Ty Morris, head coach of the Black & Ambers, has taken his side to the brink of major honours in the last two seasons and will have his eyes firmly fixed on competing for the inaugural SRC title in the new season.
And helping him to do that will be two highly experienced coaches in former Welsh internationals Ceri Jones and Gareth Wyatt. Jones has returned home to his first club after being in charge of RGC for the past three years, while Wyatt has joined after a lengthy coaching spell at Pontypridd and as backs coach to the Wales Women’s team.
“We’ve had a coaching re-shuffle and I’m delighted to have been able to bring on board both Ceri and Gareth. They were outstanding players who both played for Newport, the Dragons and Wales and have great pedigrees as coaches,” said Morris.
Ceri Jones
“With Sam Hobbs stepping into a more senior coaching role at the Dragons next season we needed a replacement as forwards coach and Ceri is tailor made for that role. Our defence coach Stuart Lawrence has switched to become team manager following the retirement of Mark Workman and I’m delighted to have been able to convince Gareth to join as backs coach.
“James Dixon has moved into the defence coach role and I can already feel there is a difference in our offering as a coaching group to the players. It has been a seamless switch and means we can build on what we’ve been doing in recent seasons.”
Last year Morris’ men reached the Indigo Premiership final against reigning champions Llandovery at Church Bank, having been cup finalists against Cardiff the previous season. With the club celebrating its 150th anniversary in the 2024-25 campaign, Morris is keen to turn near misses into titles and trophies.
“Last season was all about making small improvements in every aspect of our game and I’m pleased we’ve been about to retain 90% of our squad,” added Morris.
“With our new coaching team the goal will be able to build on those improvements to become an even better team. We’ll be sticking to our basic principles of playing a wide game and I’m happy with the new signings we’ve been able to make.”
With Tom Davies hanging up his boots, former Pontypridd prop Tom Devine has come in to challenge for the loose head spot, while Nathan Evans has signed on after being released by the Dragons to play at tight head.
Former Wales U20 and Dragons academy lock Joe Peard has returned from Ampthill in the English Championship to boost the second row depth. Scrum half Ethan Lloyd has joined from Merthyr and utility back Dai Richards is now on the books full-time after leaving the Dragons.
“We don’t anticipate seeing much of scrumhalf Che Hope this season because we see him pushing for a place at the Dragons and so it is important to have Ethan Lloyd coming in to compete for the No 9 shirt,” said Morris.
“I was very pleased to get Nathan Evans signed up because it is part of the role of all the SRC clubs to provide those players who have not quite made the grade at regional level with the right level of rugby to keep them in the mix.
“We’ve seen Will Reed, Ryan Woodman, Joe Westwood and Harri Ackerman all graduate into the Dragons ranks after playing with us in recent seasons. Our job now is to bring more players through.
“Hopefully, we’ll see Che get his chance this season and we can give Nathan the chance to get another shot at a fully professional career. Then we’ll have academy players Nick Thomas and Jordan Morris to help in the new season.”
Veteran outside half Matt O’Brien, such a key influence on the field for the club, is unlikely to get as much game team in the new campaign due to his off-field commitments as backs coach at the Dragons. That should mean greater opportunities for former Wales U20 outside half Jac Lloyd and Carwyn Penny.
