Posted by Time waits for no man or woman in professional sport and no sooner has Cardiff’s 2025/26 season come to a close than it is time to look ahead to what the summer holds.
After 12 months of flux following administration, temporary Welsh Rugby Union ownership, and an almost sale to Y11 Sport & Media, the Blue & Blacks now now that the WRU will be retaining control for the foreseeable future. Plenty of opinions are available on that, mostly negative, but there’s an element of certainty around it at least.
So with that in mind I’ve drawn up a list of a few priorities that need sorting in the first few weeks of the off-season to prepare for 2026/27 in ample time.
Finalise recruitment and retention
It seems as if there are still a few of the current squad who have signed new deals that need announcing after Corniel Van Zyl confirmed in a press conference a few weeks ago that everyone he wanted to retain at the club has signed.
Business isn’t entirely complete though because the future of Taulupe Faletau remains up in the air. The number eight was strongly linked with a move to France but the winds of change may have blown through the Arms Park and convinced the legendary Welsh international to remain in the capital for another year.
Elsewhere there is still some recruitment to be done as the links to Jarrod Evans won’t go away while the forward pack probably needs 2-3 bodies to properly bulk up the depth. If Faletau doesn’t re-sign then there is a need to add a top quality back rower in his place.
Confirm the coaching staff
Now that Corniel Van Zyl has been confirmed as the permanent Head Coach for the next few years, it is time to ensure that the whole coaching staff is properly in place. The big gap since Matt Sherratt departed has been in the attack department where Jonny Goodridge has been temporarily running the show with part-time help from Rags and Academy coach Dan Fish.
Rey Lee-Lo also has some role around the first team, although exactly what that is has not been defined. There has been rumour of Goodridge joining Sherratt in the national team set up, so that will need to be planned for, but either way a full-time attack coach and a full-time skills coach are required for next season.
Similarly, with Van Zyl taking on the top job it leaves only Scott Andrews as an assistant with any portfolio covering the set piece and/or forwards. The South African may feel he can adequately lead the coaching staff and do specialist work, as Sherratt himself did successfully, but another set of hands on a crucial area of the game would not hurt at all.
Get a CEO in place
Outside of the rugby department there remains a need to properly sort out senior management and governance now that we’re sticking with WRU ownership, whether we like it or not.
WalesOnline reported recently that the hunt for a permanent Chief Executive Officer was underway, after Richard Holland quietly left the role last summer in the fall out from Helford Capital’s deceit being unveiled and the club going into administration.
Interim Managing Director Jamie Muir has steadied the ship admirably through a challenging time and would be a strong candidate, but after whoever gets the job it will hopefully lead to a full Board being put in place after over 12 months of temporary measures.
Then the next step is to fully communicate to supporters what the next few years looks like for Cardiff Rugby, particularly the path back to private ownership.
Cardiff Rugby Life 