Friday, 28 June 2013

McIntosh moves to quash speculation over Ponty future

Pontypridd head coach Dale McIntosh has reiterated he will remain at the club despite this morning being unveiled as a new member of the Cardiff Blues coaching setup.

Speculation had been rife as to whether he would continue to work with the reigning Swalec Cup and Principality Premiership champions after leading them to a historic first double in the season just finished – seeing off Neath 34-13 at the Millennium Stadium to lift to Cup, and trouncing Llanelli 47-15 in the Premiership Play-off final at Sardis Road.

But McIntosh declared the move as “no big deal” when it came to his work with the Valley Commandos. He said in a statement: It’s very simple really. The Blues have asked me to come in to do some collision work with them. Two hours a week - and that's it. It won't cross over into anything I do with Pontypridd. Two hours a week - during the daytime - no big deal for Pontypridd.”

The club also reiterated that message in a bid to calm the fears of supporters, with the Blues also announcing a similar situation would be struck with Cardiff RFC coach Mark Ring. They had already announced Andi Kyriaco would be joining their coaching team.

The Blues statement this morning read: “Last season saw us blood a number of young players and 20 matches were won or lost by less than one score.

“With that in mind, one of the main areas we wanted to develop was the technical skills in attack and defence as well as the set piece, especially the scrum.

“We aim to bolster the coaching team with the appointment of Dale McIntosh, Andi Kyriaco and, Mark Ring, who will be involved on specific times throughout the week with player skill development.”

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