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Worcester confirm signing of their third 2021 Lions squad member
By Liam Heagney
Ambitious Gallagher Premiership club Worcester have confirmed their signing of a third member of Warren Gatland’s 2021 Lions tour party, communications executive Luke Broadley arriving at Sixways as Jonathan Thomas’ new team manager of a squad that will feature new signings Duhan van der Merwe and Rory Sutherland.
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It was last January when South African van der Merwe, who qualified for Scotland under the three-year residency rule, was unveiled as a new-season signing and he was followed to Worcester from Edinburgh by front-rower Sutherland, whose deal was confirmed on July 1 while in South Africa with the Lions.
Broadley had been the long-serving communications manager for the Wales national team, serving under Gatland for numerous years before signing off with the 2021 Six Nations campaign which culminated in a title success for Wayne Pivac. He now fills the void left at Worcester by Mark Hewitt, who stepped down at the end of the 2019/20 season as team manager.
“One of the huge things we are driving is the Warriors family,” explained Thomas about the recruitment of his fellow Welshman. “It’s not just a place of work for players. We want the players to truly feel that they belong here and their families are happy.
“We want to make it a collaboration and connection between players, families, supporters and all the different departments within the club. We want to make it one big family because if people feel that they belong and they are happy they are going to give more on the field.
Some ambitious outside-the-box thinking has taken place at Worcester over the summer following last season's 12th place finish https://t.co/nD4Z8kmbBL
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 26, 2021
“Luke’s appointment as team manager is a huge one for us. He has got great experience. He has just come back from the Lions, he has been involved in high performing teams for a number of years albeit in a different role but from the conversations I have had with people about Luke he has always gone above and beyond in his role.
“When we interviewed him Luke was an outstanding candidate and he is someone we think will add huge value to what we are trying to do off the field around our family and everything that the team manager role entails.”
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The Nigerian-born, Zimbabwe-raised back-rower has quit playing aged just 30https://t.co/NqR4ZjtZ7v
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 26, 2021
