Pete Wilkins (rugby union)

Peter Wilkins (born 5 September 1979) is an English rugby union coach. He is currently Head Coach of Irish provincial team Connacht Rugby in the United Rugby Championship competition.[1] He was previously Senior Coach and Attack Coach at Connacht Rugby[2] in the Guinness Pro14, Assistant Coach of Edinburgh Rugby, also in the Guinness Pro14, and Assistant Coach of 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.[3] 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[4] 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.[5]

Professional Coaching Career

2011-2015

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.[6] During this time, Wilkins was also Head Coach of the Reds Wider Training Squad,[7] Coaching Coordinator of Queensland Country in 2014's inaugural Australian National Rugby Championship,[8] 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.[9][10]

2015-2017

At the conclusion of the 2015 Super Rugby season, Wilkins accepted the role of Assistant Coach with Edinburgh Rugby in the Guinness Pro12 competition,[11] arriving on a one year contract and later that season renewing for another two years [12] on the back of significant improvements in Edinburgh's defence.[13] 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.[14]

2017-2022

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.[15] When Keane left the club at the end of his first season, Wilkins remained to continue his role under new Head Coach Andy Friend.[16] During the 2018–19 Pro14 season, Wilkins extended his contract for another two seasons with Connacht.[17] In April 2021, Wilkins was promoted to the role of Senior Coach with Connacht Rugby, with primary responsibility for the team's attack.[18] He has described his attack coaching philosophy as favouring an unstructured style of play based on key attacking principles,[19] and the importance of building an emotional connection to the team's style of play.[20]

2022-Present

In June 2022, Ireland Head Coach Andy Farrell announced the inclusion of Wilkins as an Assistant Coach for Ireland's summer tour to New Zealand, including a three test series against the All Blacks and two mid-week games against New Zealand Maori.[21] On his return from Ireland's series win,[22][23] Wilkins was promoted to the position of Connacht Head Coach, with Andy Friend moving to a new Director of Rugby role.[24] When Friend later announced he would be leaving Connacht at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season,[25] it was confirmed that Wilkins would assume overall responsibility for the professional team, signing a three-year contract as Head Coach. [26] He would combine this new role with a return to coaching the team's attack.[27]

References
  1. "Connacht Rugby | Connacht Rugby Announces New Coaching Team". Connacht Rugby. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  2. Kinsella, Murray. "'Our catchphrase is, 'There's always a solution until someone stops working". The42. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  3. "Rugby ready to bounce back". Daily Mercury. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  4. "GPS Rugby Annual Report 2013" (PDF).
  5. "Defence guru Wilkins to share his expertise". independent. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  6. "Hunt for solution awaits Graham". www.couriermail.com.au. 7 February 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  7. "The Queensland Reds in 2014". Green and Gold Rugby. 12 February 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  8. "Queensland Country name 35-man NRC squad". The Roar. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  9. "Reds A v Japan in Reds curtainraiser – Sanzar". super.rugby. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  10. "Pacific Rugby Cup: Pampas Lift Title With Final Win Over Reds A". Rugby News. 23 March 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  11. "Solomons expects all-Edinburgh front row for Scots". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  12. "Edinburgh coach trio extend contracts". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  13. Palmer, Mark. "Case for defence". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  14. "Edinburgh head coach Alan Solomons resigns". ESPN.com. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  15. Waldron, Alan. "Connacht appoint former Queensland Reds and Edinburgh defence coach". The42. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  16. Thornley, Gerry. "Gerry Thornley: Kieran Keane didn't get enough time with Connacht". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  17. "Connacht Rugby | Head Coach Andy Friend confirms Connacht coaching team for next two seasons". Connacht Rugby. 22 January 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  18. "Lawler And Tucker Join Connacht Coaching Team". Irish Rugby. 1 April 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  19. Thornley, Gerry. "How Toulouse lit a spark in Peter Wilkins and rekindled his love for rugby". The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  20. Treacy, Neil (30 November 2021). "Connacht freeing themselves from 'emotional yo-yo'". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  21. Kennedy, Ciarán. "Andy Farrell includes 5 uncapped players in 40-man Ireland squad to tour New Zealand". The42. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  22. Kinsella, Murray. "Kieran Treadwell's stock rises for Ireland in excellent win over the Māori". The42. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  23. World, Rugby (16 July 2022). "Epic Ireland series win in New Zealand". Rugby World. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  24. "Irish Rugby | Connacht Announce Structural Changes To Coaching Team". Retrieved 14 September 2022.
  25. "Andy Friend to leave Connacht at the end of the season". The Irish Times. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  26. "Irish Rugby | Pete Wilkins Appointed Connacht Rugby Head Coach". Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  27. "Sexton to join Connacht as assistant attack coach". www.rugbypass.com. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
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