Exiles appoint new scrum coach

London Welsh has strengthened their coaching set up ahead of next season with the appointment of Matthew Ferguson as assistant coach.
Ferguson, who had previous spells at Bristol, Cardif as well as the RFU, will join head coach Justin Burnell and assistant coaches Gordon Ross and Ollie Smith with his primary focus being the scrum.
Burnell said: “We’re very fortunate to be able to add Matthew to our existing and excellent coaching staff. It’s great to have him on board to join Gordon and Ollie.
“Matt’s knowledge of the scrum is second to none and he has good links within the RFU system with Graham Rowntree.
“After the excellent work done with our scrum last season by Darren Crompton, the role of a technical person to work primarily with the scrum is of the utmost importance, as we know how key an area that will be in the Aviva Premiership.
“Last year’s success was based on an ethic of hard work which was constantly evident within the players’ group, but quietly behind the scenes the work of the whole management structure, including our medical staff and strength and conditioning coaches, was tremendous.
“We are confident that the addition of Matthew in to that ethos and our structure will help us to be competitive in the Aviva Premiership.
“As head coach I’m also very mindful that we will be participating in four competitions – Aviva Premiership, European Rugby Challenge Cup, LV= Cup and the A League – so the more quality people we have within our set up the better.”