Every international head coach ranked by their playing career

All bar one played professionally, with most also representing their country. Fiji are not included, with Mick Byrne having recently departed and no replacement confirmed just yet.

Australia head coach Joe Schmidt did not have an extensive rugby playing career, but his coaching record shows that reaching the top level as a player is not essential to succeed as a coach.

After training as a school teacher, Schmidt played rugby in New Zealand, including 29 matches in the provincial championship for Manawatu.

In 1991, during a gap year, Schmidt travelled to Ireland with his wife Kelly to accept an offer from FÁS to coach the underage teams, known as the minis, at Mullingar RFC in the Midlands.

He also played amateur rugby in the Irish lower leagues, later returning to New Zealand to take up a teaching role before beginning his coaching career.

Tandy has brought a fresh energy to Wales, leading them to their first Six Nations win in three years against Italy this season and improving the overall atmosphere around Welsh rugby.

He played as an openside flanker for Neath RFC between 1994 and 2003, making 74 appearances. This included coming on as a replacement in the 2003 Celtic Cup final against Munster at the Millennium Stadium, where they lost 37–17.

With the introduction of regional rugby in Wales in 2003, Tandy joined the Ospreys. He made 102 appearances over seven years, with his progress limited by injuries. Despite strong performances at regional level, he never earned a cap for Wales.

New All Blacks head coach Rennie has yet to take charge of a match, and his predecessor Scott Robertson may rank higher based on playing career.

Rennie played for Upper Hutt RFC in Wellington, New Zealand, but retired early at 27 due to a recurring shoulder injury.

He also played for the Wellington Lions, winning the NPC title in 1986. As a head coach, he later guided the team to another NPC title in 2000, ending a 14-year wait.

Rennie’s mother was from Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, making him eligible to represent them. He played one non-capped match for the Cook Islands in 1990.

This position may seem low for Farrell, but much of his success came in rugby league. In union, he performed well, though not to the same level.

During his time at Saracens, Farrell earned his England debut at Twickenham, starting at inside centre in a Six Nations match against Scotland.

At the 2007 World Cup, he started at inside centre against South Africa in England’s group stage defeat. He later came off the bench against Tonga and scored his first England try.

He was selected for the quarter-final against Australia but had to withdraw due to a calf injury. Overall, he did not fully meet expectations in union and finished with eight caps for England.

Moving to coaches with highly successful playing careers, Quesada has played a key role in improving Italy in recent years.

He earned 37 caps for Argentina as a fly-half and had a strong international career. He scored 20 or more points in matches against seven different teams and recorded four tries, with an overall win rate of 50 percent.

Quesada was the top points scorer at the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales with 102 points. English media nicknamed him Speedy Gonzales because of the long time he took preparing for goal kicks.

After the tournament, he joined Narbonne in France, later moving to Béziers in 2002 and Stade Français in 2004. In 2005 he signed for Pau, then joined Toulon after Pau’s relegation. He returned to his former club Hindú in 2007.

Borthwick may be under pressure as England head coach after a difficult Six Nations, but he had a solid playing career.

He played as a lock for Bath and Saracens, earning 57 caps for England after debuting in 2001. He became captain in 2008 before being dropped in 2010.

In January 2010, he was confirmed as captain for the Six Nations. After a 15–15 draw with Scotland, he aggravated a knee injury and missed the match against France. Tom Palmer replaced him, and Lewis Moody took over the captaincy.

Due to injury, Borthwick also missed the 2010 tour of Australasia. In July that year, he was dropped from the Elite Player Squad by Martin Johnson.

The standout coach on this list, Erasmus has transformed the Springboks into two-time World Cup winners.

He made his debut for South Africa on 5 July 1997 in Johannesburg during the British and Irish Lions tour, with the Springboks winning 35–16.

Erasmus played in 15 matches during South Africa’s 17-game winning streak from 1997 to 1998. A single defeat to England denied them a Grand Slam tour. During this period, South Africa also won the 1998 Tri Nations with a perfect record.

In 1999, he captained South Africa once during the Tri Nations and was included in the World Cup squad. He played in all but one match as the team reached the semi-finals, losing to Australia after extra time. South Africa then beat New Zealand to finish third.

Scotland head coach Townsend divides opinion, with some crediting him for the team’s improvement and others questioning whether he can take them further.

As a player, he earned 82 caps for Scotland and two for the British and Irish Lions. He also coached Glasgow Warriors and served as a player coach for Border Reivers.

He played club rugby in multiple countries, including Australia, England, France and South Africa. As Scotland coach, he led the team to a win at Twickenham in 2021, their first there in 38 years. He also worked as attack coach for the 2021 Lions tour to South Africa.

In the 1999 Five Nations, Townsend scored a try against every other team, becoming the first Scot since 1925 to do so. His performances helped Scotland win the championship for the first time since 1990. That year, he also played in the Rugby World Cup and received an MBE for services to rugby.

Contepomi enjoyed a distinguished career with Argentina and at club level. He played a major role in Leinster’s 2005–06 Heineken Cup campaign, scoring 21 points in a 41–35 win over Toulouse and earning man of the match.

He was the top scorer in both the Celtic League and the Heineken Cup that season.

At the 2007 Rugby World Cup, Argentina delivered a standout performance, finishing third. Contepomi played in all seven matches, scoring key points including four penalties against France and 11 points in matches against Ireland and Scotland.

He finished as the second highest points scorer in the tournament and was nominated for International Player of the Year, which was won by Bryan Habana.

Contepomi later captained Argentina at the 2011 World Cup. By the time he retired, he held the records for most caps and most points for Argentina.

Galthie played as a scrum-half and spent much of his club career with Colomiers and later Stade Français.

He earned 64 caps for France and played in four Rugby World Cups, captaining the team in 2003.

Former France coach Bernard Laporte described him as the greatest scrum-half in French history. Galthie was named International Player of the Year in 2002.

He won three Grand Slams with France as well as a Top 14 title.