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Introducing our Coaching Team
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The coaching team at the Australian Raptors Rugby Academy are all volunteers. All have played rugby as juniors through to seniors, and have been involved in Rugby at professional level.
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The culture in rugby is rich in history, built on teamwork, camaraderie and respect. Our coaches are committed to the holistic and supportive development of our players while imparting and upholding the core values of Rugby – its as much a part of our Academy's culture as it is of the sport as a whole.
Michael Hayes
Head Coach
Mike is a current IRB Level 4 Rugby Coach and draws on his rugby playing and coaching experiences to lead our Academy with success.
Having played rugby for the Waratahs, Queensland Reds and Australia as an Under 21 representative, Mike transitioned easily into coaching.
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Mike has been a former Head Coach of the QLD Super W First XV, the Brumbies Provincial First XV, Manly Marlins First XV, Gordon First XV Backs Coach, former ARU Junior Gold Coach, and the 2022 NSW Country U18's Head Coach, Mike brings an enormous amount of experience and knowledge about Rugby and personal development to our Academy.
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In his spare time, Mike is currently assisting The Scots College as a core skills Coach; he is a Coaching Consultant for the Nextgen Rugby Academy in QLD, and
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Outside of rugby, Mike is the owner of Wilderness Experience Training specialising in resilience training, cultural change, group cohesion and intrinsic development for companies and elite sporting teams.
Terry Wallace
Team Coach
Terry has coached rugby for over 10 years, developing players technically and personally, identifying individual player abilities and weaknesses to target areas of improvement and provide motivation.
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Terry has played multiple codes including the Roseville Rugby Seniors, and the NRL South Sydney Rabbitohs and Sydney Roosters. As a juniors he played rugby for Randwick Boys High School and toured the USA and Canada.
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As a Rugby coach Terry has been involved in coaching the U15's NSW Rugby City Reds Extended team, Gordon District U10-14 Representative teams, and the Roseville Rugby Seniors.
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Terry is firm believer in solid foundations and team culture, striving for excellence and is determined to help young players develop their rugby and personal skills to reach their maximum potential.
Phil Green
Team Coach
Phil is a Rugby Australia Level 4 Coach and World Rugby Coach Educator who joins our team as a Technical Advisor and Coach and Player Mentor.
With a history coaching at Academy, School, College, Club, Premier Grade and Senior Representative Levels in both Australia and the USA along his journey, Phil brings a wealth of knowledge and perspective to our program.
His experience includes Vikings Rugby Club in Wollongong, NSW Country Cockatoos and Colts, ARU Junior Gold Cup, Premier Rugby with Randwick and Southern Districts, Old Mission Beach Athletic Club in San Diego, and most recently with the Rugby Australia u19 Barbarians team, and as a Coaching Director with NSW Country Juniors
Patrick Hughes
Trainer
Being from New Zealand, Rugby Union is part of Patrick's DNA. Having played throughout his youth growing up in New Zealand, Patrick was selected in the First XV team for Massey High School at the age of 16 years old. This led to Patrick representing North Harbour Secondary Schools which created the opportunity to move to Australia to play rugby.
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Patrick was signed with U21's Penrith Emus and played one season before transferring to Parramatta Two Blues to make his debut in First Grade.
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Patrick's passion still exists for rugby and he began the journey of coaching after becoming a parent. Patrick has coached local junior club teams in the Illawarra region of NSW for over 8 years and was an assistant coach for the Illawarra juniors representative team for the past 4 years.
Patrick's passion is to provide junior players with a positive experience in rugby union to forge resilient young men in the future.