New role at Merthyr suiting Davies down to the ground
HE may be back in a suit, but Nigel Davies isn’t ready to ditch the coaching clobber just yet. The former Wales coach has taken up a post as chief executive of Principality Premiership champions Merthyr, tasked with driving forward the ambitions of multi-millionairre backer Sir Stan Thomas.
Davies, of course, is no stranger to the desk job with a spell as the Welsh Rugby Union’s head of rugby development among the entries on a cv that includes coaching stints with his home side the Scarlets, Gloucester and more recently Ebbw Vale.
“My role is quite broad, but essentially it’s about ensuring sustainability of rugby in Merthyr and being in one of the top teams in the Premiership,” explained Davies at the launch of the revamped Premiership in Cardiff this week.
“But underpinning that it’s quite diverse in terms of the role itself.
“There’s a lot of commercial work, commercialising the business, but I suppose the most exciting bit for me is the engagement of rugby in the community and Sir Stan has brought about a clear vision for me.
“He loves the town and he’s invested heavily in the squad. The first thing was to get a winning squad together and he’s done that.
“So it’s created lots of momentum within the town and we want to use that momentum to engage with the whole community.
“One of the things I want to do is to create strong links with schools and colleges and other organisations and also act as a conduit for the development of rugby, whether that’s community rugby or elite rugby.
“Hopefully, people will see there is a clear pathway to play professional rugby if you are in the district of Merthyr.”
In their debut season in the Premiership, Merthyr emerged as a major force, losing a thrilling cup semi-final to RGC 1404, but recovering to take the league crown after beating Aberavon in a gripping play-off final at the Talbot Athletic Ground.
However, Davies accepts the Mer- thyr success story hasn’t been greeted with universal acclaim, with the club being accused of buying their way to glory thanks to a number of high-profile signings.
“I think we’ve been sort of the bad boys of the Premiership and I can understand that and why people see that, but there’s a lot of good stuff going on in Merthyr as well,” insisted Davies.
“One of the great things is that we’ve got the facilities in place that if we get it right then we’ll be able to sustain ourselves in years to come.” And coaching? “I’m 52 now, but one thing I’ve learned in my career is never say never,” he added.
“It’s just that this job came along and I quite liked the look of it, so I’m keen on delivering on this vision that we’ve got for Merthyr. I think it’s an exciting project and I think it’s a worthy project as well.
“I don’t actually coach on the field any more, but I’m supporting the coaches, so that keeps me involved on the rugby side as well.”
The 2017-18 season sees the Premiership having again undergone significant restructuring.
Last term, the league experimented with a controversial mid-season split, leading to complaints about a lack of regular rugby and, crucially, income for clubs after the turn of the year.
This time around, there are east and west divisions from the start, with the 16 clubs coming together at the end of December.
Whoever finishes top of the pile will be crowned champions without the jeopardy of end-of-season play-offs.