Ben Ryan joins Wales in consultancy role

Welsh Rugby Union has acquired the services of former England and Fiji sevens coach Ben Ryan as a consultant.

The 45-year-old recently led Fiji to their maiden Olympic Gold Medal during the men's sevens competition in Rio and has guided the team to nine tournament victories overall since 2013, making him the most successful coach for the country in the format.

Prior to his association with Fiji, Ryan had a phenomenal success as the coach of the England Sevens team for five years between 2007 and 2012. Out of the 56 tournaments in the IRB series with England Sevens, Ryan led them to a semi-final or a better position on 28 occasions while also taking him to the 2003 World Cup final.

WRU head of rugby performance Geraint John believes the experience Ryan possess can be handy for Wales.

"Ben Ryan's appointment is a real coup for Welsh Rugby.

"He is a much sought-after high performance coach, who has been courted around the globe since his significant successes with the Fijian national sevens side."

Apart from Ryan's inclusion, WRU has also appointed Peter Drewett as the new performance coach manager effective from 1st March. He will now move from Hong Kong where he is working on a similar role.