[3] He is a former member of Thames Valley Harriers Athletic Club, where he was a successful sprinter at school boy level.

[citation needed] He graduated from Loughborough University with a BSc in Sports science and Cambridge University (MPhil in Education), where he won two Blues as a scrum-half in the Varsity Match-winning sides of 1995 and 1996 as well as captaining the Light Blues’ Sevens team.

[3] He taught at St Edward's School, Oxford which, by the time he left after six years, had a player in every England international squad from Under-16 to Senior.

He joined Newbury Blues in 2002 as backs coach and led them from National Division Two to One (Championship) in 2004–05 (his first season as full-time Director of Rugby).

[8] In 2011, Ryan was also in charge of the England side that won the Junior Commonwealth Games in the Isle of Man, beating South Africa in the final 41–20.

[12] His appointment also coincided with financial problems for the Fijian Rugby Union, resulting in Ryan's volunteering to go unpaid for several months of his contract.

[15][16] He has worked as Technical Director of Rugby X and is an ambassador for Play-Ex Sports, HSBC and Fiji Airways.

[17][18][19][20] In June 2022, Ryan moved into association football when he was appointed to the newly created role of Performance Director at Premier League club Brentford.