Duo complete Pivac's Wales coaching ticket
Welsh duo Stephen Jones and Jonathan Humphreys have been appointed as Wales assistant coaches as part of incoming head coach Wayne Pivac’s team.
The pair, both former Wales captains, have built impressive coaching CVs since retiring from playing.
Wales centurion Jones made 104 appearances for his country during a 13-year international career and represented the British & Irish Lions a further six times.
After hanging up his boots in 2013, the former fly-half went straight into coaching at English Premiership side Wasps. In August 2015 Jones returned to Wales to be part of Pivac’s coaching team at the Scarlets and helped the region to lift the Guinness PRO12 title in 2017.
Former hooker Humphreys, who made 35 appearances for Wales, 19 of them as captain, began his coaching career with the Ospreys in 2005. During eight years at the region he helped his side to three Celtic league titles and to EDF Energy Cup Final success in 2008. In the summer of 2013 he made the move north to become Scotland forwards coach and spent four years in the role until moving to Glasgow to become assistant coach at the Warriors.
Jones and Humphreys will link up with Wales and Pivac, who was announced as Wales’ next head coach earlier this year, following the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Two of the current Wales management team, Neil Jenkins and Paul ‘Bobby’ Stridgeon, are the first to announce they will remain in their roles post 2019. Jenkins, Wales’ all-time record points scorer, has been part of the national squad coaching set-up since 2006 and will continue in his role. The highly regarded former fly-half has also been part of three British & Irish Lions tours as coach, in addition to his two tours as player.
Stridgeon, the WRU Head of Physical Performance, joined Wales ahead of the 2015 Rugby World Cup and has been an integral part of the Wales management team. He was part of the 2009, 2013 and 2017 British & Irish Lions. Further coaching appointments will be made in due course.
“I’m delighted with today’s announcement. We are bringing in two hugely experienced, quality Welsh coaches to our set-up in Stephen and Jonathan and have secured the services of both Neil and Paul which is vitally important,” said Pivac.
“The WRU have been forward thinking with their planning and recruitment for post RWC 2019 and this has allowed me to bring in and secure the coaches we wanted.
“Stephen and Jonathan are hugely respected not only for what they did on the field as players but in their careers as coaches and I’m delighted to have them as part of our team.
“They will bring a huge amount of experience, excitement and passion to their roles.
“It is fantastic that both Neil and Bobby will be part of the team going forward. They are both very well respected across the world game, possess huge international experience and will be an important part of our plans going forward.
“We are ahead of schedule with our appointments with more to be made but it is great we are able to confirm where we stand at the moment.”
Humphreys said: “It’s a huge honour to return to Wales during what is a really exciting time for Welsh Rugby. The opportunity to come back and coach my country with Wayne and Stephen is one that I couldn’t turn down.
“I’m indebted to Scottish Rugby. I’d like to thank Mark Dodson, Scott Johnson and Vern Cotter for giving me the opportunity to be involved in their vision six years ago. I will always take great pride in my time here and the growth and success that the whole of Scottish Rugby have experienced in that time.
“In the meantime I have a job to do in Glasgow and my focus will be solely here until the end of the season. The club set-up at Scotstoun is one of the best I have experienced during my coaching career and it would be fantastic to try and finish up with some silverware.”
Jones said: “I’m hugely excited with the opportunity.
“It is a great honour to be asked to coach your country and I’m really looking forward to the challenge and very much looking forward to working with Jon, Neil and Paul for what I hope will be a very exciting period in Welsh rugby.
“I’m very grateful to the Scarlets for the opportunity I have had with them and for their continued support.
“Whilst excited by this role, my focus is fully on the Scarlets and the rest of our campaign.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Starts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
2 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
2 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
3 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
3 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
228 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
87 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
19 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments*They used to say that football is a gentleman sport watched by hooligans and rugby is a hooligan sport watched by gentlemen. How times have changed.*
3 Go to commentsexcept ot wasnt late wasnt late at all so dont know why you all saying its late he commits early and its your fault fir not paying attention
30 Go to commentsNot sure the Bulls need another average utility back in their ranks. Chamberlain has been ok for the Sharks but is by no means an X-Factor player. Bulls bought several utility backs which they barely use. A typical example would be Henry Immelman who plays mostly Fullback. The Bulls however have rarely played him this year and he has played wing or centre. Bulls want to build depth but seems like they have too many surplus players
1 Go to commentsABs lost against a side playing without a hooker - The guy playing, had one shoulder. Line outs were a gimme for the ABs, and the last 8 minutes 14 played 14 against a team that had been smashed 3 weeks in a row… Yet with all that possession, with all that territory, with all the advantages they actually had, especially in the last 8 minutes, they couldn’t buy a point. Those last 8 minutes determined if they outplayed the Boks or not. History will show that the Boks completely outplayed the ABs, especially in those last 8 minutes, the business end of any rugby match
228 Go to commentsWould’ve, could’ve, should’ve, didn’t.
228 Go to commentsKok will become a fan favourite
1 Go to commentsI am really looking forward to Leigh Halfpenny playing his first Super rugby game for the Crusaders Playing a long side his former Welsh and Scarlets team mate Johnny McNicoll.Johnny has been playing great, back in a Crusaders jersey.The attack has strengthened big time. Also looking forward to David Havili at 10. David is a class act, it also allows Dallas McLeod to remain at 12. A good thing.
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