BYU Men's Rugby Coaching Staff Reportedly Stepping Down

BYU Men's Rugby Coaching Staff Reportedly Stepping Down

The BYU coaching staff has, reportedly, stepped down.

Jul 12, 2018 by Alex Goff
BYU Scores Through Zach Webber

The Deseret News is reporting that the entire BYU Men's Rugby coaching staff has resigned.

According to that report, head coach David Smyth and assistant coach Wayne Tarawhiti, who led the Cougars to USA Rugby national tiles in 2009 (D1), and 2012 (D1A), as well as three Varsity Cup titles, have stepped down for personal reasons.

BYU spokesperson Natalie Ipson said the reasons were personal, and the college is in the process of hiring a new coach, and that nothing has changed about the program.

That last statement is important in that when BYU Women's head coach Tom Waqa stepped down, it was because the women's team was changing its status on campus, and Waqa had essentially to reapply for his job. He did, and he returned as head coach.

No such changes for BYU men's rugby. The rugby team is a club sport at BYU, but being a club sport there means something different - you get some serious funding and sanction from the university. That's why the school is actively involved in hiring a new coach.

Smyth has been part of the BYU program for over 25 years and taken them to the pinnacle of American college rugby, producing some accomplished alumni along the way, not least of whom is current USA scrumhalf Shaun Davies.

The program is an important recruiting tool for the university, especially in attracting athletes from major rugby-playing nations who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons).