Simon Cross Leaves OGDC Head Coach Role as Coaching Staff Shaken Up
By Alistair Kirsch-Poole
Aug 29, 2026 - 3:00pm
Old Glory has announced that Simon Cross will no longer be the head coach of the team after three seasons at the helm. However, his departure from the top job is not a departure from the team, as he will stay on as the Director of Rugby Development and Player Pathways.
Simon Cross's tenure at OGDC was marked by remarkable consistency, with playoff appearances all three seasons. However, that consistency was also a curse, representing a ceiling that the team was never able to break through. Under Cross the team was never had a winning season, and also never won any of their playoff games.
That set up an conundrum that I previously covered, with strong cases both for and against Simon Cross as head coach. The case against was simply the inability of his teams to break through to the next level, while the case for was a more nuanced argument that took into account, among other things, his significant impact in the local community. The case for was backed up by a letter from Virginia rugby thanking Cross for his contributions to the community.
It seems this move is a way to get the best of both worlds. While clearly something needed to change to see progress on the field, retaining Cross as the head of player development allows for the massive amount of work he was doing for the community to continue.
In his own words:
Young Glory is taking enormous strides this year, transitioning from a participation model to a performance Academy, preparing the next generation of young Americans for the professional game. We have so much untapped talent across the DMW, from young boys and girls to more established players and coaches. My role is to help find that talent, work with and alongside it, and allow the potential to flourish!
Of course, a new coach does not necessarily mean that play on the field will improve. As covered in the previous article, there are structural issues at play that will make the job a challenge for any coach if not addressed. We may soon view the consistency of the Cross era with nostalgia rather than frustration.
The team has made no statements about the search for a new coach. However, with player re-signings starting in a couple of weeks, the owners will likely want Cross's replacement on board sooner rather than later.
Assistant coach departures
Simon Cross is not the only one who will no longer be coaching Old Glory in 2027. Both of his assistant coaches, Stan South and Steff Hughes, will also be leaving.
Stan South joined Old Glory for the team's second MLR season in 2021, playing for the squad for three seasons and quickly becoming cemented as one of the starting locks. However, injuries to both knees in 2023 took him out after just a single match of the 2023 season, and he soon after retired from playing despite being only 26 years old.
He transitioned to a coaching role, at times coaching the defense and forwards but specializing in the lineout. During the off-season he also coached NOVA Rugby and took the team to the national championships. As of now, it's unclear whether South will continue to coach rugby in any capacity.
Steff Hughes joined Old Glory as a player-coach for the 2025 season, having a strong impact on both attack and defense as an outside center. The Welshman came in as an experienced hand, with over 100 caps for the Scarlets in the URC and its predecessor competition, then spent three seasons with the Dragons before joining OGDC. In 2026, he transitioned full time into coaching as Old Glory's Attack and Backs Coach.
The Scarlets announced in July that Hughes would be the interim Defense Coach for the beginning of the 2026-27 season. While his position is not officially permanent, he is not expected to return to Old Glory.
That leaves OGDC in a unique position. While there have been coaching changes every season, historically the team has relied heavily on player-coaches who have directly transitioned from playing on the team to coaching it: Callum Gibbins, Stan South, Kurt Baker, and most recently Steff Hughes. In fact, Old Glory has only had two assitant coaches who were not former Old Glory players, and none since James Willocks in 2023.
While there's no question that any of the player-coaches were knowledgeable and talented, there is a question of whether the lack of previous coaching experience was a problem for OGDC. We may see the team try to draw in more experienced assistant coaches for 2027.