Richie Pugh leaves Ospreys for Wales role as WRU reintroduces sevens programme

Richie Pugh was assistant coach of the GB Sevens women's side at the 2016 Olympics

Richie Pugh is leaving his role as a coach at Ospreys to become the Welsh Rugby Union's (WRU) head of sevens.

Ex-Wales flanker Pugh, 38, will lead Wales' male and female sevens teams as head coach.

Wales' men's sevens team was suspended in August 2020 because of Covid-19 but the WRU says they will return to the HSBC Sevens World Series in January.

The union says it wants to re-establish "a high-performance programme" in women's sevens.

Pugh was part of the Wales Sevens side which won the Rugby World Cup in 2009 and worked in the coaching set-up before joining Ospreys in 2019.

"Sevens is an important part of the performance pathway, both for male and female players," said WRU performance director Nigel Walker.

"Richie is the perfect fit to oversee both male and female sevens programmes having coached both teams at international level, coupled with his extensive sevens playing experience.

"With the World Series, Commonwealth Games and Rugby World Cup Sevens taking place next year, it's a huge year for the male sevens programme, while re-establishing a high performance programme that complements the 15s World Cup bid will be the aim for the women's programme.

"Sevens will be a key part of our strategy for driving standards, growing the performance game and representing Wales on the world stage. We are in discussions with our regions and clubs to identify suitable players whose development would benefit greatly from spending time on the sevens circuit."

Pugh said he "couldn't turn down" the chance to take the job because of his "passion" for sevens rugby.

As Wales' men prepare to return to the World Series, the WRU says discussions are under way with the three Welsh players currently on Great Britain Sevens duty - Luke Treharne, Morgan Williams and Tom Williams - as well as the country's regions to put a squad together.

"For the men the focus will be on re-establishing the programme after the break due to the pandemic and the Olympic cycle," Pugh added.

"With the women's programme, the aim initially will be to bring a sevens programme back and be as competitive as possible and it will be exciting to work with full-time athletes with a longer-term aim of competing on the World Series."

Pugh played for Ospreys, Scarlets, Exeter and London Welsh, winning his one senior cap in the 15-a-side game against the USA in 2005.