David Young (born 26 July 1967) is a Welsh

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

coach and former rugby union and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

player. He was most recently director of rugby at

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...

. A prop, he won 51

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in rugby union between 1987 and 2002, three caps for the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

, and 14 caps for

in rugby league. After retiring from playing, he first coached

, before moving to Premiership club

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

from 2011 to February 2020. He has also coached the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

several times from 2008 to 2013.

Playing career

Born in

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; ) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and River Cynon, Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tydf ...

in 1967, Young lived in

Penywaun Penywaun (also in ) is a community, electoral ward and north-western suburb of Aberdare in the Cynon Valley within the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. At the 2011 census, the population of the ward was registered as 3,063. Etymology ...

for many years. He played rugby union at club level for

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

. Having not been selected to play for Wales in the

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two semi-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 mat ...

, Young, then 19, travelled to Australia for the summer to play for

Northern Suburbs Northern Sydney is a large metropolitan area in Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the north shore of Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River. The region embraces suburbs in Sydney's north-east, north and inner north west. Northern Sy ...

. When Stuart Evans broke his foot playing against Tonga, Young was on the right side of the world at the right time and was called up to the Welsh squad. He made his début for Wales against England in the quarter-finals. He toured Australia with the then British Lions in 1989, playing in all three test matches, with the Lions winning the test series 2–1. Young changed

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

codes from

when he transferred to

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

in 1990 for a then world record of £150,000. He went on to play for

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

, won 14 caps for Wales and captained Wales in the

1995 Rugby League World Cup The 1995 Rugby League World Cup (also known as Halifax Centenary World Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the eleventh World Cup for mens national rugby league teams. It was held between 7–28 October and hosted by England and Wales and was wo ...

. Young returned to rugby union and Cardiff in 1996, after rugby union became professional. He won a further 37 caps for Wales, reaching a total of 51, then a record number for a prop. He was selected for a further two British & Irish Lions tours – South Africa in 1997 and Australia in 2001. He and

Alun Wyn Jones Alun Wyn Jones (born 19 September 1985) is a Welsh former rugby union player who played as a lock. He played most of his career for Ospreys and for the Wales national team. He is the world's most-capped rugby union player, with 158 caps f ...

are the only players to have toured with the Lions in three separate decades.

Coaching career

Young became head coach of the

in 2003, and during his time in charge led the side to the

2008–09 Heineken Cup The 2008–09 Heineken Cup was the fourteenth edition of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. It started in October 2008 and ended on 23 May 2009 at Murrayfield St ...

semi-final and the final of the 2006–07 and

2007–08 Celtic League The 2007–08 Celtic League (known as the 2007–08 Magners League for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh Pro14, Celtic League season and the second with Magners as title sponsor. The season began on 31 August 2007 and finished on the weekend ...

. In addition, he led to the Blues to the

EDF Energy Cup The Anglo-Welsh Cup (), was a cross-border rugby union knock-out cup competition that featured the 12 Premiership Rugby clubs and the four Welsh regions. It was a created as a replacement for the RFU Knockout Cup, which featured only English clubs ...

title in 2009 beating

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

50–12 in the final at

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

. Young led Cardiff Blues to the European Challenge Cup 2009-10 beating Toulon 28 - 21 at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille. The first time a Welsh team had won a European Competition. In 2011 he resigned and was appointed Director of Rugby at

(then called London Wasps) after payment of a compensation package. In 2017 and 2020 he led the Wasps to a runner-up finish against Exeter Chiefs in the Premiership final. He returned to

as Director of Rugby from January 2021 to July 2023.

Barbarians

Young has been head coach of the

several times from 2008 to 2013, first on their 2008 end of season tour. He led the Baa-Baas to a victory over

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, winning 84–10 in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, but the Barbarians lost 39–14 to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and 17–14 to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Young led the team to a 35–26 win over England, but lost to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

55–7 in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 2009. In 2011, the Barbarians won 38–32 against England and 31–28 against Wales. In 2013, Young coached them to a 40–12 defeat by England at Twickenham. In 2013 the team also played in Hong Kong against the

as part of their tour to Australia; the Barbarians lost 8–59, their largest defeat by an international side.

References

External links

Dai Young
at LionsRugby.com *
"Dai Young: On making his Wales début in the first ever Rugby World Cup against England in the quarter-finals"
(archived by web.archive.org) {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Dai 1967 births Living people 1987 Rugby World Cup players 1999 Rugby World Cup players 20th-century Welsh sportsmen 21st-century Welsh sportsmen Aberdare RFC players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Wales Cardiff RFC players Dual-code rugby internationals Leeds Rhinos players Northern Suburbs Rugby Club players People educated at Aberdare High School Rugby league players from Aberdare Rugby union players from Aberdare Rugby union props Salford Red Devils players Swansea RFC players Wales international rugby union players Wales national rugby league team captains Wales national rugby league team players Wales rugby union captains Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union coaches Welsh rugby union players