| Activity | Played for Newport, Nottingham University, UAU, London Welsh Rugby Football Club / Clwb Rygbi Cymry Llundain and Middlesex. A customs and excise officer. Ryanook over as coach at Rodney Parade in the 1973-74 season and stayed for five campaigns. After leaving the Black & Ambers he joined their biggest rivals, Cardiff in 1979. Coached at Newport and then Cardiff with success and then coached Wales' U20 and U21 sides. In 1988 Ryan took charge of the Welsh team for nine matches, at that time becoming the only ‘non-international’ player to have coached the national team. This followed the departure of Tony Gray. One source suggests that "... the Wales national side were engulfed by a perfect storm during Ryan’s tenure" when "Injuries at various points to two genuinely world-class players, Robert Norster and Ieuan Evans, didn’t help, nor did the aforementioned haemorrhage of players to the 13-a-side code after Wales’ trouncing in New Zealand in the summer of 1988". |