Worcester Warriors have promoted forwards coach Jonathan Thomas to the role of head coach.
The promotion will see Thomas, 38, continue to work closely with director of rugby Alan Solomons.
“I am very grateful for this opportunity. This is a club that I care passionately about,” Thomas said.
“I really believe in this club and its potential.
“When I first spoke to the owners and they talked about their vision for the club, the exciting academy players coming through and the plans that are in place for long-term sustainability I was really excited.”
Thomas won 67 Wales caps between 2003 and 2011 and played in two World Cups. He made 44 appearances for Warriors between 2013 and 2015.
Worcester are second from bottom in the Premiership with eight points after five games.
Thomas will also work alongside his former Wales team-mate Mark Jones – who joins Warriors on Thursday as senior assistant coach – backs and attack coach Matt Sherratt, scrum and assistant forwards coach Mark Irish and academy transition and skills coach Jonny Goodridge.
“We are realistic about where we are at and we know there is a lot of work to do,” Thomas added.
“The challenges as a new coaching team coming in have been not having a pre-season with the players and not having a specialist defence coach until now. We have managed the situation in the best possible way but the arrival of Mark Jones will give us a huge boost.
“I am very excited about the coaching group we have. We have got good a balance of personalities which is important because it’s not just about coaching, it’s about having individuals who complement the different needs of the players and we have a pretty good balance there.”
