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Any old Iron Man?

International Wales
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The post of Elite Performance Director is such a new concept that unlike coaching it does not yet have its own Merry-Go-Round obligingly spewing up names that can be linked to any vacancies. For that reason, and with no wish to be unkind, I should imagine that I was not the only person who greeted the appointment of Graeme Maw as WRU Elite Performance Director with a resounding “Graeme who?”

Since first being advertised last spring, candidates have been quick to distance themselves from the post. The first was Kevin Bowring, hailed as a genius now the English love him, and yet a decade ago his desire to reshape the landscape of Welsh Rugby when national coach precipitated the appointment of Graham Henry who then set about reshaping the landscape of Welsh Rugby.

Andrew Hore was the next hot tip to cool off before taking up a similar job with the Ospreys, and so it continued,names came and went before the announcement that Graeme Maw, the former head of British Triathlon, will take up the post. The reaction of the press was cool, possibly because they didn’t see it coming and weren’t able to claim an exclusive. If I am honest I too was a little underwhelmed, but then what can I tell you about Elite Performance Direction, the square root of bugger all that’s what, but I know a man who can.

I called a friend of mine Richard Jones who, as a former British Iron Man and Triathlon Champion, is better placed than anyone else I know to give me an insight into Graeme Maw, and I am glad I did.

The first thing he said was “That is an awesome appointment, he’ll be a breath of fresh air, he is a million miles ahead of any other coach I have ever known and he knows exactly what performance sport is all about.” Clearly I was quick to point out the stark contrast between the subtlety and artistry that is rugby set against very crude and rudimentary splash, pedal, jog sport of theirs.

“It doesn’t matter” said Jones wearily, “he will look at the standards of performance set by the worlds best and design models to get the Welsh players up to that standard, whilst continually questioning their methods of achieving their goals.”

“It will take him a while to do it but I would imagine the WRU will want to target the next World Cup and so he will develop a cycle that is designed to peak at that time. He can do it. He did it with Triathlon. Within 3 years of his appointment Britain had become a genuine power in the World of Triathlon, and now because of the systems he put into place we have multiple World Champions at all levels of the sport”

“He will be more exposed than in Triathlon but Graeme is incredibly hardworking, disciplined and forward thinking. As a director he is an extremely good networker and communicator and so he should be able to deal with all the agencies involved, generally speaking he is very professional.”

So there we have it then, by no means an exhaustive audit but but some idea of his credentials. A swimmer from Bristol, educated at Loughborough and developed in Australia, may not be the obvious appointment, but let’s be fair, the obvious appointment has not always delivered. He deserves our support and patience if only because few of us actually understand his role. At least as an Iron Man he will be better equipped than most when the knives come out.

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posted Jan 4, 2008

Great article Rick, glad someone can shed some light on who this fella is. I just hope he can deliver.

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posted Jan 4, 2008

This appointment looks excellent. We have too many ex Rugby greats who are poor managers in positions of authority. Maw's lack of a Rugby background also means there will be no conflict with Gatland on how to play Ruby.
good article

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comment by Friend (U1028400)

posted Jan 4, 2008

I love the way people knock this guy before he hasn't even started his job properly.. it's typical welsh narrow mindedness. Its good to see the WRU thinking outside the box and giving it to a neutral and not a 'yes man'.

Let's judge him on what happens in the future and give the bloke a chance.

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posted Jan 4, 2008

If he keeps the 'elite' players out of the pubs, we may have a chance this year. Drug and alcohol councillor's we need just as much as anything else!

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posted Jan 4, 2008

The background on Mr Maw was useful and time alone will tell if the WRU have made the right appointment.I expect many objective observers of the Welsh team-that excludes most of us in Wales-will have seen a decline in comparative fitness and skill levels or is it simply that other nations have got their acts together and overtaken us?If Mr Maw can arrest and reverse this decline I for one will be singing again,but it is an indictment of the running of the game in Wales if ex-internationals are so critical of the basic skills of the current crop of players,where has it all gone wrong and what does it say about the organisation of the professional game which has been in place for quite a few years now?
Has anyone actually seen the job description for the EPD post?
Despite my present gloom I wish Messers Gatland and Maw and the Welsh team every success for the next 6 Nations

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comment by GerryE (U10769609)

posted Jan 4, 2008

So sad to hear Devereux & Hadley on Scrum 5 last night.The only surprise today is that our National Newspaper has yet to join the criticism.It can only be a matter of time!

Good Luck Graham - but watch your back.

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posted Jan 5, 2008

Good article, your iron man telephone call shed a bit more light on his credentials than I'd seen before. I feel optimistic about the appointment, lets just support the man and let him get on with his job. Getting an outsider (and true professional) in to cut through the bias and b/s will be a good thing.

I'm slightly more worried about Nigel Davies being kept on...is he supposed to be senior to Gatland in any way? If not, why is he there? If he is senior, err... Anyway, not sure what job Nigel Davies will actually be doing, but I wish him well.

As for Maw, I wish some former players would just give him a chance. When I was a kid, Hadley and Devereux were players I looked up to (until they went north, at which point I lost all interest, of course). Nowadays I'm not really interested in hearing their negative drivel, or that of Jonathan Davies. Just as excellent former players often fail as coaches / managers, it seems to me they often fail as pundits.

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posted Jan 5, 2008

I have to agree with Rick this can't be bad for Wales what we must not do though is expect this guy to be the be all and end all of our problems in Welsh rugby. I never believed in the need for this appointment but now it's here let's hope it works.

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comment by GerryE (U10769609)

posted Jan 5, 2008

Have to agree witrh Hanriverking regarding former players.Even Jonathan has become too cocky and was caught out badly on Scrum 5 with his comments on Andrew Hoare.It will take him a long time to live down that episode.

Anyway Maw looks like an inspired appointment and now that he is in the job everybody (former players included)need to get behind him and stop the sniping.

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comment by evlis (U6159432)

posted Jan 7, 2008

Good article Rick. It is a shame that there is so much negativity about this appointment coming from the press and former players. We need to do something different and bring in new skills to gain an advantage over other nations.

Good to get some more background and the more I learn about Maw and the role the more I think it is a great appointment. Would be good if former players and the press took the time to do a bit more research about the man and the role instead of ridiculing him/it.

With Gatland and the other names being mentioned for the coaching team, it seems that we might finally be getting the right people in place to deliver some long-term success. Here’s hoping anyway!!

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