Peter Lang is a World Rugby Level 3 coach with a Master's in Sports Performance Coaching from the University of Stirling and over 15 years of experience coaching across five continents. He comes to Principia having built the men's varsity rugby program at the University of Health Science and Pharmacy (UHSP) in St. Louis from the ground up — no squad, no schedule, no alumni base — leading them to qualify for the CRAA National 7s and finish 7th nationally in just their third year of operation.
Alongside his work at UHSP, Lang served as Director of Rugby and Lead Coach of the Saint Louis Bombers, guiding them to the 2024 USA Rugby Division I National Championship and National 7's Runners-Up. He also coached USA Rugby South's select-side programs, leading the U19s to back-to-back World Rugby Americas North titles in 2022 and 2023.
Lang's international coaching career has taken him to the United Kingdom, Belgium, Japan, Uganda, New Zealand, and across the United States. Notable roles include Head Coach of the Scottish Rugby U20 Edinburgh Academy — one of four national pathway programs to the Scottish senior team — and a two-year stint as Senior Team Head Coach and Director of Coaching at Royal Kituro Rugby Club in Brussels, Belgium's top-flight competition. In 2018 he coached the Uganda Women's National 7s team to first place at the Rugby Afrique Women's Championship, earning Uganda an invitation to the HSBC World Series Qualifiers — the highest level Ugandan women's rugby had ever reached. He has also spent time embedded at the Crusaders Super Rugby International High Performance Unit in New Zealand, one of the most respected coaching environments in the world.
At the collegiate level, Lang previously served as Head Coach of the women's rugby program at American International College (NCAA Division I), leading them to a third-place finish in the national playoffs in his first full season, and spent six years as Director of Rugby at the College of William and Mary, where he coached men's and women's programs simultaneously. Several of the players Lang has developed over his career have gone on to represent their nations internationally, including USA Eagles, Scotland, Samoa, Tonga and South Africa.
Lang began his coaching career balancing a full-time IT career with part-time roles at William and Mary before making the decision to pursue coaching professionally. He holds an Advanced Coaching certificate from New Zealand Rugby, NCAA Division I and II coaching certifications, and his World Rugby Level 3 licence. He was born in Scotland, grew up in Africa and the Pacific, attended university in London competing in rugby, football, and track and field, and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Staffordshire.
Lang has always seen rugby as more than a sport.
"Rugby can teach teamwork, resilience, pushing yourself, control of your emotions, going beyond what you think you are capable of," he says. "Other sports are games of skill. Rugby is a game of will. It's a character-building sport."
“This is an exciting opportunity to renew Principia Rugby’s strong foundation and championship tradition,” he continued, “Our goal is to foster an environment where student-athletes are challenged every day to reach their utmost potential both on and off the field. We are in the business of developing future leaders in society and establishing Principia as a destination program for aspiring rugby players.”
When not on the pitch, Peter enjoys learning to fly airplanes, renovating houses, playing music, watching sport, and traveling.
