Cranleigh School has appointed its new director of rugby, John Andrews.
Andrews is currently head of rugby, head of boys’ PE and co-curricular coordinator at Ballymena Academy in Northern Ireland and will start in August 2022 to lead the pre-season for all age groups.
He has a stage 5 IRFU, the highest qualification for coaching and has coached professional and semi-professional senior clubs in Northern Ireland. He has held coaching roles with IRFU, Ulster U20s and Ulster U18s, and taught GCSE and A-Level PE.
Andrews has built a reputation as an excellent coach and educator, producing several Ulster professional players and leading Ballymena to Ulster Schools Cup and medallion success.
With his partner, Andrews implemented the athletic development programme at Ballymena and was master in charge of tennis as well as coaching other sports.
John’s previous roles as a coach educator, school teacher and high performance rugby coach makes him a wonderful fit for us – Andy Houston, Cranleigh School
Cranleigh School’s rugby team have been champions and runners up in tournaments such as HSBC National Seven’s Rosslyn Park Cup, St Joseph’s International Rugby Festival and Surrey U18 Rugby Sevens.
Andrews said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to join Cranleigh School with its strong tradition in sport and recent successes in rugby. I’m very excited about the challenge of the continued development of rugby and the chance to assist players and coaches to achieve their potential in the game.”
Andy Houston, director of sport at Cranleigh School, said: “We were privileged to have had a number of excellent applicants to the director of rugby role and being able to secure a coach of John’s calibre is very exciting for all our pupils and coaches.
“He brings with him a wealth of experience, both at the high performance level and the lower ability younger age groups, which I know will mean that all pupils here at the school will benefit from his skills. John’s previous roles as a coach educator, school teacher and high performance rugby coach makes him a wonderful fit for us.”.
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