Ex-England international Narraway and Cross have learned their fate at the Dragons

Dean Ryan continues to be busy during the coronavirus pandemic suspension of the rugby season, his latest gambit being to permanently tie ex-England forward Luke Narraway and ex-Edinburgh skipper Simon Cross to his coaching staff at Rodney Parade.

The calculating Dragons boss, whose improvements in his first season at the struggling club augur well for the future, had the pair of coaches involved with the region on a consultancy basis. However, he had decided to now tie them to the Guinness PRO14 club on a full-time basis. 

“Both Simon and Luke are talented coaches who made big impressions when they worked with the squad this season,” said Ryan, who in recent weeks lost Welsh international Cory Hill to Cardiff Blues but convinced Ross Moriarty to stick with the Dragons. 

“They have now joined us on a full-time basis as we continue to invest in our coaching environment to get the very best out of our playing squad.”

The appointment of defence coach Cross follows his time as a consultant with the region which he combined with a role as head of rugby at Royal Grammar School Worcester, a post he has now left.

Meanwhile, forwards coach Narraway combined his consultancy work with heading up the Dragons reserve team coaching set-up for their Celtic Cup campaign.

Ryan’s appointments are latest additions to the coaching staff for 2020/21 following confirmation that Mefin Davies will link-up with the region next season and the appointment of Dan Baugh to a strength and conditioning role.