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Matt Williams (rugby union coach)

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Matt Williams the rugby coach was the first foreign head coach of the Scotland national rugby union team. He also coached Leinster Rugby before that. He is Australian, and from New South Wales. He is now coaching West Harbour RFC in Sydney, New South Wales.

Scotland's first foreign head coach (2003-5)

He worked for the Scottish Rugby Union full-time, and was the first foreign head coach of Scotland, from December 2003 until April 2005. His first assistant coach (forwards coach) was New Zealander Todd Blackadder and the second was Ulsterman Willie Anderson.

Williams was appointed by Ian McGeechan without much (if any) consultation and no advertising of the post after the latter stepped up from the Scottish head coach role to become the SRU's Director of Rugby, again without advertising, shortly after the end of the Rugby Union World Cup in 2003.

Dismissals

When he took over as Scotland's head coach Williams first dismissed Alan Tait as defence coach and told Gregor Townsend among others that he had no room for him in the team. This was regarded by many in Scotland as a grave mistake at the time, as Townsend was then still only thirty years old. (Tait has since been restored as defence coach and Townsend to the national squad by Williams's successor Frank Hadden.)

Williams was equally ruthless with the players in the Scotland squad (e.g. telling Mike Blair six weeks in advance that he would not be selected) which led to increasing discontent and a decline in both morale and results to a pitiful level. It is no exaggeration to state that a once-proud rugby nation was reduced to a laughing stock as the team slipped down the IRB rankings.

Coaching results

=As Scotland's head coach

Those who live by the sword often die by it in true Braveheart fashion, and Williams and his large team of assistants (Willie Anderson, Brett "wherever Matt goes" Igo and others) were themselves eventually dismissed by the SRU on April 25, 2005 after a disastrous record of only three wins in two years from 17 games. There was no great lamentation or outrage among the Scottish rugby public at this.

The wins were over Samoa, Japan and Italy. While the victory over Samoa in Wellington was a good one and that over a demoralised and poorly-coached Japan was by a record score (100-8), the one over Italy in the 2005 Six Nations was an ugly and unconvincing affair, a case of "rugby by numbers" executed to an extremely limited game-plan which spoke volumes for Williams's lack of belief in his players.

At Leinster

It should be noted, however, that Matt Williams was appointed to the Scotland job on the back of a very successful stint at Irish province Leinster, where his uncompromising professional approach was largely responsible for turning an underachieving team into genuine Heineken Cup contenders, playing a high-paced, expansive game that was thrilling to watch. Williams also had reasonable success as coach to the Irish A international team.

Yet it has also been observed that the main reason for his undoubted success at Leinster was a very strong coaching staff.

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