1. Overview
Robert Taylor is a professional rugby union coach from New Zealand. Born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1980, Taylor has built a distinguished coaching career across multiple international rugby competitions, including the English Premiership, Japan Rugby League One, and Super Rugby. He is notable for leading the Sydney University Football Club to back-to-back Shute Shield championships in 2018 and 2019, and the Australian Club Championship in 2020. His career has also seen him hold assistant coaching roles with prominent teams like Leicester Tigers and the Melbourne Rebels, in addition to a head coaching position at Green Rockets Tokatsu in Japan.
2. Life and Education
2.1. Early Life
Robert Taylor was born in 1980 in Auckland, New Zealand.
2.2. Education
Taylor pursued his formal education at Victoria University.
3. Rugby Coaching Career
Robert Taylor's professional rugby coaching career spans across New Zealand, Australia, England, and Japan, culminating in his most recent role in Super Rugby.
3.1. Early Coaching in New Zealand
Taylor began his coaching career in his home country of New Zealand. He served as the Director of Rugby at Auckland University RFC. Additionally, he gained experience by coaching the Auckland NPC B team.
3.2. Coaching in Australia
Following his early roles in New Zealand, Taylor transitioned to coaching in Australia, where he held significant positions with the Sydney University Football Club and New South Wales Country Eagles.
3.2.1. Sydney University Football Club
Robert Taylor served as the head coach of the Sydney University Football Club. During his tenure, he achieved notable success, guiding the team to win consecutive Shute Shield championships in 2018 and 2019. He further solidified the club's dominance by securing the Australian Club Championship title in 2020. After these achievements, he departed to take up a coaching role with Leicester Tigers in England.
3.2.2. NSW Country Eagles
In 2019, Taylor took on the role of head coach for the New South Wales Country Eagles team. Under his leadership, the team participated in the National Rugby Championship (NRC) competition.
3.3. English Premiership Career
Robert Taylor's coaching journey extended to the English Premiership, one of the top professional rugby union leagues. He joined Leicester Tigers as an assistant coach. In this role, he worked under the guidance of Steve Borthwick, who later went on to become the head coach of the England national rugby union team. Taylor commenced his coaching duties with Leicester Tigers in 2020.
3.4. Japan Rugby League One Career
Taylor subsequently moved to Japan to coach in the Japan Rugby League One competition. In 2021, he was appointed head coach of Green Rockets Tokatsu (formerly NEC Green Rockets). During his time with the team, he worked under Director of Rugby Michael Cheika. Taylor concluded his tenure as head coach of NEC Green Rockets Tokatsu in 2023.
3.5. Super Rugby Career
Most recently, Robert Taylor has held an assistant coaching position in Super Rugby, a major professional rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere. For the 2024 season, he served as an assistant coach for the Melbourne Rebels, an Australian professional rugby union team based in Melbourne.