Sean Lynn said he felt like he was “coming home” after being unveiled by the Welsh Rugby Union as its new women’s head coach.

The Swansea native, who has guided Gloucester-Hartpury to back-to-back domestic titles, has signed a three-year contract with the WRU and will take charge of the side for the upcoming Six Nations and Rugby World Cup.

Lynn will combine his Gloucester-Hartpury duties with Wales for the remainder of the Premiership Women’s Rugby season as he bids to become the first coach to land a hat-trick of domestic titles in the women’s top flight.

He was the standout candidate for the role after Ioan Cunningham left the position in the wake of the Welsh Rugby Union’s dire handling of contract negotiations with its women’s team last year.

Lynn already works with a host of Wales players at Gloucester-Hartpury, including the country’s captain Hannah Jones, but will take on one of the most difficult jobs in the female game as the crisis-hit WRU begins cleaning up its image in a pivotal year for women’s rugby.

“I’m Welsh. I’m coming home and I’m super excited to be the Wales head coach,” Lynn told a packed room of reporters at the Principality Stadium. “I am so excited to lead a special group of players and staff.

“I know a lot of these individuals, I have been in the women’s game for five years and I have thoroughly enjoyed it, and I want to make a real big impact in the international arena.”

As a player, Lynn was a sniping scrum-half who represented Wales under-18s alongside Gavin Henson and Jonathan Thomas, before stints at Gloucester’s under-21 side and Wales Students.

He later embarked on a hugely successful coaching career at Hartpury College, guiding Hartpury University’s men’s team to a trio of BUCS Super Rugby Championship victories at Twickenham between 2017 and 2019, before being appointed head of women’s rugby at Hartpury.

Wales women finished bottom of last year’s Six Nations but, as revealed by Telegraph Sport last November, the team were blighted by an off-field contracting scandal, which culminated in Nigel Walker, the former WRU chief executive, threatening to forfeit the team’s place at this year’s Rugby World Cup if they did not sign new contracts.

Walker resigned last month, citing the performance of Wales women and men’s teams as the main reason for his departure, with the latter side ending 2024 winless under Warren Gatland.

When asked about how he would attempt to galvanise the squad and repair relations between the players and the union, Lynn said: “I’m all about setting the right environment. That’s the piece where we all need to be aligned.”

Wales open their Women’s Six Nations campaign against Scotland in Edinburgh on March 22, before facing England at the Principality the following week.

Lynn perfect man for the job – but can he deliver?

Dressed in a light grey suit and red tie, Sean Lynn cut a business-like figure as he faced the media in a windowless room inside the Principality. He is normally seen sporting a hoodie and shorts – in all weathers – on the touchlines in the Premiership Women’s Rugby. But there was a serious aura about him as he spoke about his excitement at landing his first international coaching role.

“Look, this is a real, strong rugby nation. I was brought up coming to the Principality and I really want to make that impact in the international arena,” he said.

Lynn is hugely popular among players at Gloucester-Hartpury, where he already oversees a dozen or so Welsh players, although stressed there had been “no conversations” with the club’s Welsh contingent prior to taking the role. He is a people person, possesses a forensic understanding of the women’s game and has a track record for developing young talent along with a glittering coaching CV.

His first international coaching role, though, will not be without its challenges, and the logistics of how the job share will work with Gloucester-Hartpury in practice are fascinating. Never before has a national head coach in the women’s game juggled club duties with an international role, and there will be a lot of spinning plates.

Lynn has just weeks to prepare the team for their Six Nations campaign while also overseeing the remainder of Gloucester-Hartpury’s season. The Cherry and Whites currently sit top of the PWR and should they reach the PWR final on March 16, Lynn will have no lead-in time before the Six Nations, which begins the following week. It will be a huge test of his credentials.

“Most unions are going to be involved in the PWR and are going to be in the same boat,” he said, when addressing this issue. “The big piece for me is making sure I build those connections with players when it’s my time off with Gloucester-Hartpury. I will be watching a lot of rugby.”

Lynn was tightlipped on whether he would make Rhys Oakley and Dan Murphy – his defence and scrum coaches respectively at Gloucester-Hartpury – part of his Wales backroom team. It is one of many big decisions he will have to make given he has just eight months to build a side capable of going on a deep run at this year’s World Cup in England. But if anyone can succeed, it is Lynn – a born-and-bred Welshman whose passion for the female game knows no limits.