Bob Templeton (rugby union)

Last updated

Bob Templeton
MBE
Full nameRobert Ian Templeton
Date of birth(1932-07-27)27 July 1932
Place of birth Rockhampton, QLD, Australia
Date of death5 December 1999(1999-12-05) (aged 67)
Place of death Brisbane, QLD, Australia
School Anglican Church Grammar School
Rugby union career
Coaching career
YearsTeam
1962–71, 1976–88 Queensland
1971–74, 1976, 1979–82 Australia

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Robert Ian Templeton MBE (27 July 1932 — 5 December 1999) was an Australian rugby union coach who led the Wallabies in 29 Test matches during the 1970s and 1980s. [1] He also coached Queensland in 233 matches. [2]

Contents

Biography

The son of a grazier, Templeton was born in Rockhampton and educated at Anglican Church Grammar School. He spent his playing career as a forward for GPS during the 1950s and got his start in coaching at the same club. [3] After steering GPS to a premiership in 1961, Templeton was appointed Queensland coach and remained in that position until ascending to the Wallabies post in 1971, succeeding the retired Des Connor. [4]

National coach

Templeton's first assignment as national coach was the 1971 tour of France, with the Wallabies claiming a maiden win on French soil in the first Test in Toulouse, before France levelled the two-Test series in Colombes. [5] A loss to Tonga in 1973 was a long point of his coaching tenure and after some more poor results he lost his position in 1975 to NSW coach David Brockhoff. He returned in 1976 to lead the Wallabies to another tour of France, then held the role permanently from 1979 to 1981, with mixed results. Under Templeton, the Wallabies beat the All Blacks 2–1 in an away series in 1980 and the following year swept France 2–0 at home. [6] He was replaced by Bob Dwyer in 1982 after the Wallabies came back from the 1981–82 grand slam tour having won only one Test. [7] In 1991, Templeton was an assistant to Dwyer when the Wallabies won the Rugby World Cup. [8]

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References

  1. ↑ "Tempo of rugby set back by early passing of the Grand Old Man". The Sydney Morning Herald . 7 December 1999.
  2. ↑ "Queensland Rugby welcomes six new inductees to the Hall of Fame". reds.rugby. 17 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "Club History". GPS Rugby Club.
  4. ↑ "Wallabies coaches since 1962: Part I". The Roar . 9 August 2011.
  5. ↑ "After much decate ... our greatest Wallabies in a hundred years of Tests". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 June 1999.
  6. ↑ "Wallaby coach wants job next season". The Canberra Times . 27 December 1981. p. 16 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ "Dwyer named coach". The Canberra Times. 20 February 1982. p. 42 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ↑ "Australia's ex-coach Templeton dies at 67". The Independent . 7 December 1999.
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