Former Wales defence coach Clive Griffiths has been appointed as head coach of the North Wales development side, and the proposal for international Canadian players to boost the side’s profile and performance levels has been agreed by Rugby Canada.
Griffiths, who worked alongside Mike Ruddock in Wales’ 2005 Grand Slam season, and helped Ruddock’s Worcester side reach the European Challenge Cup final in 2008, has been appointed for a period of five months and will select and coach the new side through a series of competitive matches, with Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay already confirmed as their home venue in a partnership with Conwy County Borough Council.
Ten international Canadian players will arrive in North Wales on January 7 in a move aimed to boost the standards and profile of the North Wales representative team, while providing competitive rugby for the elite, young Canadians.
In a second high profile appointment for the North Wales set-up, former Gloucester skills and conditioning coach Rudi Meir has been appointed as skills and conditioning coach for the side and will put a performance process and infrastructure management into place. Current North Wales coach John Aby will take up a role as one of the assistant coaches to the new-look team.
Clive Griffiths will now set out a selection process for the remainder of the Gogledd Cymru team in order to mould the Welsh qualified and Canadian players into an effective playing unit.
Nine fixtures have been confirmed for the side, beginning with a Leicester Tigers Development XV at Parc Eirias on Friday 15 January. The full fixture list will be finalised later this month.
The North Wales strategic plan includes the establishment of a North Wales academy which will be run by North Wales Performance and Development manager Marc Roberts with the support of Coleg Llandrillo and Rydal School who will provide an integrated academic and rugby programme. The academy will be based at Parc Eirias as part of Conwy Council’s multi-million pound redevelopment of the site.
The ambition is to work in a real partnership with Canadian rugby to further develop their players whilst simultaneously developing rugby in North Wales.
In the fullness of time as the North Wales academy system begins to produce appropriate Welsh players, the way forward will be reviewed together with our Canadian colleagues.
Clive Griffiths said, “This appointment is an exciting challenge for me. North Wales is an untapped source of rugby talent and I hope I can help bring that to the fore. A number of people have been campaigning for years to raise the profile of rugby in North Wales and we can make that a reality if we all pull in the same direction.
“There is always a lot of work to be done to gel a team and this situation is no different. We have some time now to select a group of players from North Wales and then build our game plan around the combined group of Canadian and North Wales players. I’m sure it will be a steep learning curve in the first few weeks and the door won’t be shut on squad inclusion by any means. Hopefully we will help to raise the standard of club rugby in North Wales by creating a sense of competition for places in the side.”
WRU Head of Rugby Development and Performance Joe Lydon said, “Clive Griffiths has a huge amount of professional experience at the highest level and is ideally placed to pull together a team of this nature. Rudi Meir is also highly experienced in his field and I’m sure their knowledge and expertise will rub off on upcoming North Wales coaches and players.
“The inclusion of ten Canadian players in the squad will help to raise the standards and profile of the North Wales side on and off the field and help to give North Wales a competitive, semi-professional side almost immediately. It will enable attractive fixtures to take place at Parc Eirias, which will hopefully help to increase the interest and participation levels in rugby in North Wales. The Canadian players will also be working with WRU Development Officers during their time here to help promote and develop the community game in north Wales.
“Our aim throughout this is to raise the standard of rugby players in North Wales for the long term and the establishment of an academy in North Wales will help to identify and nurture that talent for the future, while at the same time, the players will be exposed to a high standard of competitive rugby.”
Kenton Morgan, Chair, Rygbi Gogledd Cymru said, “Clive, Rudi, Jon and ten Canadians add substance to Rygbi Gogledd Cymru’s ambition to be the best. This innovative development is the “step up” in infrastructure and performance we need on the field. Our challenge is sustainability. This is a unique opportunity for the north Wales rugby community to show the passion and resources needed to allow us grow to occupy our rightful place in Welsh rugby. ”
WRU Group Chief Executive Roger Lewis added, “Rugby is the national sport of Wales. It defines us as a nation. The North Wales rugby strategy is vitally important not only for our rugby development but also for the unity of Wales. These announcements are a clear indication of the desire to maximise the development of all players, coaches and match officials from North Wales as outlined in the WRU strategic plan.”
Cllr Dilwyn Roberts, Leader of Conwy County Borough Council said, “We are delighted to welcome the Canadian team to Colwyn Bay and hope that this will be a great boost for rugby in North Wales. We’re particularly eager to see more young people participating in sport and we believe that bringing these Canadian players to the area will inspire and encourage the region’s youngsters. The North Wales authorities will work closely to ensure that any regeneration and economic opportunities that arise from this scheme can benefit the whole region.”
Rugby Canada CEO Graham Brown calls the move for the ten Canadian players to play in Wales a significant step forward in providing elite level competition as well as elite player development.
“Providing elite competition and training environments for our best players has always been a goal for Rugby Canada. Providing opportunities for players to become professionals, while continuing to provide high level domestic training environments for those not playing professionally overseas, through our partnership with PISE (Pacific Institute of Sport Excellence) achieves our goal. The North Wales project is one part of our development program and a significant partnership for Rugby Canada,” said Brown from Rugby Canada’s Toronto headquarters.
Gogledd Cymru fixtures 2010 (list to be finalised later this month):
Friday 15 Jan v Leicester Tigers Development XV Parc Eirias
Wed 20 Jan v Antiassassins (Chester) away
Sat 30 Jan v Glamorgan Wanderers away
2 / 3 Feb v Scarlets Llandovery
Wed 17 Feb v Worcester Parc Eirias
Wed 23 Feb v Sale Jets Parc Eirias
Wed 10 March v Leeds Parc Eirias
Fri 19 March v Oxford University Parc Eirias
Sat 17 April v Cross Keys Parc Eirias
