THE SPORTS COUNCIL FOR WALES' COACH OF THE YEAR

The 2009 Sports Council for Wales Coach of the Year is:

Paul John (Rugby)

  • Former teacher Paul is Head Coach of the world beating Wales Sevens team who were crowned World Champions in the IRB World Cup Sevens this year.
  • He became the National Sevens coach in Oct 2008, having coached the 15 a-side game for the previous five years at Pontypridd RFC (two years as assistant coach and three years as head coach).
  • The Sevens National Coaching role is probably one of the hardest roles to perform as quite often your team is changed at the last moment.
  • Paul captained the national team on a tour to the USA and Canada and also coached Pontypridd to victory in the Konica Minolta cup in 2007 and two runners up spots in 2006 and 2008, as well as coaching Wales’s U18’s back in 2005.
  • John Schropfer, WRU National Coach Development Manager – who nominated Paul – had this to say: "Paul’s attributes make him an ideal role model for the young players aspiring to become professional players. His empowering style of coaching has seen his charges develop considerably this last year. He is the first Welsh rugby coach to say that he has won the World Cup for Sevens. This was an incredible achievement."