Yale Rugby Welcomes New Head Coach

The Yale University Men’s Rugby Club has announced the hiring of Greg McWilliams as new head coach. McWilliams will be replacing longtime Yale men’s rugby coach Jan Pikul, who is stepping down due to family commitments.

McWilliams, a native of Dublin, Ireland, served as senior head coach of rugby at St. Michael’s College in Dublin, where he also taught Geography and Business. Since 2010, he has been part of the coaching staff of the Leinster U19s, the current Irish RFU Junior Interprovincial Champions. Many Leinster players feed into the Irish National Team. He has also been attack, backs and skills coach with the Irish National Women’s Team for most of the past four years.

The Irish women gained their first-ever semi-final berth at the Women’s Rugby World Cup this month, finishing fourth at the tournament and beating both England and New Zealand in international competition. At the conclusion of the World Cup, McWilliams was expected to join the team in New Haven in time for Yale Rugby’s first formal practice on August 25. “I’m very excited to get to Yale and begin the hard work needed to build a winning program,” McWilliams said in the Yale club announcement. “The opportunity to work in an environment with such history and excellence is a dream.

There has been great work done to date by many a good Yale man, and I am grateful to be able to add to that legacy, and develop the rugby program further.”