Humphreys relishing his crack on the Test stage

HAVING recharged his batteries following his departure from Gloucester in June, David Humphreys is enjoying his first experience of international rugby in a coaching capacity.

Humphreys, right, joined the Georgia setup before Friday’s friendly with Scotland in a high performance consultancy role as part of a World Rugby-funded project.

Fellow Ulsterman Neil Doak (backs and attack), former France hooker Sebastien Bruno (forwards) and Calvin Morris (S&C) have also come on board to assist head coach Levan Maisashvili during the Autumn Nations Cup.

Humphreys, 49, is glad to be back involved in rugby again after his tenure at Kingsholm ended abruptly after six seasons in charge and without warning.

While the former Ireland fly-half is reluctant to shed any light on “the unforeseen set of circumstances” that led to him parting company with the Cherry & Whites, he insists there is no bad blood between him and the club.

“The nature of any role in professional sport is uncertain, you never know how long you are going to be anywhere,” Humphreys said. “Every person has a limited timespan at a club.

“Over the last few years we felt we’d made some good progress at Gloucester and then there was a number of unforeseen circumstances that arose which made it feel like the right time (to go).

“We got to three Challenge Cup finals and won one of them; they were big days out for the club and for the players and supporters.

“Getting to the play-offs in 2018/19 was a huge step forward for Gloucester with the club having not done it for a long time.

“We made huge progress on and off the pitch and I felt we’d established a squad that would be able to compete at that level for a number of years. But in sport, it doesn’t always go the way you think. I have some great highlights and it is a wonderful club to be a part of.

“I left on very good terms with everybody there and I look forward to going back to watch rugby there at some point in the future.”

Humphreys won 72 caps in nearly a decade of service with Ireland but has never coached internationally before.

Having craved regular fixtures against the leading teams for years, Georgia suddenly find themselves with games against England, Wales and his native Ireland on consecutive weekends in November.

A successful showing will support the growing arguments for their inclusion in an expanded Six Nations, but Humphreys says expectations shouldn’t be raised too high given the limited preparation time the Lelos have had after joining the competition at late notice following Japan’s withdrawal.

“It is a massive opportunity but equally it is a massive challenge,” he said. “It is not something Georgia were expecting but to get the opportunity due to Japan’s unavailability provides them with a chance to show they have taken a step forward, even from the World Cup.

“Georgia have a very strong record against tier two nations, but their aspirations are way beyond that now with the World Cup or whatever may come, longer-term, in the northern hemisphere around the Six Nations.”

He added: “For Georgia, this is not a case of judging them on the results that come out of the next few weeks, it is about making small improvements. There is an opportunity to get some good rugby development which will hopefully hold them in good stead.”

Humphreys does not yet know what his own future holds beyond the end of the Autumn Nations Cup but, in the meantime, he is enjoying being involved in a different environment.

“When I got a call from World Rugby to see whether I’d be interested in supporting Georgia through the Autumn Nations Cup, I was hugely honoured to be asked and excited to get back into the rugby world.

“It is a unique opportunity for me, albeit for a short period of time.”