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Who is new Wales caretaker head coach Matt Sherratt?

Who is new Wales caretaker head coach Matt Sherratt?

Yahoo11-02-2025

The thought of an Englishman coaching Wales would normally have been too much to bare for many a fan - but these are dark times for Welsh rugby.
Trapped in the grip of the worst losing run in its 144-year history, the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has done the seemingly unthinkable by appointing its first English head coach.
Tony Gray, born in Stoke, led Wales between 1985 and 1988 but had twice worn the Three Feathers on his chest.
But Matt Sherratt is seen as the ideal motivational figure who, if nothing else, can lift spirits within the Wales camp for the remainder of the Six Nations.
Born in Gloucester within a drop-kick of Kingsholm, Sherratt grew up in a household that was fiercely divided on rugby days between an English father and his Tredegar-born mother.
So it was perhaps inevitable that his coaching career would straddle Offa's Dyke.
Having cut his teeth at Gloucester and Cheltenham, Sherratt spent four years at Worcester Warriors academy, before becoming an attack specialist for Bristol, Ospreys and Cardiff before being handed his first head coach role at the Arms Park just 20 months ago.
With his teaching background, Sherratt has gained a reputation as a man-manager, a motivator and a mentor for young players.
Last season alone, the likes of Cam Winnett, Mason Grady, Ellis Bevan, Alex Mann, Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti, Evan Lloyd, Efan Daniel, Mackenzie Martin all graduated under Sherratt at Cardiff to the national team.
"He is very well spoken of, a real people-person and man-manager and we felt, right now, that was a really important criteria and meant his could hit the ground running in the middle of the Six Nations," explained WRU chief executive Abi Tierney.
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Sherratt said he could not turn down the offer that came out of the blue on Monday night but has already ruled himself out of the job beyond the Six Nations, having recently signed a long-term deal with Cardiff.
His first task is to decide the future of his backroom staff, including Rob Howley who, ironically, handed him the Wales attack coach job between 2016 and 2017.
Then he has roughly four training sessions with the beleaguered Wales squad to try and repair their decimated confidence enough to put up some sort of contest against the reigning Six Nations champions Ireland in Cardiff on 22 February.
Looking a little shell-shocked at Tuesday's WRU press conference and dressed in his Cardiff gear, he said: "I've been in sport long enough to know it's pretty bumpy and you're never going to be offered an opportunity when things are going well.
"It feels like when I started at Cardiff who were also a low ebb so I told Abi the first thing to start with is a mindset shift.
"It's going to be very difficult to change a huge amount technically and tactically in such a short period but we've got to put some structures in place that everyone buys into and then have a really positive attitude.
"There are experienced players in that dressing room and if I go in there talking about trying our best and performance then you've lost the room immediately. They're international players for a reason and they want to win."
Bizarrely it could be the experience of a 12-year-old boy that shapes how Wales play for the rest of this championship.
Sherratt told a story of taking his sports-mad son to a Premier League match at Liverpool, a Hundred cricket game at Glamorgan and then an unnamed rugby match in Wales.
"At the rugby match he asked if we could leave at 55 minutes. It was a kick-fest. I actually thought, 'how sad is it that there is a 12-year-old who loves sport and wants to leave the game," Sherratt recalled.
"I'm at the stage of my career when it's important to me that people want to enjoy watching a team play - but not at the expense of losing, that's really important.
"But I want players to go out and be brave and if there is a 50-50 on then take a brave option."
Former Wales centre Ashley Beck worked under Sherratt at Worcester.
He said: "He [Sherratt] knows it's more than just rugby, it's about people as well. He gets into the nuts and bolts of what makes people tick, even having fun sometimes.
"At this point maybe that's what the squad needs, to relax, enjoy training and playing at international level and obviously performances will get better."
Right now, after 14 successive Test defeats, Welsh rugby would do anything to raise a smile once more.

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Brothers bring boxing back to Fenway after 70 years and hope to revitalize the sport in Boston
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Brothers bring boxing back to Fenway after 70 years and hope to revitalize the sport in Boston

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Brothers bring boxing back to Fenway after 70 years and hope to revitalize the sport in Boston
Brothers bring boxing back to Fenway after 70 years and hope to revitalize the sport in Boston

Yahoo

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Brothers bring boxing back to Fenway after 70 years and hope to revitalize the sport in Boston

Tony Demarco is lifted by trainer Sammy Fuller following his unanimous 10-round decision over Vince Martinez at Fenway Park, June 16, 1956, in Boston. (AP Photo/File) Tony Demarco is lifted by trainer Sammy Fuller following his unanimous 10-round decision over Vince Martinez at Fenway Park, June 16, 1956, in Boston. (AP Photo/File) BOSTON (AP) — For the first time in nearly 70 years, boxing is returning to Boston's famed Fenway Park. The 11-fight card is the culmination of years of effort by twin brothers and longtime public schoolteachers who grew up in Watertown and want to revitalize boxing in the city that was home to some of the greatest athletes in the sport's history. Advertisement It's also symbolic of a shift back to the roots of the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball, to when it wasn't just used for Red Sox games but for other sports and political events. 'Most people's experience there is solely related to baseball,' said Richard Johnson, Fenway expert and curator at The Sports Museum in Boston. "But the fact is that this year, you can see an event that'll be very similar to what your grandparents saw.' Promoters Mark and Matt Nolan want 'Fight Night at Fenway,' scheduled for Saturday, to be both a time capsule and time machine, taking spectators back to boxing's glory days and what the sport can be for the city in the future. The Nolans got their license to organize fights last year with the goal of bringing boxing back to Boston. After Fenway, 'That's mission accomplished," Matt Nolan said. Advertisement 'It's not just like our dream, it's everybody's dream — every boxer on planet Earth,' he said. 'Just the idea that some kid can fight his way to Fenway Park. It's like hitting the lottery. You can't you can't beat it. There's nothing comparable." A rich history Boston has played a long and impressive role in American boxing history and the development of the sport itself, said Johnson, author of 'Field of Our Fathers, An Illustrated History of Fenway Park." The city was home to 'Boston's Strong Boy,' John L. Sullivan, born in 1858 to Irish immigrant parents and widely considered America's first sports superstar. The first heavyweight champion of the world, he was as famous as Muhammad Ali was in his time. Advertisement Sam Langford, a Black Canadian-born boxer, moved to Boston as a teenager but was blocked from competing in the world championships by racist policies and is considered one of the greatest non-champions in boxing. Other boxing stars with Boston connections include Marvin Hagler and Rocky Marciano of nearby Brockton. 'The Boston Bomber' Tony DeMarco, whose statue raises his fists at passersby in Boston's North End, was the last fighter to win in the ring at Fenway in 1956. For a time after it was built, Fenway Park was the only outdoor venue with a significant seating capacity in Boston, making it a destination for all kinds of events, including boxing starting in 1920. After new owners took over in 2002, the park became a venue for a variety of activities, including concerts and sporting events such as hockey, snowboarding, Irish football and curling. Advertisement 'Back in the day, it was sort of the Swiss Army knife of sports facilities in Boston. And it's returned to that — a little bit of everything. So, returning boxing to the park is just a nod to the past," Johnson said. Other venues can feel 'more corporate and sterile," but Fenway is living history, said Johnson, who calls it the 'largest open-air museum in New England.' A different pitch Mark Nolan said it's not for lack of trying that no one has hosted a boxing fight at Fenway in almost 70 years. But many promoters couldn't make a pitch that landed with ballpark management. The Nolans, who teach full time and own a boxing gym in Waltham where people can train regardless of their ability to pay, were different. After success hosting events at other venues, Mark Nolan said Fenway Sports Group connected to their 'everyman' appeal and decided to give them a shot. Advertisement The brothers fell in love with boxing while accompanying their father, a boat captain, to the gym as kids. When they expanded from coaching amateur boxers to professionals five years ago, they were dismayed by what they found: shows full of uneven fights set up to make the promoters as much money as possible, with established amateurs fighting people who 'have no right putting gloves on in any capacity whatsoever' in venues like high school gymnasiums. Fighters weren't being paid fairly and contracts weren't transparent. They came up with a simple business plan: pick good venues, pay fighters well and only host matches in Boston proper. They said a lot of promoters sell fighters, but they're focused on selling fights fans want to see. 'They're making sure that every fight is well-matched," said Thomas "The Kid" O'Toole, a fighter from rural Galway, Ireland, who has lived in Boston for the past two years, 'Nobody wants to see someone go in and just knock their opponent out right away and beat them up for four, six, eight rounds. They want to see a competitive fight.' Advertisement O'Toole went professional in 2021 and is undefeated with 13 fights. He said his fight against St. Louis-born Vaughn 'Da Animal' Alexander at Fenway will be "the biggest test of his career." Massachusetts-born Lexi 'Lil Savage" Bolduc will compete in her fourth professional fight. She faces Sarah Couillard in a rematch after coming out on the losing end of a majority draw at the Royale. 'Fighting at Fenway, I think adds a little bit of pressure because I'm local, I grew up in Mass and idolized a lot of players as I was growing up. ... But at the same time, I'm trying to use it just as a huge opportunity and really soak in the moment," she said. "Pressure makes diamonds. 'To be able to kind of stand on that same ground of some of the most accomplished athletes, it's really remarkable," she said.

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