Geraint John.

Two well known former Pembrokeshire rugby players, Geraint John and Nathan Stoddart, are making a big impression in Canada.

The high-flying Comox Valley Kickers Rugby Club, enjoying one of its most successful winning streaks of the season, recently had a visit by Canada's high performance director, Geraint John.

John, based at Rugby Canada's national training centre in Shawnigan Lake, recently ran two coaching sessions, one with the Vanier High School team, and a second with the Comox Valley Kickers - both at the Vanier High School grounds.

John has some pretty impressive rugby credentials. Though born in Carmarthen, he began his rugby career in Haverfordwest - the same town where Nathan Stoddart, the current Kicker's coach, also hails from - before leaving to attend Physical Education College in Cardiff, where he played for the college as well as Cardiff R.F.C. After playing in more than 200 games as an outside-half or centre for the Blues, he retired in 1995.

Geraint earned ten Wales A caps, played for the world famous Barbarians six times, including against New Zealand in 1986, and also for the World XV against Wales during the Wales centenary celebrations in 1983.

"Scotland's John Rutherford and the French outside-half were chosen for the match," remembers Geraint. "At the last minute, neither of them could come, and the coach, who was Welsh, asked me to step in. It was quite comical really, but an honour nonetheless."

After retiring, he began coaching with the Llanelli Scarlets, and then at his former Cardiff club, before taking up his current post as Canada's high performance director in 2006.

Called into the Wales coaching team by then-coach Kevin Bowering, he helped set up the Wales rugby academy for promising players, and continued as assistant-coach of Wales, under Wales, British Lions and New Zealand All Black coach Graham Henry in charge of skills development and as backs coach. From 1999 until 2003, he coached all national age groups from Under-16s right through to Under-21s and A levels. He toured Canada with the Wales development side in 2000 and Japan with the national side the same year.

Since taking up his role as high performance director with Canada, John has helped coach Canada's back line on tours to Wales, Italy, New Zealand and to the 2007 World Cup in France.

3:18pm Tuesday 8th April 2008

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