In May of this year Coombs signed a new 3 year extension to his current contract which will keep him in the region until May 2017. He came up through the Newport RFC youth teams to play for Pontypool at senior level. He then rejoined Newport RFC making his senior debut against Ebbw Vale in 2006 and then went on to become captain in the 2008/2009 season.
On his recent appointment to captaincy Coombs stated, “It’s obviously one of the biggest achievements that I have had and I am very proud to be captain here at the Dragons. I was lucky enough to be captain of Newport RFC and to move on that one step further is massive for me.
“I have always felt that I have tried my best to lead whether I am skipper or not. It is a big step for me and it’s not an easy job but I know that I have the support of the players around me along with the support of the coaches including Kingsley, Lyn and of course Darren. I couldn’t be in a better place with the support around me. It’s not a daunting thing it’s something that I will embrace and will enjoy doing. As I said I try to lead by example anyway.
Coombs understands the pressure and knows that captaincy doesn’t always guarantee selection, “Whoever is performing deserves to get picked and I stand by that. I always try and play my game and hopefully I will be in full form at the start of season and get that jersey.”
Director of Rugby Lyn Jones is confident that Andrew is the man for the job, “I am delighted that Andrew has accepted to captain the Gwent Dragons for the 2013/14 season. He’s really excelled since his first stint at the Newport Gwent Dragons several years back and he has deservedly represented Wales. He has also shown great example in our pre season training. I think it was important to take my time to clearly identify who would be the right choice to lead us and Andrew has stood out as a natural leader in this environment.”
