A recent Roar article, Rugby Is Rapidly Becoming Two Separate Games, by Jonnie Cox, mentioned the very limited opportunities for head coaching roles in Australian professional rugby.
Cox’s article and its follow-up comments drew attention to a number of Aussie coaches currently operating in Europe: Michael Cheika, Laurie Fisher, Alan Gaffney, Tony McGahan, Ewen McKenzie, Bill Millard and Matt Williams.
Others mentioned as having previously coached there were Andy Friend, Pat Howard and Jim Williams.
But arguably the most successful of our coaches currently working overseas has never had a European gig, although he has coached in Japan and South Africa.
Todd Louden is a young coach with the extraordinary record of having dramatically improved the performance of his team in every year he has coached.
In 2004, as Director of Rugby at Sydney University, he implemented their EDS (Elite Development Squad) program which is still operating and is the foundation for their status as number one Ccub in Australia.
In that year, Uni won the Sydney Club Champions with all nine grades contesting the finals.
In the 2004-2005 season, he was Head Coach of Meiji University, which participates in Japan’s 120 Collegiate Rugby Program. Louden took them from 68th to the top eight.
In 2006, he returned to Sydney as Head Coach of Randwick.
Their First XV advanced from ninth to Minor Premiers. They were narrowly beaten in the Grand Final by Sydney Uni, who were forced to make more than 300 tackles during the match.
Louden was named Sydney Premiership Coach of the Year.
The next season he moved to South Africa as attack coach with Heineke Meyer’s Blue Bulls, who went from fifth to winning the Super 14.
They were the first South African team to win a Super title, with their success attributed to their new attacking style.
In 2008, he was appointed attack coach of the NSW Waratahs under Ewen McKenzie. The ‘Tahs went from thirteenth in 2007 to second before being beaten in the Grand Final. The true story of why Louden was not appointed Head Coach after McKenzie was dumped remains to be told.
In the 2008-2009 season he went back to Japan as Head Coach of the Ricoh Black Rams, who had been relegated to Second Division status.
Under Louden’s guidance, Ricoh were undefeated in the Top East League and therefore qualified to play the winners of the other two second level leagues to determine who was to be promoted to the Top League.
In the first of these matches, the Black Rams played Mazda Blue Zoomers, winners of the Top Kyushu League, winning by 81 to nil. They then beat Honda Heat from the Top West League 54 to 20.
By winning both games Ricoh not only returned to Top League but also qualified for the All-Japan Rugby Football Championships, playing against Top League teams as well as the top two university teams.
Ricoh were eventually beaten at the semi-final stage of the All-Japan Championships, meaning that they now rank in the top four in Japanese rugby.
Todd Louden has thus achieved the extraordinary record that, in each of the past six years, the teams he coached were outstandingly successful and greatly improved their ranking.
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