Peter Wilkins (rugby union)

Peter Wilkins (born 5 September 1979) is an English Rugby union coach. He is currently an assistant coach of Irish provincial team Connacht Rugby in the Guinness Pro14 competition.[1] He was previously an assistant coach of Edinburgh Rugby, also in the Guinness Pro14, and the Queensland Reds in the Super Rugby competition. Prior to this, he held roles as Head Performance Analyst of the Queensland Reds, Head Coach of Queensland Reds A, and Coaching Coordinator of Queensland Country in the Australian National Rugby Championship.

Early life

Born in London, Wilkins grew up in the Hampshire city of Winchester, attending Christ's Hospital School as a boarder and captaining the school's rugby and cricket teams, as well as Sussex Schools Rugby representative age grades. In 1997, he relocated to Australia to play colts rugby for Eastern Suburbs RUFC, before returning to the UK to study Geography at Durham University.

Community Rugby

In 2007, Wilkins returned to Australia to work for the Queensland Rugby Union as their Regional Rugby Manager for North Queensland and Central Queensland, where he oversaw rugby development and coach education across the region's rugby communities.[2] This role later expanded to include the areas of South East Queensland outside of Brisbane. Wilkins progressed to the role of Head of Coach Education for the Queensland Rugby Union, overseeing and delivering coach accreditation courses across the state. During this time he also gained coaching experience at the community level with North Ward Old Boys Rugby Union Club in the Townsville and Districts Rugby Union competition, and Easts Tigers Rugby Union and GPS Rugby [3] in Queensland Premier Rugby. Wilkins has maintained his links to the community game and is regularly involved in providing ongoing education for grassroots coaches and players.[4]

Professional Coaching Career

Queensland Reds

In 2011, Wilkins joined the Queensland Reds high performance department as a Performance Analyst, the same year the team won the Super 15 Final. He was promoted to Head of Performance Analysis later that year, before becoming Skills Coach in 2013, and Defence Coach in 2015.[5] During this time, Wilkins was also Head Coach of the Reds Wider Training Squad,[6] Coaching Coordinator of Queensland Country in 2014's inaugural Australian National Rugby Championship,[7] and Head Coach of the Queensland Reds A team for three seasons. Leading Queensland Reds A in the Pacific Rugby Cup, now known as the World Rugby Pacific Challenge, the team enjoyed unbeaten seasons in 2013 and 2015, and were beaten finalists in 2014 against Argentina A.[8][9]

Edinburgh Rugby

At the conclusion of the 2015 Super Rugby season, Wilkins accepted the role of Assistant Coach with Edinburgh Rugby in the Guinness Pro12 competition,[10] arriving on a one year contract and later that season renewing for another two years [11] on the back of significant improvements in Edinburgh's defence.[12] When Head Coach Alan Solomons departed his role during the 2016–17 Pro12 season, Wilkins remained to coach the team along with interim Head Coach Duncan Hodge, and Forwards Coach Stevie Scott.[13]

Connacht Rugby

Wilkins joined Connacht Rugby as Assistant Coach for the start of the 2017–18 Pro14 season, arriving on a two year contract to work under newly appointed Head Coach Kieran Keane.[14] When Keane left the club at the end of his first season, Wilkins remained to continue his role under new Head Coach Andy Friend.[15] During the 2018–19 Pro14 season, Wilkins extended his contract for another two seasons with Connacht.[16]

References
  1. Kinsella, Murray. "'Our catchphrase is, 'There's always a solution until someone stops working". The42. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  2. "Rugby ready to bounce back". Daily Mercury. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  3. "GPS Rugby Annual Report 2013" (PDF).
  4. "Defence guru Wilkins to share his expertise". independent. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  5. "Hunt for solution awaits Graham". www.couriermail.com.au. 2015-02-07. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  6. "The Queensland Reds in 2014". Green and Gold Rugby. 2014-02-12. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  7. "Queensland Country name 35-man NRC squad". The Roar. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  8. "Reds A v Japan in Reds curtainraiser – Sanzar". super.rugby. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  9. "Pacific Rugby Cup: Pampas Lift Title With Final Win Over Reds A". Rugby News. 2014-03-23. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  10. "Solomons expects all-Edinburgh front row for Scots". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  11. "Edinburgh coach trio extend contracts". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  12. Palmer, Mark. "Case for defence". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  13. "Edinburgh head coach Alan Solomons resigns". ESPN.com. 2016-09-28. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  14. Waldron, Alan. "Connacht appoint former Queensland Reds and Edinburgh defence coach". The42. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  15. Thornley, Gerry. "Gerry Thornley: Kieran Keane didn't get enough time with Connacht". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
  16. "Connacht Rugby | Head Coach Andy Friend confirms Connacht coaching team for next two seasons". Connacht Rugby. 2019-01-22. Retrieved 2020-09-03.
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