Matt Proudfoot
Matt Proudfoot (born 30 January 1972) is a South African born former Scottish international rugby union player who played for Glasgow Warriors and Edinburgh Rugby. He was an assistant coach with South Africa, finishing after the 2019 World Cup.[1] In January 2020 he became forwards coach for the England Men's Rugby Team.[2]
| Birth name | Matthew Craig Proudfoot | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 30 January 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Klerksdorp, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 126 kg (19 st 12 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Potchefstroom High School for Boys | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Vanes-Mari Proudfoot (Du Toit) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Rugby Union Career
Amateur career
Educated at Potchefstroom High School for Boys, Proudfoot turned out in the Vodacom Cup and later Currie Cup for the Leopards (rugby team) after which he moved to Scotland to play for Melrose.[3]
Professional career
Proudfoot then represented Edinburgh Rugby. He won 3 international caps while with Edinburgh, before returning to South Africa.
Injury forced him into semi-retirement but he still played for the Leopards and the Blue Bulls. Glasgow Warriors coach Hugh Campbell persuaded him to return to full-time Scottish professional rugby.[4]
In 2003 he returned to Scotland to play for Glasgow Warriors.[3] He won 1 more international cap while with the Warriors.[5]
International career
He qualified for Scotland through his Dumfries grandfather.[5]
He made his debut for Scotland in 1998 in a match against Fiji.[6] He was capped 4 times for the national team finishing with a cap against Ireland in 2003.
Coaching career
Proudfoot coached the forwards at Western Province, Stormers and North-West University and Kobelco Steelers in Japan.[1]
On 17 May 2016 it was announced that Proudfoot would be leaving Kobelco Steelers to become an assistant coach with the South Africa national rugby union team[7] where he contributed to the Springboks winning the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
On 13 January 2020 it was announced that Proudfoot had joined the England Men's Rugby Team as forwards coach ahead of the 2020 Six Nations.[2]
References
- "Proudfoot follows Coetzee to Japan". Sport.
- "Amor and Proudfoot Join England Men's Coaching Team". England Rugby.
- Peter Donald (5 August 2003). "Proudfoot on comeback trail". Telegraph.co.uk.
- "Matt Proudfoot Joins Glasgow".
- "Glasgow Warriors - Matt Proudfoot".
- "Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Fiji v Scotland at Suva". ESPN scrum.
- "Proudfoot joins Springbok coaching staff". Planetrugby.com.