BERNARD JACKMAN HAS added further expertise to his Dragons backroom team ahead of the new season, with the appointment of Irishman Alan Kingsley as the club’s specialist attack and kicking coach.

Kingsley, who was kicking coach with the Leinster U19 and U20 squads, joins the Guinness Pro14 outfit as part of a coaching reshuffle, which sees Barry Maddocks step up to the role of backs coach.

A former out-half with Young Munster and Garryowen, Kingsley has worked his way up the coaching ladder and previously held a role with the Western Force academy, before working with St Mary’s College as the SCT attack coach and Navan RFC as head coach.

He linked up with the Dragons squad as they returned for pre-season earlier this month and has assumed the position of specialist attack and kicking coach under former Leinster and Ireland hooker Jackman.

“I was involved in the underage set-up at Leinster and around the seniors a bit, but an opportunity like this is massive,” Kingsley said.

“It was a no-brainer to come over and it’s been a great start. They are long days in pre-season at the moment and it’s all rugby, rugby, rugby but it’s really enjoyable.

“Barry [Maddocks] is from a skills background and is very attack-minded, so he is going to be a great help while the lads are mad for their extras, so hopefully we will see big improvements come September.”

Jackman added: “Along with the appointments we announced in June, it’s great to confirm Alan Kingsley is on board and to see Barry step up to his new role.

“Alan joins after previously coaching with Western Force academy and at Leinster, whilst Barry showed last season that he is an outstanding coach and has brought valuable experience from England after working at Bath and Hartpury.

“Through our new coaching appointments, we have added more skills and expertise to the team to drive our on-field performance and that started five and a half weeks ago when we returned to pre-season.”

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