The big news coming from Luxembourg rugby this week is the addition of Jamie Cudmore to its coaching staff, as set piece and contact area coach.

Lovers of the game will remember Cudmore for his tough tackling and enforcer type mentality, which led him to four World Cups (2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015) and being a key player in Clermont's first-ever Top 14 Championship in 2010. But what led a player of such a calibre to the Grand-Duchy?

In a sit-down with head coach James Kent, he alluded to the bonds they formed while working together, the similarities between the Luxembourg set-up and Canadian rugby in terms of the mix of player levels, and the level of opposition Luxembourg faces relative to world rankings, which is not far from that of Canada.

They first worked together in 2014 when Cudmore was still a player and Kent part of the coaching setup, and then as coaches in 2016 during the Americas Rugby Championship, staying in contact ever since. Kent shared with a wry smile: "I know from his experience that his messaging will be to the point in terms of what he wants out of the line-out, the scrum, and the contact area. Those are his three big areas he will be looking after, and he'll be a massive addition to the team. He sets the bar high, he never took a backwards step as a player and I think he doesn't expect his players to either. I think the guys will be really excited to work with him as well."

He also expressed that it didn't take much convincing to get the former Canadian great on board: "He's been a professional coach for the last few years, he's always keen for a challenge, and this is another one for him."

Speaking of how Cudmore will fit into the coaching staff alongside Scott Browne, Kent said, "both of them in terms of their character are not afraid to speak their mind and to say what they see. I think that we can have open and transparent conversations. It's good for me as well, being surrounded by people like that. My way isn't always the best way and it's good to have people who keep you honest and to bounce ideas off."

They have already had their first training camp as a trio and Kent was very positive about what they achieved in the three days they had together with the players. "We're not working in silos, we're working collaboratively" in terms of defence, attack, and set-piece plays, with the players being responsive according to Kent.

Get to know Jamie Cudmore with this World Rugby profile:

The season ahead

Although satisfied with the progress the team made in his first matches at the helm of Luxembourg rugby and how the players have bought into the team philosophy, Kent identified the final 20 minutes of games as the key area for improvement. In all three games in the Rugby Trophy the side were on only 11 points behind at the 60 minute mark.

The players underwent testing at the Luxembourg Institute for High Performance in July and have been given programs to supplement their training regimes, alongside weekly training sessions at the INS with strength and conditioning coach Yannick Da Silva. In the recent training camp the results were reaping the benefits as "we were able to see big improvements in guy's strength, explosivity, and players, who hadn't done so much gym work before, had considerable changes in their body shapes".

The last time we spoke to Kent he stressed the importance of simplicity and that mantra has not changed. He emphasised that the focus is now on layering, "we have built the foundations of what we want. It's about building on top of that, we are not going to change from season to season but what we can do is layer and keep building."

The goal for the season has to be to regain promotion to the Rugby Trophy. Last year, the team proved they are more than capable of competing at that level. Relegation could be a blessing in disguise, giving them the chance to establish their style of play. With many players still young, there will be plenty of opportunities for them to prove themselves.