Ron Mayes (born 1946) is a New Zealand former rugby union player and coach, best known for coaching the

United States national rugby union team The United States men's national rugby union team represents the United States in men's international rugby union. Nicknamed the Eagles, it is controlled by USA Rugby, the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United Sta ...

from 1983 to 1987.

Early life and career

Mayes was born in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1946. He was capped in New Zealand's first division team until his early retirement and transition into coaching due to an injury at the age of 22. He came to the United States in 1972. Mayes became the head coach of the Old Blues Rugby Club in 1974 and won five National Club Championships. He left the club in 1983 to sign on as the head coach of the

, a position that he held through the first

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

in 1987. Mayes had previously served as the head coach of the Northern California Pelicans from 1976 to 1982 and the Pacific Coast Grizzlies from 1978 to 1982.

Education

Mayes received his

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

Structural Engineering Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and muscles' that create the form and shape of man-made structures. Structural engineers also must understand and cal ...

from the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, New Zealand, in 1972 and performed post-doctoral research on a Fulbright Scholarship at the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute in Oakland,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Mayes serves as a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the Structural Engineers Association of Northern California (SEAONC) and the statewide Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC).

Awards

Mayes was inducted into the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame in 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayes, Ron New Zealand rugby union coaches United States national rugby union team coaches Living people 1946 births