RWC coaches domestic playing careers

[Lizard]

Gatland (Wal) and Foster (NZ) played together for Waikato in the New Zealand NPC 1986-1994 (along with John Mitchell - Jpn defence).

Eddie (Aus) and Cheika (Arg) were famously Randwick team mates in the Sydney senior club comp 1985-1989. The both also played for NSW but not at the same time.

Cheika also played at Castre as did Townsend (Sco) quite a bit later.

Jamie Joseph (Jpn) and Seilala Mapusua (Sam) both played for Otago in the NPC, but at different times.

Mapusua also joined Kubota Spears just after Toutai Kefu (Ton) stopped playing for the club (but returned to coach Mapusua a year later).

Simon Raiwalui (Fiji) was at Saracens with Andy Farrell (Ire) 2005-07, who also overlapped with Borthwick (Eng) 2008-09. Saracens is the onlt domestic team to have produced three RWC2023 head coaches.

Pablo Lemoine (Uru) played with Galthié (Fra) at Stade Francais 2001-03.

36 other clubs/franchises/provinces/states have a single representative amongst the RWC2023 head coaches.

[monkey]

I think Townsend and Dalziel (Scotland forwards coach) will have played together at Border Reivers. In fact, I think Dalziel might have been captain when Townsend was player/coach there. (and they both are ex-Gala).

[BaldiePete]

I think Townsend and Dalziel (Scotland forwards coach) will have played together at Border Reivers. In fact, I think Dalziel might have been captain when Townsend was player/coach there. (and they both are ex-Gala).

They overlapped at Reivers but I think Townsend had already moved to Northampton before Dalziel started playing for Gala.

[Lizard]

More than happy for someone else to run through all the assistants!

[Puja]

There would've been a brief moment where Eddie Jones, Borthwick, Farrell, and Raiwalui were all contracted to Saracens (as Borthwick signed a contract a distance out from his actual move for the 08-09 season) and so there could've been a hypothetical friendly against London Irish (where Mapasua was playing at the time) that would've involved 5 of the coaches in one respect or another.

Puja

[Lizard]

There were several NPC matches in which a Waikato team featuring Foster, Gatland and Mitchell played against Taranaki with future Italian coach Kieran Crowley at fullback.

At least one of those matches included a Taranaki side with Kevin "Smiley" Barrett, (father of Beauden, Scott and Jordie), John Plumtree (former NZ assistant coach) and Colin Cooper (Maori All Blacks coach) while the Waikato team had John Boe (Manu Samoa coach for RWC2003).