URC: Dragons need clarity on type of boss to follow Flanagan

The former All Black’s title has changed from defence coach to interim head coach after the Rodney Parade club decided to act at the end of the first block of the United Rugby Championship.

The squad have returned to training this week with Tiatia calling the shots, assisted by attack coach Matt O’Brien, forwards coach Sam Hobbs, contact specialist Dan Lydiate, the conditioning staff and analysts.

It will largely be fitness on the agenda rather than any dramatic rugby coaching; performances were pretty good in the first block even if results weren’t.

The Dragons have a development fixture in Newport on Saturday when they take on the Scarlets but the plan remains the same for that – the academy coaching staff will be in charge.

Tiatia’s focus is the return of the URC on November 30 when the aim is to end the embarrassing Cardiff hoodoo that goes back to the Challenge Cup quarter-final in 2015, a 17-game losing streak.

The break for the autumn internationals allows things to settle down whereas Flanagan was in at the deep end after the departure of Dean Ryan in 2022.

That proved to be helpful – three of the 10 wins of his two-year tenure came in that first block with a shock success against Munster followed by victories against the Ospreys and Zebre Parma.

If Tiatia also gets off to a flying start then the clamour will be for the Ospreys great to be handed the gig full-time, but the Dragons owners’ first step is to decide what sort of a boss they want.

CHANGE: Co-owner David Buttress pictured with then head coach Dai Flanagan in 2022 (Image: Huw Evans Agency)

One would hope that such a discussion took place before the trio – chairman David Wright, former chairman David Buttress and Hoyoung Huh – opted to give Flanagan the boot with a year left to run on his contract.

The former fly-half arrived as a head coach and his title never changed, even if his job did considerably.

The Dragons need to establish whether they want an experienced figure to come in as director of rugby and work with the existing coaching team or for a head coach to call the shots, with others having big responsibility for off-field matters.

Clarity is key.

Whatever is decided, it will cost… and that after the Dragons had to come up with a settlement for Flanagan.

They are currently one coach down after his departure and it must be hoped that the work done by Tiatia on the defence doesn’t get affected by him wearing another hat.

The options appear to be:

a) Appoint a new director of rugby with Tiatia as head coach.

b) Appoint a new head coach and Tiatia returns to being right-hand man.

c) Stick with the current set-up.

The board haven’t yet spoken publicly about the decision of the past week and there is no timeframe about the next move, whether there is a target for ASAP or if they feel it can wait until next summer.

There also needs to be a realistic approach about who can be attracted without the cost becoming prohibitive.

If it is a coach/DoR who already has some clout then, with their reputation on the line, they will demand a bigger salary to head to Rodney Parade than they would to work with a more talented squad with a better track record.

EXPENSIVE: Dean Ryan commanded a big salary at the Dragons (Image: Huw Evans Agency)

For reference, former Wasps, Bristol and Worcester boss Dean Ryan was also a director on the board and the accounts for the year ending 2022 showed that he was paid £315,070.

The accounts for the year ending 2023 show that the ex-England forward was paid £586,792, with that including £400,000 of redundancy costs after he was put on gardening leave one game into the 2022/23 season.

It's fair to assume that Flanagan wasn't on a similar wage.

There is only so much money in the pot and a ‘big name’ boss will take away from the ability to spend on improving the group. The expectation would be that their salary would lead to getting more out of the current roster.

However, you only have to think back to the flying start made under Flanagan in 2022/23 to see the value of having a big, international-class player like Will Rowlands.

The Wales lock got injured in the autumn internationals and performances dipped.

The other option would be for the Dragons to embrace their role as a stepping stone and sell themselves as an opportunity for a boss to put themselves in the shop window for bigger jobs.

The club can’t really slide much lower but they certainly could climb a bit; a head coach/DoR that made serious progress at Rodney Parade would certainly catch the eye.

Whoever comes in will be one individual in a set-up that is already in place.

The coaches have been listed above while the Dragons brought in Ryan Chambers from the Welsh Rugby Union as head of performance in the summer.

With a background in sports science, he is charged with liaising with the various departments, ensuring that the coaching, conditioning, analysis and pathways are all lined up.

The Dragons invested heavily on their academy staff in the summer with Tom Hancock and Ceri Jones joining a coaching group that is managed by Lewis Roberts.

Jonathan Westwood was appointed as head of recruitment a month ago and he will ensure that the Dragons continue to work on retention and do the due diligence on potential targets for the new boss to give the green light on.

Head of strategy James Chapron supervises departments with an eye on planning and financial aspects but doesn’t have any involvement with on-field matters while the Dragons finally appointed a permanent chief executive last summer when the owners brought in Rhys Blumberg from Cardiff.

The current set-up means that it is business as usual for the Dragons for now, but clarity over the next move is needed sooner rather than later.