words hamish stuart pictures Steve Pope
SWfacts
Andrew Hore
DOB 15th April 1972
Birthplace New Zealand
Current Club Ospreys
Current Position elite
Performance Director
The thing about andrew hore, numbers who follow the international game. Zealand and Australia have just opened the doors
explained a colleague at the ospreys, to one foreign player per team and I think that
is that he just wants to be an Elite “There is no reason in the world why Wales brings something which you would miss.
Performance director, not a team cannot be the jewel in the rugby crown, but we
manager, or coach and certainly not need some unselfish acts rather than thinking of “But the first thing we should be arguing about is
his old role as a fitness trainer. little areas. how we keep 11, 12 and 13 year-olds in the sport
– that should be the first debate and then what
Which begs two questions. What does an Elite “We have worked hard on our relationship with we do from there.
Performance Director do and how come he the WRU and we are very much on a similar
ended up at the Ospreys when he was being page – which is extremely positive. What Warren “I totally believe our age grade should combine
tipped for that role at the WRU? Gatland wants to do, working with the regions, is schools and clubs and have them compete in the
great.” same competitions,” he argued.
Perhaps the answer to both questions is the same.
Hore is the main man at the Ospreys. It is the head coach’s job at the Ospreys which “For instance Dan Biggar played for his club, his
has understandably grabbed the attention, first the school, his region and the national age grade team
“I think it will take a while for my role to be departure of Lyn Jones after five years and then last year – he has a different team every week and
understood effectively. It is the community, the the wait for a new man. four sets of coaches talking to him as well.”
elite, youth and senior rugby, with my role being
to ensure there are some structures in place to “We looked at the whole business, where we Hore was part of the Wales management which
be competitive right through,” he explained. wanted to go and people may not have wanted to brought the 2005 Grand Slam and returned to
go that way,” is the explanation for Jones leaving, New Zealand before being courted by the WRU,
“It is all tangled up so heavily with the senior side along with director of rugby Kevin Hopkins. initially, and then the Ospreys.
because their structures are answerable to me
and we need to get the shop window right. “It was a parting of ways, not in a negative way “I did not feel New Zealand rugby was changing
but it was good for him and potentially for us – at the rate that it needed to be changing or that I
“Once we have done that then I can move away though you cannot take away the amount of good wanted to see, so it was not the environment for
and look at the structures elsewhere, for instance work Lyn did getting the Ospreys up and running. me even though they do a really good job and the
I have just finished meeting with the community NZRFU are very sharp,” he said.
manager and the academy manager to look at “We won the EDF last year against a very good
what is happening there and what we need to get Leicester side and we have won the Magners “Welsh rugby has only been truly professional
in place.” League more often than anyone else. I can only since the regions were brought in five years ago,
speak favourably of all the people who have been however I think that since then the evolution has
Hore is known in Wales for his former role as here over the last five years – hopefully we can moved more quickly than New Zealand did in
the national team’s fitness coach. He was highly build on that.” their first five years.
regarded, but back in New Zealand he developed
the reputation for much more than fitness work. Hore is very much in favour of taking a long term “It probably took seven or eight years for New
view rather than focussing on such issues as the Zealand to get that far, so things are moving at
At the Ospreys, Hore knows where he is going number of foreign players with the four regions. a significant pace at regional level, but one thing
and why he came here to do it. New Zealand did really well was the development
“What annoys me is about the whole foreign of their coaches.”
“The strength of passion here, the depth of the player issue is that we are not debating enough
game, there are only a few rugby nations in the and moving in the right direction with the elite That is something he is putting in place with
world that have the same amount of respect for development, which will provide the players and the young Welsh coaching team at the Ospreys
the game,” he said. coaches in the future,” he said. of Sean Holley and John Humphreys. That is a
team which will be strengthened, while their
“I have a real affection for the nation, so this is “I was at a professional rugby board meeting – development will continue and Hore will look
just another way of helping to develop it – even if every man and his dog was in the room when we more closely then at the wider picture.
it is just the players from one area. were talking about the number of foreign players,
but the room was half empty when we were Hore is an interesting character and the Ospreys
“There needs to be a dose of reality because talking about the youth development structure. have given him his head. That should mean
the community rugby numbers are not large by interesting times ahead.
international standards, though there are large “However there should be foreign players. New
sportingwales
issue4twothousand&eight
SW_Issue4.indd 14 9/10/08 15:32:07
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