Edwards appoints two of his assistants for Neath

Neath head coach Neil Edwards has appointed two of his backroom staff for 2013-14 with a promise of one more to come.

Former age-grade Wales international Llŷr Lane has been appointed assistant coach, while 2005 Wales Grand Slam winner Robin Sowden-Taylor arrives at The Gnoll as the new Strength and Conditioning Coach.

Lane follows Edwards to Neath from Ebbw Vale where he has been backline coach for the past five years.

As a player, he turned out for Newport, Ebbw Vale, Bristol, Coventry and Doncaster as well as representative rugby for Wales at all age levels up to and including the Welsh under-21s.

Other coaching experience includes Newport Gwent Dragons age grade teams in 2008 and had some involvement with the Wales under-16s in 2009.

Sowden-Taylor played eight times for Wales in 2005 where he helped the Dragons to their first Grand Slam in 27 years, while he also played against world champions South Africa.

A regional player for both Cardiff Blues and the Dragons, he represented Wales at all the age grades, from under-16s to under-21s, and also played for the Wales sevens team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

After retiring from professional rugby in February 2011, he joined the Dragon CrossFit coaching team in Cardiff.

Edwards said: “These appointments are really positive for Neath RFC for the next season. Both are very professional, hard-working and ambitious coaches who want to coach at professional level again. They’re going to help us make the improvements needed to grow our team.

“I was with Llŷr at Ebbw Vale both as a player and coach. He’s a West Walian and has a degree in sports coaching. A really great addition to our team.

“Robin now has his own business around strength and conditioning and he’s been a concentrating on that for the last two or three years. He’s very professional and experienced and knows his role inside out. He’s in the process of finalising the pre-season plan so the players are ready for the start of the season.

“We’ll have a coaching team of four, including myself, and we’ll have the fourth and final part of the coaching staff announced in the next few days.”