Sport For All
Llandovery College has a formidable reputation for sport. This reputation extends well beyond producing international sportsmen and women in a staggering array of disciplines and now embraces a fully inclusive activity programme that promotes fitness, health, participation, enjoyment and a life-long love of sport. Pupils regularly represent the College in over a dozen sports and it is unusual for a pupil not to pull on a College jersey at some stage of their school life.
Being a Welsh School, rugby is important to us at Llandovery College. We are fortunate to have expert coaching, 45 acres of playing fields and the legendary Tredegar Close our 1st XV rugby pitch that has produced over 50 full internationals.
With partnerships with the Scarlets, Opsreys and the Dragons, close relationships with the National Team Management, elite and conditioning coaching we consistently produce outstanding players such as Alun Wyn Jones, Carwyn James, George North, Craig Quinnell, Rachel Poolman, Andy Powell and Carys Phillips.
LATEST NEWS
Our School Sports Structure
My time at Llandovery was fantastic. It set me on the right path for life.
I love that the fact that I can take part in so many kinds of activities, such as shooting, football, cricket and the Duke of Edinburgh! The teachers are always around outside the classroom too, and I can go to them about anything.
DIRECTOR OF ELITE RUGBY
Ex-Ospreys professional rugby player and Level 4 Coach, Sam has worked in many high performance environments. His involvement with the Regional Pathway and Female Academies, along with his exceptional contacts, will strengthen the School’s existing close working relationships with Regional Partners the Scarlets, Ospreys and Dragons. Sam’s appointment as Director of Elite Rugby promises an exciting future for both our male and female rugby players.
Sam has eight years coaching experience and is an enthusiastic, innovative individual with vast knowledge specialising in sports coaching, athlete development, mentoring and education. On his new appointment Sam said: “I am very happy to be given the opportunity to be part of such a strong rugby institution such as Llandovery College. The College has a proven record of developing young talented athletes who are able to really excel in the classroom while still pursuing their sporting aspirations. With such a rich history in rugby and now the new Regional Partnerships that they have developed, it is an exciting time to be joining Llandovery College and I am looking forward to seeing how far we can evolve the already impressive rugby provision in place.”
This appointment will continue Llandovery College’s well-established and exceptional school environment where developing athletes alongside their academic success is the primary goal. The Elite Rugby Programme develops players through challenging, nurturing and empowering them to be the best they can be. Sam will be working with highly talented and engaged students who take pride in their achievements both on the field and in the classroom, leading their progression into Academies, Senior Squads and ultimately, international honours.
PARTNERSHIPS WITH RUGBY GIANTS
SCARLETS
The Scarlets have teamed up with Llandovery College in a new partnership aimed at developing elite rugby talent.
Llandovery College has a proud reputation for producing top-level Welsh rugby players with the likes of former Wales captain Gwyn Jones and current Wales and British & Irish Lions stars George North and Alun Wyn Jones among its alumni. Dafydd Hughes, Tomi Lewis and Corey Baldwin, who have represented Wales U20s and Scarlets, are also former pupils....
The newly-developed programme will build on the existing rugby programme within Llandovery College and is headed up by former Ospreys coach Sam Williams who has taken on the role of Director of Llandovery College Elite Rugby.
Scarlets development pathway manager Kevin George said: “We have worked closely with Llandovery College in recent years, but this new partnership takes it to a new level, underpinning the Welsh Exiles programme to provide added value for the Scarlets development pathway. It is an exciting move forward for all of us. It is great to have a coach of Ioan’s calibre and experience leading the programme. He is someone who knows our development programme well having been part of the Academy and, of course, the senior coaching team at the Scarlets.”
Williams will take specific responsibility for advising the College’s rugby staff on implementing an elite rugby development programme for boys and girls, working closely with the Scarlets, the Welsh Rugby Union, the Welsh Exiles programme and the Warden of Llandovery College to deliver recruitment strategies.
He will also lead on all tactical and technical elements for Llandovery College’s first team, providing individual plans for the College’s elite rugby players.
He said: “I am excited about the prospect of helping such a historic rugby institution as Llandovery College develop this programme to help bring through the next generation of young Welsh talent into professional rugby. You look at the history of Llandovery College, the great Carwyn James, the former Llanelli and Lions coach, set up the Welsh Department there and a number of former pupils have gone on to represent the Scarlets, Wales and the Lions. I know from working with the Scarlets Academy that Llandovery College is a fantastic environment to develop, not just as a rugby player, but as a person as well. On a personal level, my aim is to continue to coach in the elite professional game. This is another step in my coaching career and I am looking forward to bringing my experience from the last nine years or so with the Scarlets to the role.”
Warden of Llandovery College, Dominic Findlay, added: “I am delighted to be able to work in partnership with the Scarlets to further develop the rugby programme and support at Llandovery College. This is hugely exciting and having the likes of Ioan Cunningham leading our programme, alongside the current staffing, will have a huge impact for our students.”
Scarlets general manager of rugby Jon Daniels said: “The Scarlets has long since been renowned for developing the stars of the future and thanks to the foresight and commitment of Dominic Findlay and the Board of Llandovery College our partnership will be strengthened and they will benefit from first hand exposure to the Scarlets Academy programme. We are also very fortunate to have someone of Ioan’s experience to kick-start the programme. He is a very experienced coach who has developed in our pathway for many years. He has high aspirations as a coach and I know he is relishing the challenge of being in the hot seat at Llandovery College at the start of this exciting journey.”
OSPREYS
The Ospreys are excited to announce a new Elite Rugby Partnership with Llandovery College to develop elite homegrown rugby talent in Wales.
Llandovery College has established a reputation as one of the premier rugby schools in the country and will grow its rugby provision by teaming up with the Ospreys in a new partnership to further develop elite rugby talent. This new partnership gives aspiring young players associated with the Ospreys Player Pathway Programme a unique opportunity to join the Llandovery College Elite Rugby Programme....The partnership between two of Wales’ great rugby institutions will combine to offer an education and rugby pathway in a bid to retain young Welsh talent in Wales.
The Ospreys will provide ‘master class’ coaching sessions with its Academy coaches, like Wales and British & Irish Lions star James Hook, and Welsh internationals Paul James and Andrew Bishop, to support the schools programme to develop the rugby stars of tomorrow.
Director of Llandovery College Elite Rugby, Sam Williams, leads the Elite Rugby Development Programme, provides individual plans for the rugby players and directs on all tactical and technical elements for the Llandovery College 1st XV.
While the Ospreys Academy, which has a proven track record of discovering and developing young rugby talent for the region and for the national side, will supply international coaching expertise during the season.
Ospreys Development Pathway Manager, Gareth Walters, said: “This partnership allows us to extend the Ospreys Player Pathway Programme further, and provides us with the opportunity of identifying and developing future talent.”
With more than 50 former students awarded over 550 caps for Wales, Llandovery College has an outstanding rugby record eclipsing all other Welsh schools in the history of the game.
It has a proud reputation of producing top-level rugby players including Wales’ captain, British & Irish Lion and Ospreys second row, Alun Wyn Jones OBE.
The Llandovery College Warden, Dominic Findlay, said: “We are delighted to announce another partnership with the Regions and we look forward to working with the Ospreys Academy Team as we aim to ensure Welsh rugby talent remains in Wales.”
Ospreys Development Director, Mike Ruddock, said: “This partnership means the Ospreys can assist Llandovery College in the delivery of a high performance rugby programme.
“This link with Llandovery is an outstanding example of how we can work together and support young players with educational and rugby opportunities to stay in Wales.”DRAGONS
The Dragons are delighted to announce a new Elite Rugby Partnership with Llandovery College to develop elite homegrown rugby talent in Wales. Llandovery College has established a reputation as one of the premier rugby schools in the country and will grow its rugby provision by teaming up with Dragons in a new partnership to further develop elite rugby talent.
This new agreement gives aspiring young players associated with the Dragons Player Pathway Programme a unique opportunity to join the Llandovery College Elite Rugby Programme....Dragons will also provide ‘master class’ coaching sessions with its players and coaches supporting the school’s programme to develop the rugby stars of tomorrow.
Mark Hewitt, Interim Academy Manager at Dragons, said: “We’re pleased to launch our partnership with Llandovery College, supporting the pathway for young Dragons and the Welsh Exiles programme. This relationship will allow us to extend our player pathway programme even further, providing us with an exciting opportunity of identifying and developing future talent. We look forward to working closely with Ioan Cunningham, Nathan Thomas and all the team at Llandovery College to deliver an education and rugby pathway in a bid to retain young Welsh talent in Wales.”
With more than 50 former students awarded over 550 caps for Wales, Llandovery College has an outstanding rugby record eclipsing all other Welsh schools in the history of the game.
Llandovery College has a proud reputation for producing top-level Welsh rugby players with the likes of current Wales and British & Irish Lions stars George North and Alun Wyn Jones among its alumni.
James Chapron, Rugby General Manager at Dragons, added: “This link is a fantastic example of how we can all work successfully together and support young players with educational and rugby opportunities to remain in Wales. The development of young players through our Academy system underpins all we do at Dragons and so our thanks go to the Warden of Llandovery College, Dominic Findlay and the Board of Llandovery College for their support.”
Dominic Findlay added: “We are hugely excited to work with the Dragons team over the next year, and view such a partnership as a huge positive for our College programme and also one which will assist the Dragons to keep Welsh talent closer to home.”
OTHER SCHOLARSHIPS
Sports Scholarships are awarded to those candidates displaying exceptional talent and potential in one or more sporting disciplines. At Llandovery College there is much competition in sport and the standard is high. Candidates should be able to perform comfortably at county level in a major sport, demonstrate excellent general sportsmanship and show a keen interest in, and good knowledge of, sport.
Successful candidates will be expected to be effective leaders of the College sports teams and make a significant contribution to the sporting success of Llandovery College.
Please contact us to discuss the sports scholarships available on 01550 723005 or Admissions@llandoverycollege.com