1
Ospreys make a move that suggests there is plenty of life left in them yet
By Online Editors
Ospreys have given an indication that they might yet be in existence beyond the end of this season following the appointment on Wednesday of two new directors.
The region has been embroiled in faction fighting in recent months amid speculation that they club would be merged with another of the Welsh PRO14 regions, namely Scarlets. That row reached an impasse last week when chairman Mike James resigned his position after what he described as "catastrophic mismanagement" by the WRU.
James was quickly replaced by fellow club benefactor Rob Davies, and the Ospreys have now strengthened their hand by asking Ian Morgan, founder and managing director of the Morganstone Group and property development company Westacres, and Nick Revell, managing director of Ledwood Engineering, to take up roles in the boardroom.
The pair had worked closely with the current board across recent months and have now agreed to formalise the arrangement. Ledwood and Morganstone have enjoyed long commercial relationships with the region, with both companies featuring on the Ospreys’ playing kit since 2015.
New chairman Davies said: “It’s excellent news that Ian and Nick, two prominent and successful figures in the Welsh business community with outstanding reputations, have agreed to take a seat in the boardroom.
(Continue reading below...)
“As long term commercial partners of the Ospreys, they understand the rugby, business and political landscapes in which we are operating and bring to the table skillsets which complement each other, and the existing directors.
“With their knowledge and passion for the Ospreys, Ian and Nick will be fantastic assets for the business as we strive to ensure a bright future for this region.”
Morgan said: “It’s important to me for the Ospreys to not only continue to be a strong part of the future of Welsh rugby, but to play a key role in the development of rugby globally as well.
“I have been involved with the Ospreys for a number of years as an avid supporter and main sponsor but now hope to strengthen the board and bring a fresh business approach to help take the region forward into a new era.”
Trending on RugbyPass
2
England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie's club future appears done
3
Harlequins sign England prop Harry Williams
4
Ex-Scotland captain and British & Irish Lions star Laidlaw dies
5
Latest Comments
Special player. The full set.
Go to comments“He won a ECL and a domestic treble at the beginning of his career.”
He won 2 ECLs at the beginning of his career (2009, 2011). Since then he’s won 1 in 15 years.
“He then won 3 leagues on the bounce later in his career”
He won 3 leagues on the bounce at the start of his career too - (2009, 2010, 2011).
If we’re judging him by champions league wins, he peaked in his late 30s, early 40s. If we’re judging him by domestic titles he’s stayed pretty consistent over his career. If we’re judging him by overall win rate he peaked at Bayern, and was better at Barcelona than at City. So no, he hasn’t gotten better by every measure.
“You mentioned coaches were older around the mid-2010’s compared to the mid-2000’s. Robson was well above the average age you’ve given for those periods even in the 90’s when in his pomp.”
Robson was 63-64 when he was at Barcelona, so he wasn’t very old. But yeah, he was slightly above the average age of 60 I gave for the top 4 premier league coaches in 2015, and quite a bit above the averages for 2005 and 2025.
“Also, comparing coaches - and their experiences, achievements - at different ages is unstable. It’s not a valid way to compare and tends to torpedo your own logic when you do compare them on equal terms. I can see why you don’t like doing it.”
Well my logic certainly hasn’t been torpedoed. Currently the most successful premier league coaches right now are younger than they were ten years ago. You can throw all the nuance at it that you want, but that fact won’t change. It’s not even clear what comparing managers “on equal terms” would even mean, or why it would be relevant to anything I’ve said.
“You still haven’t answered why Kiss could be a risker appointment?”
Because I’ve been talking to you about football managers. If you want to change the subject then great - I care a lot more about rugby than I do football.
But wrt Kiss, I don’t agree that 25 years experience is actually that useful, given what a different sport rugby was 25 years ago. Obviously in theory more experience can never be a bad thing, but I think 10 years of coaching experience is actually more than enough these days. Erasmus had been a coach for 13 years when he got the SA top job. Andy Farrell had been a coach for 9 when he got the Ireland job. I don’t think anyone would say that either of them were lacking in experience.
Now - what about coaches who do have 25+ years experience? The clearest example of that would be Eddie Jones, who started coaching 31 years ago. He did pretty well everywhere he worked until around 2021 (when he was 61), when results with England hit a sharp decline. He similarly oversaw a terrible run with Australia, and currently isn’t doing a great job with Japan.
Another example is Warren Gatland, who also started coaching full-time 31 years ago, after 5 years as a player-coach. Gatland did pretty well everywhere he went until 2020 (when he was 56), when he did a relatively poor job with the Chiefs, before doing a pretty poor job with the Lions, and then overseeing a genuine disaster with Wales. There are very few other examples, as most coaches retire or step back into lesser roles when they enter their 60s. Mick Byrne actually has 34 years experience in coaching (but only 23 years coaching in rugby) and at 66 he’s the oldest coach of a top 10 side, and he’s actually doing really well. He goes to show that you can continue to be a good coach well into your 60s, but he seems like an outlier.
So the point is - right now, Les Kiss looks like a pretty reliable option, but 5 years ago so did Eddie Jones and Warren Gatland before they went on to prove that coaches often decline as they get older. If Australia want Kiss as a short term appointment to take over after Schmidt leaves in the summer, I don’t think that would be a terrible idea - but NB wanted Kiss as a long term appointment starting in 2027! That’s a massive risk, given the chance that his aptitude will begin to decline.
Its kind of analagous to how players decline. We know (for example) that a fly-half can still be world class at 38, but we also know that most fly-halves peak in their mid-to-late 20s, so it is generally considered a risk to build your game plan around someone much older than that.
Go to comments