Former England and Fiji rugby coach Ben Ryan has revealed he has received offers to return to the sport but has no plans to do so in the near future. The 54-year-old joined Premier League side Brentford as performance director in the summer of 2022.
Move to Football
Ryan previously spent six seasons as head coach of the England men's sevens team, having also coached England U18s and Newbury RFC. During his time in the role, he led the English team to the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens final, as well as consecutive Dubai Sevens titles.
His greatest success came with the Fijian side, as he led them to gold in the men's sevens event at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro - the country's first ever Olympic medal. Following the Olympics, he moved into consultancy roles, including one with the Welsh Rugby Union, before leaving the sport behind.
Role at Brentford
In his role at Brentford, he works alongside head coach Keith Andrews and has responsibility for a range of performance-related departments across the club, sitting in a 'triangle' between the coaching, medical and sports science teams. His move has seen him become the first high-profile rugby coach to move into football since 2003 World Cup-winning head coach Sir Clive Woodward's brief stint with Southampton.
Brentford have finished in the top 10 in the Premier League in three out of the last four seasons. Ryan admitted he will always be known as 'the rugby guy' due to his past achievements.
Offers to Return
Speaking on the 10th anniversary of his Olympic glory with Fiji, Ryan revealed he has recently received offers from top sides to come back to rugby. However, a return is not on the cards anytime soon.
“Last year I had two or three offers from either club teams in the Prem or overseas club teams to go in as a director of rugby,” he said. “It is nice that people still think of me that highly but at the same time I don’t see myself going back into rugby in the near future, unless it was a real passion project.”
Ryan will now be hoping to play a part in another successful campaign for Brentford, after Andrews' side narrowly missed out on securing European football last season.
