By Steffan Thomas
Barry Maddocks has worked at the cutting edge of professional rugby for the best part of 20 years – but now faces one of the biggest challenges of his career.
The west Walian may not be a household name, but he has forged a reputation in rugby circles as one of the most forward-thinking attacking coaches around.
After a decade coaching in England with Bath and England Sevens, before four years at the Dragons, Maddocks has jumped into the unpredictable cauldron of French rugby.
The 46-year-old was recently added to the coaching staff of Biarritz following their promotion to the Top 14.
And Maddocks is now focussed is on ensuring the Basque club, who are stuck at the bottom of the Top 14, remain in the top-flight of French rugby.
“When I knew I was leaving the Dragons my agent came back to me and said there was an opportunity in France, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to experience a new culture,” said Maddocks.
“I’d spoken to Matt Clarkin, the director of rugby here, and Shaun Sowerby, who is the head coach. I’d not worked with any of them before which was refreshing because a lot of the time in coaching you tend to know somebody who is in the environment, or you’ve worked with somebody before.
Great to catch up today @DavidSisi brilliant to see you doing so well mate ✊ pic.twitter.com/4j5wZI3kcH
— Barry maddocks (@barrymad) December 11, 2021
“It was definitely an opportunity I couldn’t turn down because there’s not many Welsh coaches who have coached in France. There are a few Irish coaches over here like Mike Prendergast at Racing, but not Welsh coaches.
“The team has physical attributes, but the history and culture of the club is based on movement of the ball at pace. That was also a reason I joined because I wanted to play the game in an expansive way.
“If I came in here and tried to play a forward orientated game by focussing on the driving line-out, and the set-piece then I don’t think I’d have had any of the buy-in from the players themselves.”
It wasn’t long ago Biarritz were among the top sides in European rugby, having won the Top 14 in 2002, 2005, and 2006, while they reached the final of the Heineken Cup in 2006, and 2010.
Maddocks has revealed there is a huge drive to get the Basque club back to a position where they are regularly competing for silverware again.
“The long-term ambition is they want to build a new stadium here,” he said.
“The president and Matt are working hard off the field to try and overhaul the whole area in regards of the stadium, and training facilities.
“They’ve got big plans to get the club back up there competing for silverware. They are trying to pursue every financial avenue they can to make the side more successful.
“They’ve got a lot of prestige and a lot of support with lots of former players like Imanol Harinordoquy, Dmitri Yachvili, and Serge Blanco still attending games.
Retour en images sur la victoire des BOys face à l’équipe des @ZebreRugby 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/Hm9sOGt3Pm
— BOPBweb (@BOPBweb) December 13, 2021
“But this season it is all about consolidating our position in the Top 14, but I am lucky I’ve got a lot of quality players in the back-line like Tomas Cubelli, Tevita Kuridrani, Henry Speight, and Francis Saili.”
While Maddocks is in no rush to leave behind the warm climate and the stunning beaches of Biarritz he does have ambitions to coach a Welsh side in the future.
He has amassed a wealth of experience but coaching his home region the Scarlets would be a goal.
He added: “My long-term ambition would be to come back to Wales at some point and be a better coach for my experiences here in France.
“I’m a proud Welshman and that’s the reason I joined the Dragons having spent 10 years coaching in England was to try and improve Welsh rugby.
“Every opportunity like this is an opportunity for me to get better and I’d love if I could give something back to Welsh rugby.”
