CHRIS KIRWAN SAYS: Scots role for Ryan is bad news

IT WAS a signal of intent when the Newport Gwent Dragons board appointed Dean Ryan as rugby consultant, yet its a move that has backfired spectacularly.

In a miserable season there was a glimmer of hope when it was announced that the former England back row forward was helping out at Rodney Parade.

Ryan is a heavy hitter in the rugby world, a man that doesn’t mess about who has good contacts and a shrewd brain, as shown by his excellent work as an analyst with Sky Sports.

The region gave no real job description but it was confirmed he would head to Newport one day a week, help out in recruitment and act as a link between the board and the coaching staff.

The sceptics stated that they would do his job for a lot less than a sum just shy of four figures to say ‘put your hands in your pocket and sign some experienced players in the front five, half-back and midfield’.

Nonetheless, the description used by the Dragons when it came to Ryan was that he would be a valuable “resource”.

Well, the missed calls will be piling up on his mobile after he was appointed as interim Scotland forwards coach last week.

That’s a heck of a commute for a weekly board meeting in the Bisley Stand.

‘No matter’ was the response from Rodney Parade, ‘he will still fulfil his role here’.

Sorry, but there is no chance that Ryan will be giving a second’s thought to the Dragons during Six Nations.

His reputation is on the line when it comes to his job with Scotland; it isn’t when it comes to a role at Rodney Parade that now looks rather flimsy.

The Dragons board must feel they can’t do right for doing wrong, because they’ve been made to look rather daft with the Ryan appointment.

Comments(9)

let em swing says...
9:39am Thu 10 Jan 13

More incompetence, although it was already clear he was only ever going to watch the video of our games,another waste of time.

let em swing says...
9:39am Thu 10 Jan 13

More incompetence, although it was already clear he was only ever going to watch the video of our games,another waste of time.

Dai the Milk says...
11:30am Thu 10 Jan 13

You get what you pay for in life..............an
d for the Dragons Board it was only ever about control of rugby in Gwent at all costs..............w
hen the dust settled, they thought they could run the set-up on the cheap..............w
hich of course is impossible. Now the chickens are coming home to roost.

the dork says...
1:26pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Does not take much valuable Dean Ryan time to fly in and tell them what and who to reruit ! Why do we have to pay a consultant to state the bleeding obvious! Its the same in business directors do not listen to theirger/staff and love to pay 4 figures for Joe Consultant to carry out a 'survey'

Robert Shillabeer says...
3:34pm Thu 10 Jan 13

the dork wrote:
Does not take much valuable Dean Ryan time to fly in and tell them what and who to reruit ! Why do we have to pay a consultant to state the bleeding obvious! Its the same in business directors do not listen to theirger/staff and love to pay 4 figures for Joe Consultant to carry out a 'survey'
Come off it could you do the job, no I would say not because you clearly care about the side but simply because you are too close to the thing to see what may be wrong or right about how it's run. Any consultant will tell you it's about standing back and looking in from the outside with no preconceived ideas about what improvements need to be made. Did a similar job in the rail industry for many years, some success but also some failures as its still down to the organisation concerned to either accept or reject the recommendations. Now he as taken on the Scotland job for three months, that's 12 weeks with a squad that's already picked so its just a daily training bit of work, about 40 hours work so three or four hours extra wont cause too much extra work and with modern communications these days he won't need to be at Rodney Parade provided they used good systems such as computer links and video gear.

Dai the Milk says...
4:06pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Robert Shillabeer wrote:
the dork wrote:
Does not take much valuable Dean Ryan time to fly in and tell them what and who to reruit ! Why do we have to pay a consultant to state the bleeding obvious! Its the same in business directors do not listen to theirger/staff and love to pay 4 figures for Joe Consultant to carry out a 'survey'
Come off it could you do the job, no I would say not because you clearly care about the side but simply because you are too close to the thing to see what may be wrong or right about how it's run. Any consultant will tell you it's about standing back and looking in from the outside with no preconceived ideas about what improvements need to be made. Did a similar job in the rail industry for many years, some success but also some failures as its still down to the organisation concerned to either accept or reject the recommendations. Now he as taken on the Scotland job for three months, that's 12 weeks with a squad that's already picked so its just a daily training bit of work, about 40 hours work so three or four hours extra wont cause too much extra work and with modern communications these days he won't need to be at Rodney Parade provided they used good systems such as computer links and video gear.
'Looking in from the outside' Robert? Like Mr Moffett with our reorganisation ten years ago? Sometimes those 'on the inside' have a much better idea what is needed. Certainly, so-called 'regional rugby' was and still is a complete balls up. Are you really telling me you don't know what is wrong at the Dragons?

Apart from being a completely flawed concept, try these for starters:-

A board that cannot see the obvious or which doesn't care too hoots.
The coaching set up.
The front five.
The need for a seasoned, dominant 10 who can control and run a game.

kalwales@hotmail.com says...
4:41pm Thu 10 Jan 13

I just Love it , i havent smiled so much in such a long time x

Robert Shillabeer says...
5:09pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Dai the Milk wrote:
Robert Shillabeer wrote:
the dork wrote:
Does not take much valuable Dean Ryan time to fly in and tell them what and who to reruit ! Why do we have to pay a consultant to state the bleeding obvious! Its the same in business directors do not listen to theirger/staff and love to pay 4 figures for Joe Consultant to carry out a 'survey'
Come off it could you do the job, no I would say not because you clearly care about the side but simply because you are too close to the thing to see what may be wrong or right about how it's run. Any consultant will tell you it's about standing back and looking in from the outside with no preconceived ideas about what improvements need to be made. Did a similar job in the rail industry for many years, some success but also some failures as its still down to the organisation concerned to either accept or reject the recommendations. Now he as taken on the Scotland job for three months, that's 12 weeks with a squad that's already picked so its just a daily training bit of work, about 40 hours work so three or four hours extra wont cause too much extra work and with modern communications these days he won't need to be at Rodney Parade provided they used good systems such as computer links and video gear.
'Looking in from the outside' Robert? Like Mr Moffett with our reorganisation ten years ago? Sometimes those 'on the inside' have a much better idea what is needed. Certainly, so-called 'regional rugby' was and still is a complete balls up. Are you really telling me you don't know what is wrong at the Dragons?

Apart from being a completely flawed concept, try these for starters:-

A board that cannot see the obvious or which doesn't care too hoots.
The coaching set up.
The front five.
The need for a seasoned, dominant 10 who can control and run a game.
That may be exactly what he comes up with only he knows. He is there as an independent pair of eyes unfettered by having to cover his own backside. What he reports may well upset a few of the inner circle, but come what may he'll say it. It's up to the Board to act on it or ignore it, we will then know if its been a waste of money.

the dork says...
5:20pm Thu 10 Jan 13

Nothing like an overpaid consultant justifying his/her existance. The railways are no example of good managemt/consultancy ask commuters who are paying threw the nose because of poor performance.

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