Lewis joins Chris Horsman who took up the post of international skills coach (scrum) this week with a third appointment to follow.
Lewis will take up his post on January 1 and, like Horsman will be responsible for delivering specialist technical coaching to every level of the pathway. The two full-time skills coaches will work closely with Warren Gatland’s senior national coaches to shape the national skills curriculum, which they will then deliver to all national academy and international pathway players on a regular basis.
They will also have specific responsibility for the international pathway teams, with both Lewis and Horsman part of the Wales Under 20 and Wales Under 18 coaching teams for their forthcoming international campaigns. They will focus especially on developing highly skilled players and will work with school-club hub officers to ensure a coordinated playing and coaching philosophy from national squad through to grassroots rugby.
Former Pontypridd, Bath, Bristol and Rotherham back row Geraint Lewis, who won 16 caps for Wales, was a player development officer and then Performance Skills Coach for the Welsh Rugby Union before joining Cardiff Blues in the same role at the start of the season following the signing of the Rugby Services Agreement.
He joined the Pontypridd coaching team in October 2013 following Dale McIntosh’s departure to the Blues.
He said, “It’s a very exciting new role. To coach an international team at any level is a great honour and I’m looking forward to learning from our national coaches and developing further on a personal level.
“Having started as a WRU development officer, I’ve worked with club, school and regional age grade teams so I’ve gained experience of developing players across the whole spectrum and it will be great to affect and shape how players are developed in this country.”
Geraint, who was a very skilful forward in his playing days, firmly believes in forwards being all-round athletes.
“It’s a great challenge and improving how forwards and backs link together is key. In order to compete with the top countries in the world, our forwards need to be skilful and contribute consistently to the game outside of the set-piece.
WRU Head of Rugby Josh Lewsey said: “Developing and honing core skills and game understanding will be a key focus for Geraint and the other international skills coaches. It is incumbent on us to provide senior Welsh rugby with as many well rounded, bright and complete rugby players as possible and allocating specific resource at this level clearly supports that emphasis.
“What’s more, in appointing individuals who performed at the highest level to fill these roles hopefully we are regenerating those with huge experience back into the system and also providing a method by which we nurture the next generation of professional Welsh coaches.”
