Pugh takes charge as Wales make a 7s return
RUGBY World Cup Sevens winner Richie Pugh has been named as the Welsh Rugby Union’s head of sevens ahead of Wales returning to the World Series in the new year.
The 38-year-old rejoins the governing body from the Ospreys, where he has been part of the coaching set-up since 2019.
Pugh will lead the male and female Wales Sevens programmes as head coach. The WRU says extra staffing and resources will be made available to him in order to provide a highperformance environment that underpins player development for Welsh rugby.
The union suspended the Wales Sevens team last year due to the impact of Covid, with the governing body announcing that the global nature of the pandemic and its financial implications, including the disruption of the World Series, rendered the men’s sevens programme unsustainable.
Some saw it as a shame, pointing to how the programme had previously played a key role in developing the likes of Justin Tipuric, Rhys Webb and Alex Cuthbert.
But with Wales’s men returning to the HSBC Sevens World Series in January, discussions are under way with the three Wales players currently on GB Sevens duty, Luke Treharne, Morgan Williams and Tom Williams, and with the Welsh regions to put together a squad by the new year.
Pugh will head up the operation.
Capped at all levels for Wales, the ex-flanker and contact skills specialist enjoyed four seasons with Wales Sevens as a player, his stint including being part of the side who won the World Cup Sevens in 2009.
As well as previously leading the Wales Sevens coaching set-up, he also filled an assistant coach role with GB Sevens in Rio.
WRU performance director Nigel Walker said, “Richie is the perfect fit to oversee both male and female sevens programmes having coached both teams at international level, coupled with his extensive sevens playing experience.”
Pugh said: “This is an opportunity I couldn’t turn down given my passion for international sevens. Sevens offers a unique opportunity to develop players on and off the field given the experiences on offer around the world.
“I feel I’ve developed as a coach having spent two years at the Ospreys. I’m looking forward to putting those learnings back into our national sevens programmes.”