Blair Baxter (born 27 February 1980) is a New Zealand rugby union coach. He currently is an assistant coach with the China women's sevens team. He was previously the head coach of Matatū in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition, and Canterbury in the Farah Palmer Cup competition.
| Date of birth | 27 February 1980 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coaching career
editIn 2019, Baxter was the assistant coach of Canterbury's under-19 team when they won the Jock Hobbs Memorial National Tournament.[1] He was appointed as Canterbury's head coach in 2020 and helped guide them to win the Farah Palmer Cup that year.[1][2]
Baxter was appointed the head coach of the South Island women’s team, Matatū, that competed in the inaugural Super Rugby Aupiki competition in 2022.[3] He concluded his tenure with Matatū on a high note after winning the 2023 Super Rugby Aupiki season.[4]
In 2023, He had an eight-month coaching stint as an assistant coach with the China women's sevens team which ended on November 30.[4] He later accepted the role as Assistant Coach of the China women’s 7’s side, in their quest for qualification for the 2024 Summer Olympics.[5][6]
References
edit- ^ a b Lewis, Brad (26 May 2020). "Rugby: Blair Baxter named new Canterbury Farah Palmer Cup coach". Newshub. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ Royen, Robert van (7 November 2020). "Canterbury coach Blair Baxter doubts his team's feat will be repeated". Stuff. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ "Blair Baxter appointed Head Coach of new South Island Women's team for Super Rugby Aupiki". Crusaders Rugby. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
- ^ a b Knowler, Richard (1 December 2023). "Super Rugby Aupiki: Why ex-Matatū coach Blair Baxter went to China". Stuff. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ Lester, Ned (10 November 2023). "Super Rugby Aupiki coaches confirmed for 2024 season". www.rugbypass.com. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
- ^ "Blair Baxter takes exciting next step in his coaching journey". Canterbury Rugby. Retrieved 17 December 2023.