World Rugby has announced the appointment of former Wales international and Namibia head coach Phil Davies as the organisation’s director of rugby. 

Davies has spent more than 25 years coaching elite teams, including Cardiff Blues, Scarlets, Worcester Warriors and Leeds Tykes.

The former Wales international is also a hugely respected figure within Test rugby and no stranger to World Rugby’s high-performance programmes, having steered Namibia to consecutive men’s World Cups in 2015 and 2019.

Davies will be charged with shaping performance management processes for elite match officials, nurturing relationships with national team coaches, advancing World Rugby’s relationship with players on performance matters and providing expertise and supporting emerging nations in sustainably bridging the competition gap at the highest levels of the game.

Davies will also play a key role in ensuring welfare continues to be at the heart of the law review process.

“I am delighted and humbled to be joining the World Rugby team and am looking forward to getting started,” the 58-year-old said.

“I am passionate about the sport, its people and global potential and I believe that I can bring my experiences of playing and coaching in more than 20 nations over the past 35 years to support further growth and development to the sport both off and on the field, in particular in the important areas of welfare, sustainable high-performance programmes and laws evolution.”

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