WELCOME HOME JAMIE
WALES AND LIONS LEGEND ROBERTS OUTLINES HIS DELIGHT AS HE JOINS DRAGONS
Jamie Roberts last night opened up on the reasons for his high-profile move to the Dragons.
The Western Mail last month revealed he was set to join the Gwent revolution being presided over by director of rugby Dean Ryan.
And the recruitment of the 33-year-old Lions and Wales star has finally been confirmed after he passed a medical.
“When I left Wales in 2013 to play my rugby outside my home country, I always promised myself that I’d endeavour to return and play in Wales again,” said the centre powerhouse.
“Having had some wonderful experiences playing across three of the world’s top leagues in France, England and South Africa, I’m delighted to return to Wales to play with Dragons and compete again in the Guinness PRO14 and next season’s Champions Cup.
“I’m sincerely grateful for having this opportunity, especially given the current climate we find ourselves in.
“I’m very proud and grateful to have achieved a lot of what I set out to in the game and now is a perfect time for me to help many of these young Dragons achieve theirs, as a collective and individually.”
Roberts, who has 94 Wales caps and three with the Lions, began his professional career with Cardiff Blues and has had stints with Racing 92, Harlequins, Bath and, most recently, South African Super Rugby franchise Stormers.
“They host the Lions next July and I’ve made sure John Dobson (Stormers head coach) knows I’d love to play in that one,” said Roberts.
Roberts becomes Ryan’s latest signing, following in the footsteps of Wales pair Jonah Holmes and Nick Tompkins, and Welsh-qualified lock Joe Maksymiw.
Wales Six Nations lock find Will Rowlands is set to join from Wasps and new Welsh-qualified prop Greg Bateman from Leicester Tigers.
Roberts’ last Wales appearance – he captained them against Tonga and Samoa three years ago – came off the bench against New Zealand in November 2017 but, at 33, he hasn’t lost hope of forcing his way into the plans of coach Wayne Pivac.
Hadleigh Parkes and Owen Williams have both ruled themselves out of the Wales equation by signing lucrative deals to move to Japan while Jonathan Davies and Willis Halaholo are recovering from serious, long-term knee injuries, leaving Pivac with scant resources at centre.
Roberts could form a potentially lethal midfield partnership at the Dragons with Six Nations sensation Tompkins, who has joined on a season-long loan from Heineken Champions Cup holders Saracens.
“When I sat down with Dean and looked through the Dragons squad, it was evident there is enormous potential,” he said. “Although a handful are established internationals, a significant number of the group are not far off that level and I hope any experience I may be able to pass on can help them fulfil their potential.
“The opportunity to compete against the best Europe has to offer in the Champions Cup is exciting and I look forward to helping the region develop on the field as well as off it.
“Rugby in Wales finds itself in turbulent times, yet from crisis comes opportunity and I’m excited to help the sport win its way back to becoming the heartbeat of its people.”
Roberts has a soft spot for Dragons’ Rodney Parade lair in Newport, the city in which he was born and brought up before moving to Cardiff.
“Before playing through the junior ranks in Cardiff from the age of 15, my love for the game was born on the terraces of Rodney Parade,” he said.
“My dad, Norman, has been a lifelong Newport rugby supporter and for many years my brother and I would frequent the terraces on weekends and harness our love for the game I’ve been so fortunate to play professionally.
“No-one would be prouder than him that I’m coming to represent the rugby supporters of Gwent.
“There has always been something very special about a packed-out Rodney Parade and it’s something I’m looking forward to experiencing first hand on the pitch this season.”
Coach Ryan, the former England forward, said: “It’s great news we are bringing someone of Jamie’s quality to the region and we know he will make an immediate impact for us.
“He remains an ambitious and driven player and is looking forward to coming into our environment.
“To have his experience on the pitch will be a great addition to us, and he will also be an excellent mentor for the younger players in our squad.”
NEW Zealand rugby legend Graham Henry has revealed how his time coaching in Wales was a lifechanging experience that “just about killed him” at the finish, writes Anthony Woolford.
The Aucklander took over the Welsh reins in August 1998 on a five year contract, intended to run up to and include the 2003 World Cup.
Henry’s deal, reputed to be worth £250,000 a year, made him at the time the highest paid coach in Welsh rugby history.
But in February 2002 he headed back to New Zealand as his reign came to an end by mutual consent following a Welsh Rugby Union general committee meeting.
His departure followed hot on the heels of Wales’ 54-10 Six Nations Championship thrashing against Ireland in Dublin.
Henry coached Wales in 34 Tests – winning 20, drawing one and losing 13 – with his scalps including South Africa, England and two momentous victories over France in Paris where Wales had not won since 1975.
There was also a run of 10 successive victories.
Henry, who also coached the 2001 Lions to a 2-1 Test series defeat in Australia, a tour that also compounded the pressure on him when returning to the Wales job.
And the man, who would later go on and help the All Blacks dish out a 3-0 hammering to the 2005 Lions before leading them to the 2011 Rugby World Cup in his homeland, laid bare just how much of a toll the Wales and Lions jobs took on him.
The 74-year-old told the All Blacks podcast: “I wanted to coach the All Blacks but they didn’t know who I was, even though I’d been coaching Auckland and the Blues for six or seven years.
“So the Welsh asked me to coach them, I asked New Zealand Rugby would I have a chance of coaching the All Blacks and I didn’t get a very positive response, so I decided to go north.
“I think I was probably the first guy to do that sort of stuff, at that level anyway, it was a fantastic experience.
“I learned so much about myself - it just about killed me.
“To come back and be lucky enough to coach the All Blacks after that experience was a lot of luck and a fantastic opportunity to be able to coach your own people. I felt so privileged.
“I think they (the Welsh nation) are just different, they’re beautiful people, but they’re so bloody passionate.
“They feel they’re in the team. There’s only two and half million of them, in Wales, a lot more live outside of the Principality, but they feel part of the team.”