough opposition.

“It is inevitable that some of our leading players will be on Lions duty but the last tour I took charge of proved that it is possible to identify and blood some stars of the future in these games.

“I already have a great coaching relationship with Neil and Shaun but I am really looking forward to working closely with Mark Jones who fully deserves this opportunity to step onto the international stage.”

In 2009 McBryde and his team awarded first caps to Warburton, Davies, Mitchell, Jonathan Spratt and Daniel Evans during the tour from which Wales emerged with two victories.

Current Wales squad analyst Andy Hughes will lead the backroom analysts team in Japan in place of Rhys Long and Rhodri Bown who will be in Australia with the British & Irish Lions. Hughes will be supported by Marc Kinnaird who is already a member of the WRU analysts department working with the 7’s squad. He will shortly join the U20’s backroom team for their Six Nations tournament as part of his development within the structure.

The medical team in Japan will include National Team Doctor, Geoff Davies, Physiotherapist Mark Davies, Physiotherapist Craig Ranson and masseuse, Angela Rickard. The WRU National Medical Performance Manager, Prav Mathema will be with the Lions in Australia. Assistant strength and conditioning coaches Dan Baugh and John Ashby plus Sport Scientist Ryan Chambers will travel to Japan.

National Team Manager, Alan Phillips, will again oversee and organise tour facilities and team arrangements during the Japan trip.

WRU Group Chief Executive, Roger Lewis, said: “The coaching team we have announced for the Japan tour is evidence of how the development pathway in Wales is working effectively for Welsh rugby.

“The group we have established represents an ideal mix of huge talent from the current Warren Gatland set up combined with some of our best young prospects for the future in a range of disciplines.

“To have young and emerging coaches and backroom staff learning from the likes of Shaun, Neil and Robin is a great opportunity for everyone selected to travel to Japan.

“Robin has already proved he can lead Wales successfully on tour and this time the presence of Shaun will be an added bonus which is bound to help our preparations.

“Neil is expanding his coaching remit all the time and I know Mark Jones is a coach of quality who will take an important step forward in his own career development.

“With new faces in the rest of the backroom team from within our structure this is an important step forward in our commitment to player and coach development.

“I know our Head of Rugby, Joe Lydon, has been working hard on the international coaching structures and we will have more exciting developments to announce soon.”

WRU Head of Rugby, Joe Lydon, said: “This is a full, senior tour for Wales with all the pressures of senior international rugby, but there are undoubtedly development opportunities on and off the field.

“We cannot afford to be complacent about the development of our staff and therefore we must grasp any and every opportunity to help all our talented individuals fulfil their potential.”

Gatland expect to be confirmed as Lions coach – Officially announced tomorrow

Posted on Sep 3, 2012

The Head Coach for the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour will be formally announced at the Ironmonger’s Hall, London, on Tuesday, 4 September.

The appointment will come after the opening weekend of the season in the UK and Ireland and will be the 14th of its kind. Former Wales Grand Slam prop, and 1950 Lions Test player, John Robbins was the first man to be given the job of coaching the British & Irish Lions and it is widely expect that Wales’s Grand Slam winning coach Warren Gatland will follow in his footsteps and be given the honour – the first “Welsh” coach since John Dawes in 1977.

He took charge on their 35 match, five month tour of Australia, New Zealand and Canada in 1966. His official title was ‘assistant manager’ and the captain, Michael Campbell-Lamerton, still had ultimate responsibility for preparing the side, but it was at least a nod in the right direction of the need for a coach.

On Tuesday, 4 September, 2013 Lions tour manager Andy Irvine will announce the Head Coach for next summer’s 125th anniversary tour to Australia. Whereas the first seven coaches had to look after everything on their own, the new man will have a highly qualified team around him down under next year.

Where Robbins led, seven further ex-Test Lions have followed down the years. In fact, only Carwyn James (1971) and Graham Henry (2001) of Lions coaches were not tourists themselves during their playing careers.

Only Carwyn James (1971), Syd Millar (1974) and Ian McGeechan (1989 and 1997) have returned having won a Test series. Can the 2013 Head Coach deliver the goods? Time will tell!

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Danny Wilson joins Scarlets coaching set-up

Posted on May 14, 2012

The Scarlets have announced that Wales U20 Head Coach and Newport Gwent Dragons Forwards Coach, Danny Wilson will join their coaching set-up next season.

The highly-regarded, successful 36-year-old forwards coach will take over responsibility for the pack’s performance at Parc y Scarlets with particular focus on set-piece play.

The Scarlets have appointed Wilson as their new forwards coach starting in the 2012/13 season with the U20’s Head Coach still continuing to commit to international age-grade commitments with the WRU.

Wilson has a wealth of experience in skills and forwards coaching at national and club level already in his career. Previous roles have included Head Coach of London Welsh RFC from 2008 – 2010 and WRU Academy Skills Coach from June 2005 – 2008.

Originally born in the West Country, near Weston Super Mare and now living in Llanelli, Wilson has spent the majority of his coaching career in Wales.

A former University of Wales Cardiff graduate, he has previously been skills and forwards coach throughout the age-grades for Wales Under 18s, 19s & 20s.

Set piece play at the Dragons over the past two seasons has delivered some impressive statistics under Wilson’s guidance with an 85% winning line-out and scrum quality figures showing improvements of around 11% on previous seasons while in the process of developing a number of young front row forwards.

Scrum coach Garin Jenkins’ work with the Scarlets has been on a temporary contract since mid season last year and comes to a conclusion at the end of this month; and former Scarlets second row and the region’s forwards coach in his first season in 2011/12, Vernon Cooper will also be leaving the Scarlets’ back room.

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Ospreys’ Tandy ready for semi-final challenge

Posted on May 1, 2012

Head Coach Steve Tandy has revealed that he’s hoping to tap into the feel-good factor at the Ospreys as he looks to path a course for his team into the RaboDirect PRO12 final at the end of the month.

A fourth successive win last weekend saw the Ospreys secure second spot, and with it a home semi-final on Friday 11th May with a game to spare, and Tandy insists that getting the maths sorted out early is a huge bonus to the team’s preparations.

“Getting to the play-offs was the target when we took over so I’m pleased that we’ve managed to achieve that with a game to spare” he said.

“It’s a real boost for the business and I think there’s a real positive feel about the place at the moment which is great.

“As far as the team is concerned, securing the home semi with a game to spare is really important. It means we’ve got extra preparation time for the game. Yes, we don’t know who we are playing yet but it’s given us another two weeks to prep and get the team ready to go, rather than having to wait with a few different scenarios on the go. The uncertainty has been lifted and when we are planning for the next couple of weeks we know exactly where we are and what we are doing which has to be a huge benefit in terms of our preparations for 11th May.

“We’ve got Aironi first up though and we know we can’t take them lightly. While as coaches we have to plan further ahead, as far as the team is concerned it’s one game at a time and Aironi will present a real challenge. It could be their final game, which gives it that something extra and it will be an emotional evening there. They are a physical bunch and just looking at their results at home you can see what they are capable of. They’ll want to go out on a high.

“The players are aware that every game they are involved in they are representing the Ospreys at all times and will go out there looking to keep the momentum going with a good performance that will send us into the semi at the Liberty the following week in the right shape.”

The win over the Dragons last time out was witnessed by the highest crowd of the season, and Tandy is in no doubt that the big turnout provided his charges with a big lift. While the story of the night was all about Shane Williams and his last gap try, Tandy is quick to point out the importance of the late touchdown.

“It was superb at the stadium last time out, seeing so many supporters there” agreed Tandy.

“It really lifted the team and I’ve no doubt it helped us get the result in the end. It was a great occasion and the ending was very fitting for Shane, but you can’t lose sight of how important that try was for the team. It wasn’t just about Shane, we needed a fourth try for the bonus point and that bonus point in the end was enough to ensure that we have a home semi.

“That’s how important it was. It was a huge moment that has given that extra bit of breathing space and prep time that could be all important if we are going to be successful in the playoffs.

“To have 14,500 there was amazing but if we could go even better than that for the semi-final would be fantastic. It would give the boys such a boost to see so many people supporting them in a knockout game against Munster or Glasgow.”

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