Dai Young had first been appointed Head Coach at the Arms Park in 2002, after the early departure of South African coach Rudy Joubert. Since his return from rugby league in 1996, Young had played in Cardiff teams that had won the 1999-2000 Welsh-Scottish League title, and had played in the latter stages of the Heineken Cup every season (apart from the 1998/99 "rebel season") until 2001/02.
