Richie Gray (rugby coach)

For other people named Richard Gray, see Richard Gray (disambiguation).

Richie Gray (age 54–55[1]) is a former Scottish rugby player, and television presenter.

Gray is from Galashiels,[1] and was an age-grade international player for Scotland.[2] He attended Galashiels Academy, and was a part of a Scottish Schools squad that toured New Zealand in 1988 along with notable players Doddie Weir, Andrew Ness, Steve Brotherstone, Graham Shiel and Andy Nicol.[3] He went on to attend Moray House School of Education and Sport at the University of Edinburgh, where he competed at the 1992 Students World Cup in Italy.[4]

Since 1994, Gray has been developing rugby training aids, founding Global Sports Innovation, a company notable for a piece of equipment called the 'Collision King'. Gray also worked for Scottish Rugby for 12 years, working until 2006 as academy manager.[1]

Gray fronted STV's coverage of the 2007 Rugby World Cup, and also presented STV's weekly programme, Scotsport Rugby Sunday, with all the latest news and highlights, including footage of Edinburgh and Glasgow Warriors, club rugby and the women's games. The show began on Sunday 11 November 2007 and lasted only one series.[2]

In 2013, Gray became a breakdown skills coach for the Springboks,[1] and coached them during the 2015 Rugby World Cup.[5] He has also coached for the Scotland rugby union team.[6] and Fiji rugby union team.[7] He has also coached many clubs,[8] including RC Toulon.[7]

Gray has also coached several NFL teams, including the Miami Dolphins. He was an advisor to the Philadelphia Eagles on the Brotherly Shove, a controversial variant on the quarterback sneak with a very high success rate in short yardage situations.[7]

  1. ^ a b c d "Scottish coach Richie Gray relishing role with Springboks". BBC Sport. 16 August 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b "RUGBY'S BACK ON THE TELLY". scottishrugby.org. Scottish Rugby. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  3. ^ McGilvray, Ally (17 March 2023). "Rugby: Scottish Schools squad reunites 35 years on to raise funds for My Name'5 Doddie Foundation". Planet Radio Borders News. Planet Radio. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Scots have three keys to the door of success". The Herald. Herald Scotland. 1 July 1992. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  5. ^ Reiner, Olivia (16 November 2023). "The Eagles' Tush Push got a helpful nudge from a Scottish rugby coach". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Breakdown specialist Gray plans to make the difference for Scotland". 17 February 2016.
  7. ^ a b c Lindsay, Matthew (4 November 2023). "The Scot behind the Philadelphia Eagles play that's dividing America". Herald Scotland. The Herald. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  8. ^ Bean, Graham (2 May 2023). "Meet the two Scots bidding to teach rugby players a new way of tackling". The Scotsman. Retrieved 7 December 2023.