Kenny Murray (born 4 September 1973 in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
) is a Scottish rugby union coach. He is currently the Head coach of the
Scotland U20 team. He was previously an Asst. Coach at
Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...
.
As a player he played at
Fly-half
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...
.
Rugby Union career
Playing career
Amateur career
Murray played for Cartha Queens Park.
He moved to
Whitecraigs in 2001.
Coaching career
Cartha Queens Park
After playing, at the age of 30, he became the Head Coach of
Cartha Queens Park
The Cartha Queens Park Rugby Football Club is a rugby union side based in Glasgow, Scotland. It was founded in 1974, after the merger of Cartha RFC and Queens Park F.P. They play their home games at Dumbreck. The men's side are currently i ...
until 2006.
An ambitious coach he was keen on a
Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...
incentive which saw
Donnie Macfadyen,
John Barclay and
Tim Barker train his Cartha players on clearing out skills and dealing with the ball on ground.
"I think it's an excellent initiative. To have input at our session from guys who are playing at the professional level will be great for our players, especially given that we can get specific help on the areas we'd like to concentrate on most. Seeing the different levels of the game working together is really encouraging for rugby in Glasgow."
He guided Cartha through a series of promotions through the Scottish national leagues.
He won Scotland's Coach of the Season in 2006.
Scottish Rugby Union
He left Cartha in 2006 to become a Regional Development Officer at the SRU. This job precluded coaching any rugby teams to maintain neutrality and Murray became frustrated at the lack of a coaching role. He quit in 2008.
Ayr
In 2008, he moved to
Ayr Rugby Club
Ayr Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club. Its professional men's side currently plays as Ayrshire Bulls in the Super 6 competition; and its women's side play in the . The club also runs a "Club XV" which competes in the Tennent's Nationa ...
as head coach. Under his leadership, in his first season 2008–09, Ayr won the Premier Division for the first time in its history.
They won the Scottish Cup in 2009–10 and again in 2010–11.
In the 2010–11 season, Murray guided Ayr to the Quarter finals of the British and Irish Cup, so far the only Scottish side to get this far.
In 2012–13, Ayr scooped a League and Cup double by winning the Premier Division and the Scottish Cup. They also won the Bill McLaren Shield and the RBS West Cup in that season. He was deemed the most successful coach in the Scottish club game.
Glasgow Warriors
He joined
Glasgow Warriors
Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...
in July 2013 as an Assistant Coach.
In 2014, Murray was awarded the John MacPhail coaching scholarship to study New Zealand rugby coaching.
In 2015, it was announced that Murray would study for the new UKCC Level 4 coach qualification at Edinburgh's Napier University.
He was a key note speaker at the National Coaches Conference in 2015, lecturing to 130 youth and adult coaches from across Scotland.
On 19 June 2017, Murray was one of the first Scottish coaches to graduate from the Napier University course.
Scotland U20s
Murray moved from Glasgow Warriors to take the Head Coach role of the Scotland U20 team. As part of this role he was also given the title of Head of Player Transistion.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Kenny
Living people
Glasgow Warriors coaches
Cartha Queens Park RFC players
Whitecraigs RFC players
1973 births