Ex-England international returns to rugby with Welsh 'region'

Former England player and coach Jon Callard’s 18-month exile as a coach has come to an end, with Super Rugby Cymru outfit RGC enlisting his services.

Callard has been working with the WRU-controlled North Wales outfit for the past month as a coaching consultant, and the trial period has now been extended.

The 59-year-old has been out of rugby since his part-time role as kicking coach at Bath was brought to an early conclusion in March 2024.

Callard, who lives in North Yorkshire, is delighted to be back in the game after fearing his coaching career might be over.

“After leaving Bath, I thought that was the end of that. I had been out of the game for 18 months, so this is a great opportunity to get back in,” he said.

“The league is very much a development level for Wales as a whole, so it’s an exciting project, and it’s rekindled my love for the game again.

“The challenges that Welsh rugby presents, I am looking forward to.”

During his playing days, Callard won four caps for England and was a key contributor to Bath’s success on joining the club from Newport in 1989.

He scored all the points in Bath’s 1998 Heineken Cup Final win vs Brive and collected multiple league and cup winners’ medals.

On retiring, Callard replaced Andy Robinson as head coach in 2000 but resigned two years later. He ended up at Leeds, as number two to Phil Davies, with the pair overseeing the most successful period in the club’s history.

A decade-long period working for the RFU in various high performance roles followed, including coaching the England U20s side and serving as kicking coach to the senior men’s team until his departure in 2016.

Callard returned to club rugby with Sale Sharks the following year, working under Steve Diamond, before returning to Leeds as head coach, where he was unable to arrest the club’s slide down the leagues.

In 2022/23, Callard was invited back to Bath by Johann van Graan, but the two-day-a-week arrangement ended just short of two seasons due to budgetary reasons.

Attracted by his track record in developing young talent, RGC came calling, and Callard, who spent most of his formative years in Wales and played for Wales schoolboys all the way through the age groups, is delighted to be back working in the country he once called home.

“I was born in Leicester, but all my ancestry is Welsh. From the age of three months to 19, I lived in Newport. I went to Bassaleg (School),” he explained.

“I played for Welsh Schools, 15s, 16s, 18s, 21s. I was in the Welsh national squad when I was 19 with (Paul) Thornburn, (Mike) Rayer and (Tony) Clement.”

After a fantastic season with Newport, Callard seemed destined to tour New Zealand with Wales in 1988, but was overlooked and Pontypridd’s Jonathan Mason went instead.

Ultimately, this prompted the move to Bath and led Callard down the English route.

Now Callard is splitting his time between his home in Harrogate and Colwyn Bay, where RGC play their home matches.

RGC’s season starts at home to Cardiff on the 13th of September.

Cardiff topped the table in last year’s inaugural SRC campaign, with RGC finishing seventh. Newport were crowned champions after a 27-18 win over Ebbw Vale in the Grand Final.

Welsh channel S4C have been retained as SRC’s broadcast partners. Every round of the upcoming campaign, which kicks off next month, will be covered on S4C, S4C Clic or YouTube.

The broadcast schedule for the first 14 rounds was confirmed this week, and RGC features only once, despite last season’s home game against Bridgend over the festive period attracting the highest viewing figures (109,000).

S4C have chosen to give the visit of champions Newport on December 27th the full production treatment this time around.