The 30-year old front row man, who has played at the Dragons and Ospreys, has been handed the forwards coaching role with the All Whites in what will be the next step on a coaching development pathway that has seen him coach at regional age-grade rugby at the Dragons and within the community game at Tumble over the last three seasons.
Tumble were promoted into WRU National League Division 2 West last year and now Gustafson has been given the chance to make an impact at the top end of the community game.
“Swansea is a club with a fantastic history that has had some great players and coaches down the years. The opportunity to become a part of the coaching set up is an exciting challenge,” said the Carmarthen-born Gustafson.
“I feel that it’s the right move for me right now given where I’m at in my career. I’ve done Dragons age-grade, I’ve done three years with Tumble, which has been a fantastic experience for me, and this is the next step.
“With 12 years experience as a professional rugby player behind me I hope to be able to provide worthwhile advice and support to the younger players coming through the Whites set up. My main focus has to be the Ospreys, competing for a place and continuing to work hard to represent the region to the best of my ability whenever I can.”
Gustafson linked up with the Swansea players at the start of their pre-season training and will be hoping to haul them out of the bottom half of the Premiership table in the new season. Richard Lancaster, director of rugby at Swansea, is excited by the contribution ‘Gus’ has already made.
“He has made an immediate impact on our environment and is driving really high standards which the squad are responding to. The experience he brings to the group, and the fact that his day job is still working in a professional environment , will be invaluable to us over the coming season,” said Lancaster.
“Hugh has brought in some fresh and creative ideas already and understands what we are trying to do at Swansea and is excited by it. He is a great fit and most importantly a great man. We are all looking forward to working alongside him over the coming months.”
