T. W. Roland "Roly" Meates (1937/1938 – 5 July 2023) was an

Ireland national rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Champi ...

coach and chairman of the

Irish Rugby Football Union The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) ( ga, Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ...

board of selectors. Roly Meates studied

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, where he played as a forward with the

Dublin University Football Club Dublin University Football Club (DUFC) is the rugby union club of the University of Dublin and Trinity College, in Dublin, Ireland, which plays in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. History The first known record of the Club appears unde ...

before moving to Wanderers. Meates coached

for 28 years, before moving to

Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby ...

to coach for five years. He was Leinster's president in the 1968–69 season. He became Ireland national rugby union team coach from 1975 to 1977 and later chairman of the selection board. He returned to Leinster where he worked with Matt Williams, and latterly worked as scrummaging coach. He served as a governor of

The High School, Dublin The High School is a 12–18 mixed, Church of Ireland, independent secondary school in Rathgar, Dublin, Ireland. It was established in 1870 at Harcourt Street before moving to Rathgar in 1971 and amalgamated with The Diocesan School for Girl ...

, and Chairman of the Sports Committee. Meates died on 5 July 2023, at the age of 85.

References

External links

The Scotsman
"Meates rejects SRU spin to reveal why he turned down Williams" 7 August 2003
Leinster Rugby
bio of Meates 1930s births Year of birth uncertain 2023 deaths Irish rugby union coaches Leinster Rugby non-playing staff Dublin University Football Club players Wanderers F.C. (rugby union) players People educated at The High School, Dublin Ireland national rugby union team coaches {{Ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub