Helen Ward and James Rowberry join Wales coaching team for Republic of Ireland friendly
- Published
Helen Ward played club football for Watford, Arsenal, Chelsea and Reading
Wales' all-time leading goalscorer Helen Ward will be part of their coaching team for the friendly against the Republic of Ireland on 27 February.
Jon Grey has been named interim head coach for the game following the departure of Gemma Grainger last month.
Ward, 37, will be one of two assistants coaches alongside former Newport County boss James Rowberry.
"I'm honoured to be involved again with such a special group and I can't wait to get started," said ex-striker Ward.
"I was extremely fortunate to experience the highs and lows of international football with some incredible teammates through my 15-year Cymru career.
"I hope that those experiences and the learnings from my recent coaching qualifications can help aid the team in a different role as we look to qualify for our first ever major tournament."
Ward returns to the Wales international set-up having retired as a player in 2023 after scoring 44 goals in 105 international appearances.
She recently gained a Uefa B coaching licence in the Football of Association of Wales' (FAW) coach education system.
Rowberry, 38, is the FAW's head of elite coach education.
He was sacked by Newport in October 2022 after a year in charge at Rodney Parade, having previously been a coach at Cardiff City.
James Rowberry's Newport side were in contention for promotion in 2021-22 but finished 11th after a disappointing end to the season
"It will be a privilege to be involved with the team later this month and I can't wait to get started with the players and staff," said Rowberry.
"It will be a great opportunity to build on the experiences from the recent Nations League campaign against strong opposition that were in last year's World Cup, as we look to reach our first major tournament as a nation."
Former Swansea City academy coach Grey had been assistant to Grainger before her shock exit on 10 January, when she announced she was standing down to take over as Norway boss.
The FAW are hoping to have a new permanent management team in place before qualifying for Euro 2025 begins in April.
Wales were relegated from Nations League Group A3 having taken only one point from six games in a group which also featured Germany, Denmark and Iceland.
They were beaten 5-0 by both Germany and Denmark in the group, but finished the campaign with an encouraging goalless draw against the Germans in Swansea.
The friendly against the Republic in Dublin is a warm-up for Euro 2025 qualifying - the draw for which takes place in early March.
"I am delighted that both Helen and James will be involved in the camp later this month, bringing with them their extensive knowledge and experience of the international game," said Grey.
"As a group I am positive that we can prepare the squad to be in the best place possible ahead of the qualifiers which will start in April, building on the learnings of the recent Nations League campaign."
