Robin Currie McBryde (born 3 July 1970), is a

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

former player and coach. He gained 37 caps for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He played hooker.

Background

McBryde was born in north Wales. He is a fluent

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

speaker. McBryde worked as an overhead linesman before becoming a professional rugby player.

Rugby playing career

McBryde first played club rugby for Bangor RFC, Porthaethwy and for the North Wales team. He then moved to South Wales in search of a higher standard of rugby. He joined

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

then moved to

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

, making his first appearance for the club on 1 October 1994 against

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. He captained Llanelli when they won the Welsh Cup in 1998 and the Welsh Championship in 1999 and later played for the

Llanelli Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

regional side when they were formed in 2003. He played 250 games for Llanelli and the Scarlets between 1994 and 2005. He won his first cap for Wales against

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

in 1994. His last international appearance was as a replacement in the match against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in March 2005 which saw Wales clinch the Grand Slam. He was selected for the

2001 British Lions tour to Australia The 2001 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a series of matches played by the British & Irish Lions rugby union team in Australia. The Lions squad was captained by Martin Johnson, the first player to lead the Lions on two tours. The ...

, appearing against

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, Queensland Presidents XV, Australia A and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, before he was unfortunately forced out of the tour by injury and replaced by

Dorian West Dorian Edward West MBE (born 5 October 1967) nicknamed "Nobby" is a former English international rugby union footballer. West was born in Wrexham, Wales, but his family moved to England when he was young. Before professionalism, he was a poli ...

. In August 2005 he announced his retirement from rugby following surgery to remove a disc from the top of his spine.

Rugby coaching career

After retiring from playing, McBryde was appointed coach of the Scarlets Regional Under 18 team. He was subsequently appointed forwards coach for the Welsh national team. In June 2009 he was caretaker head coach of the Wales national team for the two match North American tour during

Warren Gatland Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player who is currently in his second spell as the head coach of the Wales national team. As head coach of Wales from 2007 to 2019, he won four Six N ...

's absence as assistant coach to the British & Irish Lions. Wales won both matches against Canada and USA. He will again be caretaker head coach for interim head coach

Rob Howley Robert Howley (born 13 October 1970) is a Welsh former rugby union player and coach. As a player, he won 59 caps for Wales, 22 of them as captain. He was part of the Wales coaching team for many years. He is currently a coaching consultant for th ...

who is currently filling in for Warren Gatland. Both Gatland and Howley are coached in the

2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia The 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a rugby union tour during June and July 2013. The British & Irish Lions played ten matches - a three-test series against Australia, and matches against the five Australian Super Rugby sides, a ...

. It was announced that he would join Leinster rugby as an Assistant coach after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

Other notable roles and work

McBryde won the "Wales' strongest man" competition in 1992. In 2007, McBryde took over the role of Grand Sword Bearer at the

National Eisteddfod of Wales The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh language, Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Eur ...

, Wales’s ancient gathering of bards, from

Ray Gravell Raymond William Robert Gravell (12 September 1951 – 31 October 2007) was a Welsh rugby union centre who played club rugby for Llanelli RFC. At international level, Gravell earned 23 caps for Wales and was selected for the 1980 British Lions ...

.Ray Gravell obituary (Independent)
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References

External links

Wales profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:McBryde, Robin 1970 births Living people Bards of the Gorsedd British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Llanelli RFC players People educated at Ysgol Tryfan Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Bangor, Gwynedd Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby union team coaches Welsh rugby union coaches Welsh rugby union players