Mike Ruddock took the top job at Sixways in May after the club’s dramatic and successful fight against relegation and has brought a new vision to the club.
His Wales side won the 2005 Grand Slam with an adventurous style of attacking rugby and he has already brought in the talent to repeat that feat at Sixways Stadium after a busy summer shopping spree.
Ruddock’s pedigree is without question. As coach of Swansea, he recorded a 21-6 win over the touring Australians in 1992 and won Welsh league titles in 1992 and 1994 and the Welsh Cup in 1995. In 1997 he again moved to Ireland as director of coaching at Leinster.
Returning to Wales in 2000 he coached Ebbw Vale and Wales 'A' then coached Newport Gwent Dragons with considerable success. In his first season with Wales, he completed the Grand Slam in the Six Nations Championship for the first time since 1978. He received the OBE in the 2006 New Years Honours List.
After leaving Wales, Ruddock spent the 16 months between professional rugby jobs working for a recruitment consultancy in Swansea and coaching his local team Mumbles to the Welsh Division Three South-West title.
Now he arrives in the Guinness Premiership determined to make his mark again.
