Premiership bosses as players: What was your boss like on the pitch before he took his place as chief?

Monday, 23 October 2017 at 19:47

bySteven Smith

Rugby bosses are so prominent in coverage of the Aviva Premiership that it's often hard to imagine them in another role.

They seem to have been born into suits or tracksuits, but it is rare to find someone in charge of a top-flight club who did not have a playing career of some sort, apart from Worcester's Gary Gold.

Sometimes those careers were short, sometimes they were long and fruitful. RUCK.co.uk has taken a look at current Premiership chiefs to see how their time on the pitch panned out.

Bath - Todd Blackadder - lock

He played for the All Blacks 25 times, including 14 as captain. He also played for the Crusaders at lock.

Exeter Chiefs - Rob Baxter - lock

Photo. Richatd Lane.Bristol Shoguns v Exeter Chiefs. England National Division One. 27/03/2005.Referee, Tim Beddow talks to Exeter captain, Rob Baxter.[/caption]

As a player Baxter played for Exeter for 14 years and served as the club's captain for 10 years

Gloucester Rugby - Johan Ackermann - lock

Ackerman is known for his physical approach to the game. In 2007, he became the oldest Springbok to play for the national side, at the age of 37 when he was recalled to the Springbok squad to play against the Barbarians in 2007.

The second-row bowed out of professional rugby on a winning note on 1 March 2008, when the Sharks defeated the Bulls 29-15 at Loftus Versfeld. He became the oldest player ever in Super Rugby history at age 37 years, 272 days.

Harlequins - John Kingston - prop

Kingston was educated at Durham School and played for England Schools before attending Cambridge University. Captaining the light blues to victory in the 1982 Varsity Match, John then played for Newcastle Gosforth, Rosslyn Park, Middlesex, England U23s and England B.

Leicester Tigers - Matt O'Connor - centre

O'Connor played rugby for the Brumbies in the 1990s and was awarded a single cap for the Wallabies against Ireland in 1994.

London Irish - Nick Kennedy - lock

Kennedy spent the majority of his career with the Exiles before short stints with Toulon and Harlequins. The lock then hung up his boots in 2014.

He represented England Saxons before being selected for the 2008 summer tour of New Zealand by Martin Johnson ahead of Ben Kay. He started his first game against the Pacific Islanders in which he scored a try. Kennedy participated in every game of the 2009 Six Nations, taking his cap tally to seven.

Newcastle Falcons - Dean Richards - Number 8

Richards was a police constable for Leicestershire Constabulary between the 1980s and 1990s before English rugby union became professional. He played for Roanne in France for a year before returning to England to play for Leicester Tigers, where he won two league titles and one cup.

He made his senior England debut in 1986 against Ireland at Twickenham in the Five Nations Championship, scoring two tries in a 25–20 points win. He became an integral part of the England pack in the early 1990s, and was one of the top number eights in the world, winning 48 England caps and six caps for the British Lions on their 1989 and 1993 tours. He also played in the 1987, 1991 and 1995 Rugby World Cups.

Northampton Saints - Jim Mallinder - full-back

In his playing days, Mallinder was a fullback at Sale Sharks, where he stayed for 15 years as a player and a coach. He was formerly a P.E and Mathematics teacher at William Hulme's Grammar School in Manchester before the game turned professional.

When he retired from playing in 2001, after nearly 400 games for Sale and two England caps, he was appointed as the Sharks' head coach.

Sale Sharks - Steve Diamond - prop

Diamond played for his local club Trafford MV before joining Sale Sharks as a player in 1989. He played over 350 top class games for Sale.

He was also called up to the senior England squad as cover for the 1997 England rugby union tour of Argentina and Australia, however, he was ultimately not capped at that level.

Saracens - Marck McCall - centre

The outside-centre played 13 times for the Ireland national rugby union team, making his debut against New Zealand on 30 May 1992 as a substitute.

Wasps - Dai Young - prop

He played rugby union at club level for Swansea and Cardiff. Having not been selected to play for Wales in the 1987 Rugby World Cup, Young, then 19, travelled to Australia for the summer to play for Northern Suburbs.

However, when Stuart Evans broke his foot playing against Tonga, Young was on the right side of the world at the right time and was called up to the Welsh squad, making his début for Wales against England in the quarter-finals.

He toured Australia with the then British Lions in 1989, playing in all three test matches, with the Lions winning the test series 2-1.

Young moved to rugby league in 1990, signing for Leeds for a then world record of £150,000. He went on to play for Salford, won 14 caps for Wales and captained Wales in the 1995 Rugby League World Cup.

Young returned to rugby union and Cardiff in 1996, after rugby union became professional. He won a further 37 caps for Wales, reaching a total of 51, then a record number for a prop. He was selected for a further two British & Irish Lions tours - South Africa in 1997 and Australia in 2001. He is the only player to have toured with the Lions in three separate decades.

Next British & Irish Lions captain odds: Who is the current favourite?

CONFIRMED: England trio cited and could ALL face bans