Worcester Warriors have continued to poach talent from Bristol Bears with the appointment of Simon Norris as the club’s first recruitment analyst.
Norris, who is better known as ‘Chuck’, follows the likes of Jonathan Thomas and Mark Irish in making the switch from Ashton Gate to Sixways.
Thomas, a former club captain at Worcester, left his position as Bristol forwards coach in 2020 to become head coach at Warriors, while Irish is the Midlands club's scrum coach.
Norris joined Bristol as Senior Performance Analysis in 2019 having previously had seven years as Head Performance Analyst for Exeter Chiefs where he was an important part of Rob Baxter’s backroom team when they won their first Premiership title in 2017.
Norris, who has a Masters degree in Performance Analysis, has also worked with Scarlets and Dragons in his native Wales and worked mainly with the forwards while at Bristol, focusing on areas like the lineout.
In his new role at Worcester, he will be responsible for discovering players below the Gallagher Premiership and in leagues across the world who can be nurtured and developed by Warriors.
Speaking to the Worcester Warriors club website, Head coach Thomas said: "Part of our vision is to develop home-grown players but the recruitment of players from outside our Academy is as important.”
“Our signing of Duhan van der Merwe and Rory Sutherland are both big statements of where we want to go. But underneath that there are also players that we have signed from the Championship like Kyle Hatherell, Jack Johnson and Jay Tyack.
“But it’s not just about x-factor players. It’s about being smart with our recruitment and uncovering the little gems that are always out there. They may be late developers or players that have stagnated at another club or whose development is being blocked by other players.
“Chuck has good knowledge of the game, he’s a very hard worker and his remit will be to take our recruitment to another level.
“He will be looking at the Championship and other leagues around the world and, because he is an analyst as well, he can bring good data to the role.
“We are excited about his appointment and, like all aspects of the rugby department, we are looking to take each to another level.”
This week Worcester also confirmed the appointment of former Bristol backrower Chris Morgan as the club’s new Forwards and Transition Coach of the Three Pears Academy. Morgan has joined the club from Cornish Pirates where he was assistant coach.
While Worcester have added a number of Bristol coaches to their backroom staff it has not all been one-way traffic in recent years with Pat Lam signing up Omar Mouneimne as defence and collision coach in July 2020.
