Quick Facts
Biography
Matt Parish is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Samoa national rugby league team.
Playing career
Parish played in 55 first-grade matches for the Balmain Tigers between 1988 and 1993.
Coaching career
He moved into coaching, and served as assistant coach of the North Queensland Cowboys and the New South Wales State of Origin team.
He was appointed as the head coach of English Super League club the Salford City Reds in July 2011. He coached the side for six matches, winning one, before resigning in November 2011, citing "personal reasons". The Manchester Evening News reported that he had fallen out with the club's administration, having been critical of a number of aspects of the club's management. Shortly after leaving Salford, he returned to Australia and was appointed an assistant coach of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, then the reigning National Rugby League premiers.
In 2013, he was appointed as head coach of Samoa.
He coached the Samoans to a quarter-final appearance in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. Earlier in the Tournament Samoa faced New Zealand. The Samoans were down 36-4 in the second half, until the Samoans gave 'the Kiwis' a scare scoring 20 consecutive points, leaving the Samoans within 13 points of taking the lead with 15 minutes to go in the match. Unfortunately 'the Kiwis' would score one more try to seal the match. This game was one of the best games in the World Cup. The Samoans would win their next two games against the Kumuls and the French, to secure their spot in the quarter-final where they'd take on firece pacific-rivals Fiji. They would lose the match by 22-4 ending a successful World Cup campaign.
Samoa record
| Opponent | Played | Won | Drew | Loss | Win Ratio (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 00.00 |
 France | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
 Fiji | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33.33 |
 England | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 00.00 |
 New Zealand | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 00.00 |
 Papua New Guinea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
 Tonga | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 |
| TOTAL | 11 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 45.45 |
| Four Nations record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
| Australia/New Zealand 2014 | Fourth place | 4/4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 Titles | 0/1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| World Cup record | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
| England/Wales 2013 | Quarter Final | 5/14 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 Titles | 0/1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Pacific tests | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
| 2014 | Winners | 1/2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2015 Polynesian Cup | Winners | 1/2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2016 Polynesian Cup | Winners | 1/2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 3 Titles | 3/3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Other Test matches | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | GP | W | L | D | ||
| 2016 | Second Place | 2/2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 Wins | 1/1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
Personal life
In 2014 Parish began dating Suzanne Hadley who was married to Australian broadcaster Ray Hadley.
In May 2014 it was revealed that Hadley had unsuccessfully attempted to have Parish fired from his post with the NRL after Suzanne and Parish began their relationship.