Grewcock goes to school

Danny Grewcock, great England lock in his playing days, is starting at Clifton College in September, not as a 46-year-old pupil obviously but in a rugby coaching/developmental role.

Grewcock had a great international career, playing in 69 Tests for England and another five for the British & Irish Lions. As a member of the England squad that one the 2003 World Cup, he was made MBE (Member of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II that year, as were all the other players in the England squad.

Most of his club career was at Bath, but now he will be involved in neighbours and rivals, Bristol. He has two rugby tasks in the West England city - with Bristol Bears, as the Premiership club is now known, and with Clifton College

Clifton College is an 157-year-old English public (= private) schools catering from boys and girls aged from 2 to 18. His job with the Bears will be coaching. His job at Clifton is a new one for the imposing school - the high-performance rugby manager. It means that he will be coaching and helping coaches. An important aspect will be preparing boys to moved into professional rugby after leaving school.

Dr Tim Greene, the headmaster of Clifton College said, “We are delighted that Mr Grewcock will be joining the rugby coaching team and helping to develop our players. Mr Grewcock’s appointment will enable us to continue to build on that success and provide even more support for those in our High-Performance Sport Programme.”

With one foot in the club and another in school, Grewcock is well placed to feed boys on from school to the Bears.

The Bears' director of rugby is Pat Lam, born and educated in New Zealand but capped 34 times for Samoa, including playing at the 1991, 1995 and 1999 World Cups and a 50-year-old who has had a 16-year-old coaching career. He welcomed Grewcock's new venture, saying: “Danny brings with him a wealth of experience, both as a player and as a coach. Providing a pathway for young players into the Bears is a central focus of our club vision, so it’s a positive step to foster this new link with Clifton College and to continue developing our relationship.

"Building strong relationships with all our local schools and colleges in the region forms a key part of our strategy and this appointment will strengthen our alignment with Clifton College.”

Andrew Wagstaff, director of sport at Clifton College said: “I am excited about Danny's joining the sports coaching staff at Clifton. He undoubtedly has a wealth of experience, not just with rugby, and I look forward to working with him to further develop our high-performance players at the College. I am sure he will be able to enhance our link with the Bears and create even greater opportunity for our elite players to increase their skills and progress them to professional level.”

Grewcock said: “I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work with the College’s rugby programme and the Bristol Bears Academy. I’ve been impressed with their programme as it has a strong record of developing talented rugby players. With the experience I’ve gained from a professional playing career and the last eight years working with academies and school sport, I am sure I can support the players and coaches to ensure the College and city continues to develop players to achieve their potential.”

And who is there to see them out of professional rugby?