Peter Playford (born 11 July 1980) is an Australian

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

football coach and a former professional player for the Waratahs and

Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inhab ...

on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

. Playford was head coach of the

Sydney Stars The Sydney Stars is a former Australian rugby union football team that competed in the National Rugby Championship (NRC) in 2014 and 2015. The Stars team was established as a joint venture between the Sydney University and Balmain rugby clubs, ...

team for the 2015 season of the

National Rugby Championship The National Rugby Championship, known as NRC, was an Australian rugby union competition. It was contested by eight teams, seven from Australia and one from Fiji. The tournament ran from 2014 until 2019 before being disbanded in 2020 following ...

. One of his nicknames is P² (P squared).

Early life

Peter Playford was born in Sydney. He attended St. Joseph's College and was selected for the

Australian Schoolboys The Australian Schoolboys refer to junior teams that represent Australia in various sports. The name is mainly used in rugby league, rugby union and baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine player ...

team.

Rugby career

Playford made his state debut for the Waratahs in 2000 against Argentina. He was selected for the Australia U-21 side in 2001, and briefly switched codes to play

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

for the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

in 2002. After spending 2003 and 2004 focusing on his economics degree at Sydney University, Playford returned to senior rugby and scored a record 29 tries for

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

in the 2005 Tooheys New Cup, eclipsing the previous best of 27 tries scored by Randwick's Terry Ryan in 1971. He was selected for the Waratahs’ tour of Eastern Europe before joining the

Tasman Makos The Tasman Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, a bay at the north end of the South Island in New Zealand. Headquartered in Nelson, TRU is New Zealand's newest provincial union, founded in 2006 with t ...

for their debut season in the

Air New Zealand Cup The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

in 2006. Playford was the Makos’ leading try scorer for the season, including a four-try haul in the side's 56–16 win over Northland. He joined the

in 2007 on a two season deal to play in the Super 14 competition. Playford finally returned to the Waratahs in 2009. He retired from playing rugby after the 2009 Super 14 season.

Coaching

Playford took up the position of assistant coach to Sydney University's first grade team for the 2013 season. In 2014 he was appointed as assistant coach of the

team for the inaugural season of the

, and became head coach the following year.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Playford, Peter 1980 births Living people Australian rugby union players ACT Brumbies players New South Wales Waratahs players Rugby union wings Rugby union players from Sydney