THE Namibia Rugby Union (NRU) this week announced the appointment of Lyn Jones of Wales as the Welwitschias’ head coach for their 2017 Currie Cup campaign.
“Lyn has quite an impressive CV with extensive coaching experience in Europe and Abu Dhabi and his range of successes at a number of clubs in premier competitions, made him the best choice for this important role in Namibian rugby,” the CEO of the NRU, Elizma Theron said in a press release.
Jones, who represented Wales as a player, and has coached the Neath Gwent Dragons and London Welsh amongst others, said he was excited about the task ahead.
“To coach in one of the world’s truly great rugby competitions, the Currie Cup, is an opportunity too good to let pass me by. Phil’s (Davies) plans for Namibian Rugby are typically detailed and impressive and I’m looking forward to doing all I can to add value to his vision,” he said.
“In a 22-year coaching career, helping young players realise their potential has always been my focus, and Phil has assembled a squad that is young, talented and keen to prove themselves. I can’t wait to get started,” he added.
Jones and Namibia’s current Director of Rugby and head coach Phil Davies were team mates for Wales and Llanelli, and Davies said he had an outstanding coaching record.
“Lyn’s coaching record is outstanding – he was head coach at the Ospreys region in Wales for 10 years and won league and cup titles at professional level there. He has also coached in England with London Welsh and in Abu Dhabi,” he said.
Davies said that Jones would bring a lot of experience to the job.
“One of the reasons we went for Lyn is that he is a very good technical and tactical coach with huge experience and we hope that knowledge can be transferred back in to help support the growth of our game in Namibia,” he said.
“It is a very exciting appointment for Namibian rugby and one that can continue to help support our players and coaches in the country,” he added.
Theron, meanwhile, said that Jones will join the Welwitschias in February next year.
“The squad has already started with pre-season training to improve their strength and conditioning levels, and will be ready to start working with the coach when he joins the squad by the beginning of February 2017. With proper preparation, we believe that the team will be much more competitive during the second year of participation,” she said.
“The final dates for the Currie Cup competition have not been finalised yet, but at this stage it seems as if the format and dates will be similar to that of 2016,” she added.
