Bob
Dwyer

Bob Dwyer is a former Australian rugby union coach who led the Wallabies to victory at the 1991 Rugby World Cup.

Bob Dwyer

Bob Dwyer is a former rugby union coach who led Australia to glory at the 1991 edition of the Rugby World Cup. He also enjoyed success with Randwick, Leicester and Bristol and was inducted into the RugbyPass Hall of Fame in 2021.

Born 29 November 1940, Bob Dwyer began his coaching career with Sydney club Randwick, who he had also represented almost 350 times as a player. During his time coaching the side, he guided them to four Sydney Championship wins. Due to the success he experienced, he was then named as the coach of Australia.

In total, Bob Dwyer enjoyed two spells as the coach of the Wallabies (1982-83 and 1988-1995). The highlight of his international career undoubtedly came in 1991, when he coached the Wallabies to victory in the Rugby World Cup final, when they beat England 12-6 at Twickenham.

In 1995, Bob Dwyer left Australia and moved to Racing 92 in France (1995-96) before joining Leicester Tigers in England. Under his stewardship, the side were immediately successful. Although they finished 4th in the Premiership in his first season, they reached the final of the Heineken Champions Cup and won the Pilkington Cup.

After falling out with some of Leicester’s senior players due to his abrasive style, Bob Dwyer left the club in 1998 and was appointed as the head coach of recently relegated Bristol. They were then promoted to the Premiership at the first time of asking.

In 2001, Bob Dwyer returned to Australia and became the head coach of the New South Wales Waratahs in Super Rugby. He then retired from coaching in 2003 but stayed with the New South Wales Union as a development officer. He’s also recently served as the president of Randwick Rugby Club.