Cardiff Blues’ assistant coach Geraint John has explained what he describes as his “difficult decision” to leave the region at the end of the season.

He will begin a new appointment at Hartpury College, Gloucester, on 1 May 2005 but admits to having thought long and hard about moving on from the Arms Park.

He said, “For 18 of the last 25 years I have been connected with the Cardiff club and Blues region as a player and coach. That’s a long time but in any career we have to think about where we want to be in five of six years time. I had an offer to stay here for at least another year after this but I genuinely felt it was time to experience a new environment, to contribute to a new set-up, and to further develop my own skills.

“That’s why I’ve been baffled by headlines about me apparently ‘quitting the Blues’. There are people who find it hard to grasp the concept that sometimes we want to move forward for positive reasons and there is no hidden agenda about why a current post will be vacated.

“I had a very full discussion with David Young as well as, of course, my family before accepting the offer to work at Hartpury with the Gloucester Academy. I am looking forward to it tremendously but in the meantime I am totally committed to working with the Blues until the end of the season.

“Before and after I leave I hope Dai gets the support network in both facilities and personnel that he has been asking for because he has many clear ideas about how to move the region and the team forward. If he gets them I am confident that the Blues as a team and a region will go from strength to strength.”