New faces strengthen Ospreys Community team

The Ospreys Community Development team has been boosted by four new appointments as part of the WRU's Rugby World Cup legacy programme.

The team has welcomed three new Participation Officers, funded by Sport Wales, who will be tasked with increasing the number of primary school children playing rugby, with an additional full-time Community Coach joining the existing team of Development Officers to spread the rugby gospel across the region.

The newly appointed quartet all either hail from the region or have strong links to Ospreylia.

Tom Sloane from Bishopston is the new Participation Officer for Swansea, having played his rugby with Mumbles RFC. Formerly a WRU Performance Analyst, he has worked with the Ospreys since 2007 as a Community Coach.

Mikey Williams from Skewen will look after the Bridgend District. A Level Three qualified coach, Mikey coaches the senior team at his local club Skewen RFC, as well as Afan Nedd District U16’s. Having graduated from the University of Glamorgan, he has previously worked at London Irish.

The third Participation Officer is Lisa Jones. Now living in Skewen, Lisa is the sister of Ospreys centurion Ryan. A qualified teacher who studied at Loughborough, she plays for the Ospreys ladies team and has made the Wales training squad.

Liam Evans is the new full-time Community Coach appointed to work with the Participation Officers. Head Coach of Neath Athletic U15’s, he has been a Community Coach with the region since 2010.

WRU/Ospreys Regional Development Manager Ben Rose, commented:

“I’m delighted to be able to announce these new appointments to the successful Community Development team we have at the Ospreys. The four individuals who join the team will be tasked with delivering the WRU’s Rugby World Cup legacy programme and will work on a number of exciting new initiatives aimed at growing the game within Ospreylia and hopefully inspiring the next generation of rugby players and fans.”

Andrew Hore, Chief Operations Officer, added:

“The appointment of these four individuals is an important step forward for the Community Development team at the Ospreys, giving us increased capability to directly interact with young children in the region who we hope will become the future Ospreys players, coaches, administrators and fans.

“It’s fantastic to see passionate Ospreylian rugby people taking on these roles as we continue to develop from within. Each one of them has a crucial part to play in our long term business strategy of creating sustainable success for the region.”