Matt Williams (rugby union coach): Difference between revisions

Matt Williams
Birth name	Matthew Brian Williams
Date of birth	1960 (age 63–64)[citation needed]
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Rugby union career
Years
Coaching career
Years	Team
1997–1999	NSW Waratahs
2000–2003	Leinster
2003–2005	Scotland
2007–2010	Ulster
2017	Timișoara Saracens

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Latest revision as of 03:52, 21 November 2024

Matt Williams (born 1960) is an Australian former rugby union coach. Since 2015 he has worked as a pundit for Virgin Media Television and has written for The Irish Times since 2011.

Playing career

Williams played from 1978 to 1992 with both Eastwood and Western Suburbs Rugby Clubs in Sydney and with Swansea RFC in Wales.

Coaching

Williams started by coaching Western Suburbs U20s in Sydney, Australia in 1992. A year later he became head coach of his former club Eastwood in Sydney in 1993.^{[citation needed]} Later that year he was appointed fitness and skills coach for the Emerging Wallabies' tour of Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.

In 1995 his coaching stints included New South Wales A, New South Wales Sevens, and as assistant coach for an Australian XV against England A. He was also a coaching assistant at the Wallaby World Cup camps.

In addition to national coaching duties, Williams also coached the Balmain Tigers 7s team in the Coca-Cola World Sevens in Sydney, winning the Cup.

In 1996 he became manager and assistant coach for the NSW Waratahs Super Rugby campaign. For the next three years he was Head Coach for the NSW Waratahs in Super Rugby.

Ireland

In the autumn of 1999, he acted as backs coach in Leinster Rugby's European Cup campaign, becoming the province's head coach in 2000. Williams also undertook the role of defensive coach for the Irish national team in 2001. Leinster won the inaugural Celtic League Final and were knocked out at the semi-final of the European Cup.

Williams also was appointed Head Coach of Ireland "A" (not to be confused with the actual Irish team) in 2002-03 and won the Six Nations title with the "A" team.

Scotland

In 2003, he was appointed as the head coach of Scotland but was axed in 2005 having only secured 3 wins out of 17 test matches.^[1]

After his Scotland tenure, Williams returned to Australia and became head coach of West Harbour rugby club in Sydney from 2006 to 2007 before returning to Ireland to take over Ulster team mid-season, after they had sacked former coach Mark McCall.

Williams resigned from the post of Head Coach at Ulster Rugby in May 2009.^[2]

In 2011 he was head coach of Club Narbonne Méditerranée in France. He resigned in July 2012.

He then returned to Australia and in 2013 he set up the rugby programme at the Knox Sports Academy in Sydney.

Williams had a brief three-month stint, advising the Timișoara Saracensclub in Romania^{[citation needed]}, and he left in November 2017.

Media

Since 2007 Williams has worked in the Irish media. He has been the International Rugby guest writer with The Irish Times for international matches. He has been a guest commentator on Today FM's Matt Coopers, Last Word, Newstalk's Off the Ball, and the Eamon Dunphy podcasts.

Williams has worked on television. Working for the ABC in Australia on match analysis, then in Ireland with Setanta TV, TV3 and its successor channel, Virgin Media One. ^[3]

References

^ "Williams axed by Scotland". The Guardian. 25 April 2005.
^ Williams resigns as Ulster coach BBC.co.uk, 20 May 2009
^ "Matt Williams: Munster Will Be Way Too Strong For Gloucester - Pundit Arena". 11 January 2019.

Preceded by Ian McGeechan	Scotland national rugby union team coach 2003–2005	Succeeded by Frank Hadden

[1] "Williams axed by Scotland". The Guardian. 25 April 2005.

[2] Williams resigns as Ulster coach BBC.co.uk, 20 May 2009

[3] "Matt Williams: Munster Will Be Way Too Strong For Gloucester - Pundit Arena". 11 January 2019.

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@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 }}
-'''Matt Williams''' (born 1960) is an Australian [[rugby union]] coach who is best known for having led the [[Scotland national rugby union team|Scotland men's national rugby union team]] between 2003 and 2005. Williams has also coached Eastwood, West Harbour Leinster, Ulster, Narbonne, Ireland A and a Rest of Ireland XV. Since 2015 he has worked as a pundit for [[Virgin Media One|Virgin Media Television]] and has written for the Irish Times since 2011.
+'''Matt Williams''' (born 1960) is an Australian former [[rugby union]] coach. Since 2015 he has worked as a pundit for [[Virgin Media One|Virgin Media Television]] and has written for [[The Irish Times]] since 2011.
 ==Playing career==
@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 ==Coaching==
-Williams started by coaching Western Suburbs U20s in Sydney, Australia in 1992. A year later he became head coach of his former club Eastwood in Sydney in 1993, immediately taking them to the semi-finals in both 1993 and 1994. {{Citation needed|date=June 2022}} A major improvement from their lowly position when he arrived. Later that year he gained representative recognition when he was appointed fitness and skills coach for the Emerging Wallabies' tour of Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.
+Williams started by coaching Western Suburbs U20s in Sydney, Australia in 1992. A year later he became head coach of his former club Eastwood in Sydney in 1993.{{Citation needed|date=June 2022}}  Later that year he was appointed fitness and skills coach for the Emerging Wallabies' tour of Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa.
 In 1995 his coaching stints included New South Wales A, New South Wales Sevens, and as assistant coach for an Australian XV against England A. He was also a coaching assistant at the Wallaby World Cup camps.
-In addition to national coaching duties, Williams also coached the Balmain Tigers 7s team in the Coca-Cola World Sevens in Sydney, winning the Cup. Williams, a lifelong "Balmain Tigers man" said it was "one of the best experiences of his life."
+In addition to national coaching duties, Williams also coached the Balmain Tigers 7s team in the Coca-Cola World Sevens in Sydney, winning the Cup.
 In 1996 he became manager and assistant coach for the [[New South Wales Waratahs|NSW Waratahs]] Super Rugby campaign. For the next three years he was Head Coach for the [[New South Wales Waratahs|NSW Waratahs]] in Super Rugby.
-He coached players including Chris Whitaker, [[David Campese]], [[Matt Burke (rugby union, born 1973)|Matt Burke]], [[Tiaan Strauss]], [[Phil Kearns]] and [[Jason Little (rugby union)|Jason Little]].
 ===Ireland===
-In the autumn of 1999, he acted as backs coach in [[Leinster Rugby]]'s European Cup campaign, a prelude to becoming the province's head coach in 2000. Williams also undertook the role of defensive coach for the Irish national team in 2001. He was the first Australian Super Rugby Coach to move to Europe.<ref name =personally>{{cite web|url=http://www.personallyspeakingbureau.com/speaker/matt-williams/ |title=Matt Williams – Personally Speaking Bureau |access-date=23 May 2015}}</ref>
+In the autumn of 1999, he acted as backs coach in [[Leinster Rugby]]'s European Cup campaign, becoming the province's head coach in 2000. Williams also undertook the role of defensive coach for the Irish national team in 2001. Leinster won the inaugural Celtic League Final and were knocked out at the semi-final of the European Cup.
-Williams said that in the three years at Leinster he "was part of a great group of men" who rose through the European rankings from thirty-five to second. Leinster won the inaugural Celtic League Final and were semi-finalists of the European Cup.
-Williams coached the former British and Irish Lions Captain [[Brian O'Driscoll]], as well as [[Gordon D'Arcy]], [[Shane Horgan]], [[Malcolm O'Kelly]] and [[Denis Hickie]].
-Williams also was appointed Head Coach of Ireland "A" in 2002-03 and won the Six Nations title with the "A" team.
+Williams also was appointed Head Coach of Ireland "A" (not to be confused with the actual Irish team) in 2002-03 and won the Six Nations title with the "A" team.
 ===Scotland===
-After success with Ireland A, Williams was {{citation needed|date=February 2022}} "head hunted" by the [[Scottish Rugby Union|SRU]] and, in 2003, he was appointed as the head coach of [[Scotland national rugby union team|Scotland]]. Williams was only the second Australian in over a century to be appointed as a head coach in the Six Nations Championship - and the Scottish national men's team's first foreign coach.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}
+In 2003, he was appointed as the head coach of [[Scotland national rugby union team|Scotland]] but was axed in 2005 having only secured 3 wins out of 17 test matches.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2005/apr/25/rugbyunion.scotlandrugbyunionteam | title=Williams axed by Scotland | newspaper=The Guardian | date=25 April 2005 }}</ref>
-After his Scotland tenure, Williams returned to Australia and became head coach of West Harbour rugby club in Sydney from 2006 to 2007 before returning to Ireland to take over a very troubled [[Ulster Rugby|Ulster]] team mid-season, after they had sacked former coach [[Mark McCall]]. Ulster were last in the Magners League and in danger of missing out on the ERC. Williams got Ulster off the bottom of the ladder and into the next European season.
+After his Scotland tenure, Williams returned to Australia and became head coach of West Harbour rugby club in Sydney from 2006 to 2007 before returning to Ireland to take over [[Ulster Rugby|Ulster]] team mid-season, after they had sacked former coach [[Mark McCall]].
-Williams then resigned from the post of Head Coach at Ulster Rugby in May 2009.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/my_club/ulster/8060560.stm Williams resigns as Ulster coach] BBC.co.uk, 20 May 2009</ref>
+Williams resigned from the post of Head Coach at Ulster Rugby in May 2009.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/my_club/ulster/8060560.stm Williams resigns as Ulster coach] BBC.co.uk, 20 May 2009</ref>
+In 2011 he was head coach of [[RC Narbonne|Club Narbonne Méditerranée]] in France. He resigned in July 2012.
-In 2010, he led a group of Australian businessmen in taking over the famous [[RC Narbonne|Club Narbonne Méditerranée]] in France. Williams held three roles within the club. Director Sportif, Head Coach and General Manager. After two years Williams was in deep disagreement with Australian owners, who he felt were not taking the club in the direction that was best for the club's future. He resigned in July 2012. Williams has since been proven correct in his beliefs as Narbonne have had several horror years, culminating with the club being relegated to Federal 1 (French 3rd Division) and the Australians losing control of the club. Several of the young players he "mentored" at Narbonne have gone on to excellent playing careers in the Top 14, including Vincent Rattez who was Capped for France in 2020.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}
-He then returned to Australia and in 2013 he set up the rugby programme at the Knox Sports Academy in Sydney. The academy results progressed quickly under his coaching, resulting in Knox winning the CAS in 2015 and 2016. The programme also produced several elite players, including Connor Watson who was contracted by the Sydney Roosters, and Wallabies Lachlan Swinton who is contracted with the NSW Waratahs in Super Rugby and Nick Frost at the Brumbies.
+He then returned to Australia and in 2013 he set up the rugby programme at the Knox Sports Academy in Sydney.
-Williams had a brief three-month stint, advising the [[Timișoara Saracens]]club in Romania{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}, however, the club was paralysed with financial difficulties, and he left in November 2017, with the club leading their pool of the EPCR.
+Williams had a brief three-month stint, advising the [[Timișoara Saracens]]club in Romania{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}, and he left in November 2017.
 ==Media==
-Since 2007 Williams has worked extensively in the Irish media. He is the International Rugby guest writer with ''[[The Irish Times]]'' for all international matches. He is a guest commentator on Today FM's ''Matt Coopers, Last Word'', Newstalk's ''Off the Ball'', and the Eamon Dunphy podcasts.
+Since 2007 Williams has worked in the Irish media. He has been the International Rugby guest writer with ''[[The Irish Times]]'' for international matches. He has been a guest commentator on Today FM's ''Matt Coopers, Last Word'', Newstalk's ''Off the Ball'', and the Eamon Dunphy podcasts.
-Williams has worked extensively on television. Working for the ABC in Australia on match analysis, then in Ireland with Setanta TV, [[TV3 (Ireland)|TV3]] and its successor channel, [[Virgin Media One]].
+Williams has worked on television. Working for the ABC in Australia on match analysis, then in Ireland with Setanta TV, [[TV3 (Ireland)|TV3]] and its successor channel, [[Virgin Media One]].
 <ref>{{cite web |url=http://punditarena.com/rugby/smcmahon/matt-williams-munster-will-be-way-too-strong-for-gloucester/ |title = Matt Williams: Munster Will Be Way Too Strong For Gloucester - Pundit Arena|date = 11 January 2019}}</ref>