Jones gets major job as shake-up at Welsh Rugby Union continues

The Welsh Rugby Union have continued their overhaul by giving former British & Irish Lion and Wales captain Ryan Jones a new high-profile job.

The triple Grand Slam winner Ryan Jones, who joined the WRU in 2016 as head of rugby participation, will now take up a new position of WRU Performance Director and joins the newly formed Professional Rugby Board (PRB).

Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Martyn Phillips made the announcement as part of re-shaping of his executive team.

The WRU’s longest serving executive board member Julie Paterson, who is also on the World Rugby Council, becomes WRU Operations Director, formerly head of rugby operations, and also sits on the PRB and Community Rugby Board (CRB).

The reshuffle doesn't end there - Geraint John, who was appointed as head of rugby performance, alongside Jones three years ago - when the previous head of rugby role was divided into two areas - has been appointed as WRU Community Director and will serve the new CRB.

“When we appointed Ryan and Geraint in 2016, we split the existing head of rugby role into two, giving direct and exclusive responsibility to the community game to an individual executive Board member for the first time,” said Phillips.

“We recognised quickly that the head of rugby job was too big for one person and the move to divide it up between both individuals has paid dividends.

“Ryan, Julie and Geraint have worked closely together for the last three years and this move will only lead to further integration and a continuation to our joined-up approach to the whole of Welsh rugby.

“The changes mean that Ryan will now sit on the PRB and bring direct, extensive and recent experience of the elite game in Wales to its important decision making processes.

“Geraint will become the new highly visible champion of the community game and Julie will continue her vitally important work to ensure that the execution of our plan is joined up and is delivering our long term strategic ambitions across the community and professional game.”

The job changes follow confirmation of 12 members (reduced from 20) of the new WRU Board announced by chairman Gareth Davies last week, a major part of proposed governance changes voted in by the Union’s AGM in October.