The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Globetrotting ex-Ellon coach making waves by the Baltic Lindsay has aspirations of leading Poland to World Cup
A former head coach with Caley Division 1 side Ellon is making his way on the international scene at the helm of the Polish national side.
Duaine Lindsay, 49, was in charge of the Meadows team during the 2013-14 season before heading to Germany where he coached Germania List Rugby, taking them to the national play-offs each of the three seasons he was in charge.
Lindsay’s progress was noted by the Polish governing body, Polski
“One day I will come back to UK but I have a job to do here first”
Zwiazek Rugby, who invited the Irishman to take charge of the national team in 2018.
Since then he has been the top man in a country which boasts 6,779 registered players who play with 74 clubs and in the UK.
Lindsay admitted it was a far cry from Ellon but said: “I enjoyed my time at the club where there were some fine young players. I still look out for their results.
“They have done well in recent times. Sam Mountain did a great job there. I take a keen interest in the Scottish club game, especially as I have a number of players from the Polish squad playing there.
“One day I will come back to the UK but, in the meantime, I have a job to do here. It’s been very rewarding, as have most of the jobs I have done in my globetrotting career around the world.”
Lindsay has coached in Jordan – where he headed up the national team – as well as Vietnam, Cambodia, New York and Miami.
He said: “They have all been interesting experiences, giving me a great insight into world rugby.
Wimbledon officials have yet to make a final decision on the fate of this year’s tournament but the cancellation of the championships remains likely.
A statement from the All England Club (AELTC) last week said that several options remained on the table, but it is understood that the final call has yet to be made.
The possibility of a postponement remains, but the message appeared to be paving the way for cancellation of the 2020 championships.
Wimbledon had hoped to hold off making a final decision for a few more weeks but chief executive Richard Lewis announced that had been brought forward to an emergency board meeting this week.
The clear assumption is there is only one realistic outcome and German
“But Poland has been particularly interesting. They are rated number 35 in the world and have ambitions to go further in the game.
“Who knows, we might meet Scotland or my own national side, Ireland, in a World Cup tennis federation vicepresident Dirk Hordorff added fuel to the fire by claiming in an interview that it has already been decided.
He said: “I am also involved in the bodies of the ATP and WTA. The necessary decisions have already been made there and Wimbledon will decide to cancel next Wednesday. There is no doubt about it.
“This is necessary in the current situation. It game sometime in the future.”
Lindsay was warmly recalled by Niki Fraser, one of the stalwarts at Ellon who was also a prop with Aberdeen Grammar before moving to Aberdeenshire, ending his career back at the Meadows is completely unrealistic to imagine that, with the travel restrictions that we currently have, an international tennis tournament where hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world would travel (can happen). That is unthinkable.”
It is understood that, while everyone at the All England Club appreciates how difficult it would be to stage one of the world’s biggest sporting events at where he was an underage player.
Fraser said: “Duaine was a first-class coach who made things easy for players with his simple explanations.
“I am delighted to see he has done so well in the game.” the end of June, there is a final decision still to be made.
The conditions required to play on grass mean a postponement is impractical, and tennis fans are braced for a year without Wimbledon for the first time since 1945.
Specific insurance to cover for a disease pandemic such as the coronavirus means Wimbledon is in a good situation financially, and the Lawn Tennis
Association would also still receive the usual surplus that makes up a huge chunk of its funding.
Wimbledon has been consulting widely within tennis, unlike the French Tennis Federation, which provoked a lot of anger with its unilateral decision to move the French Open from May-June to September-October.
Hordorff said: “I can predict that the French Open will not be relocated as it was intended.”