The Ospreys are delighted to announce that Mike Ruddock has committed his future to the region for the next three years as the new Development Director at the Liberty Stadium.
Ruddock completed a rugby review of the Ospreys back in December before he was appointed Performance Director and he played a key role in the appointment of Toby Booth as Head Coach and Brock James as the new attack coach.
The former Swansea coach, who has unrivalled coaching experience with Leinster and Ireland Under 20s in Ireland and Worcester Warriors in England, has previously worked at regional level with the Dragons and at international level with Wales.
“I am delighted to continue my involvement with the Ospreys and I would like to thank everyone at the Region for their fantastic support during the last six months,” said Ruddock.
“I have passed on the High Performance baton to new Head Coach, Toby Booth and his talented coaching team. During my time at the Ospreys I have been heavily involved with coach and player recruitment plus the setting up of our excellent new temporary training facility at Swansea RFC. Now that the foundations for success are in place it is the right time to move into another challenging role."
“As the Club’s first Development Director I am able to consider a much broader remit. If needed I can still support the High Performance end of the organisation, however the main focus of my role will be to support our performance pathway model."
“It’s a challenging and much needed role as we strive to identify and mould the next generation of Ospreys. This is a new chapter for the Ospreys. We have recruited an outstanding Head Coach and I am excited by the quality of our coaching team. We have a new training venue and a very talented squad. I can’t wait to see the team in action.”
Andrew Millward, Ospreys Managing Director, said:
“Mike’s experience, knowledge and contacts in the game have proved invaluable for the Ospreys and I am delighted to see him carry on with the region. He played a pivotal role in the appointment of Toby Booth as our new Head Coach, along with the appointment of Brock James as Attack coach.
“He is a respected figure in the game, not just in Wales, and his new role will allow him to bring all of that and his expertise to bear on the Ospreys rugby operation going forward.
“Having played for and coached at Swansea, Mike knows and understands the DNA of the Ospreys and what the region means to our supporters, sponsors, partners and the community.
“He has already shown that with way he has influenced our recruitment policy and emphasized the need to develop our own talent and by encouraging home-grown players to return to their home region.”