Matt Taylor (rugby union)

Matt Taylor (born 16 September 1972 in Brisbane, Australia) is an Australian-born Scottish rugby union coach and is the assistant coach (defence) of the Australian National Rugby union team.[2] He was formerly the assistant coach of the Scotland National Rugby Union [3] team, Glasgow Warriors[4] and the Queensland Reds.

Matt Taylor
Birth nameMatt McGregor Taylor
Date of birth (1972-09-16) 16 September 1972 (age 52)
Place of birthBrisbane, Australia
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight97 kg (214 lb; 15 st 4 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1999–2000 Aberdeen GSFP ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2000–2002 Edinburgh Rugby ()
2002–2004 Border Reivers ()
2004–2005 Exeter Chiefs ()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
- Queensland U16 ()
- Queensland U21 ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2001–2002 Scotland A[1] 3 (0)
Coaching career
Years Team
Queensland Reds (Defence coach)
2012–17 Scotland (Defence coach)
2012–17 Glasgow Warriors (Asst.)
2017-2019 Scotland (Asst. coach)
2019- Australia (Defence coach)

Rugby Union career

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Playing career

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He holds a British passport as his parents are from Dunfermline, Fife. He played in the Flanker position.

As a rugby player he played for various Scottish sides; Aberdeen GSFP, Edinburgh Rugby and Border Reivers.

He also played for Exeter Chiefs.[5]

He was capped for Scotland 'A' thus confirming his Scottish nationality under World Rugby regulations.[6]

Coaching career

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He was previously a defence coach of Queensland Reds.[6] As a defence coach he has led Queensland Reds to the Super Rugby title in 2011.

He joined Glasgow Warriors in August 2012. As a defence coach he has led Glasgow Warriors to the Pro12 title in 2015.

Matt Taylor's contracts as assistant coach of Scotland and assistant coach of Glasgow Warriors were due to expire at end of the 2015 World Cup.[7]

Taylor left Glasgow Warriors to follow Gregor Townsend in taking over the Scotland national rugby union team in May 2017. He remained there until 2019.

In 2019 he was chosen by current Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie as defence coach. He is currently based in Australia.

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References

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  1. ^ "Scotland coach Matt Taylor bids to outfox former colleagues". scotsman.com.
  2. ^ "Matt Taylor to return home as Qantas Wallabies Defence Coach". australia.rugby. 26 December 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Vern Cotter has already turned Scotland's culture around, says No.2 Matt Taylor". Herald Scotland. 2 February 2015.
  4. ^ David Kelso (22 December 2014). "How a verbal hammering sparked Glasgow Warriors' greatest 40 minutes of the season". dailyrecord.
  5. ^ "Glasgow Warriors coach Matt Taylor ready to dig into the ex-files as he plots a Heineken Cup victory". dailyrecord. 16 October 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Taylor ready to tackle challenge with Warriors". Herald Scotland. 29 August 2012.
  7. ^ "Planet Rugby - Rugby Union News - O'Connor linked with Reds position". PlanetRugby.com.