Matt O'Connor (rugby player)
| Full name | Matthew O'Connor | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 29 January 1971 | ||
| Place of birth | Canberra, Australia | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Current status | |||
| Position(s) | Head Coach | ||
| current team | Leinster | ||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Centre | ||
| National team(s) | |||
| Years | Club / team | Caps | (points) |
| 1994 | Australia | 1 | (0) |
Matt O'Connor (born 29 January 1971)[1] is Head Coach of Leinster Rugby [2] and a former Australian international. He was awarded a single cap for the Wallabies versus Ireland on 5 June 1994. He originally joined Leicester in 2008 as backs coach under Heyneke Meyer, replacing another former Australian centre Pat Howard as backs coach, gaining promotion to his current position in July 2010 after guiding Leicester to back to back Championships.
He signed for rugby league club the Hunter Mariners in 1996 however the clubs existence was threatened by the Super League war and so he only played in several trial matches that year.[3] O'Connor played for Paris Saint-Germain in 1997.[4]
He spent 3 years in Japan playing for and then coaching Kubota Rugby Team. he lived in Japan with his wife and 3 children. He then returned to Canberra to coach CA Brumbies. This ended in 2007.
He coached Leicester Tigers from 2010 until 2013 when he signed as the new Leinster Head Coach.[5][6][7]
In May 2014, he won the 2013–14 Pro12 title as Leinster coach.[8]
References
- ↑ "Matt O'Connor | Rugby Union | Players and Officials". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
- ↑
- ↑ Hunter Mariners 1908.com
- ↑ Matt O'Connor rugbyleagueproject.org
- ↑ "Matt O'Connor to replace Joe Schmidt as Leinster head coach". Guardian. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ↑ "Leinster confirm Matt O'Connor as the man to succeed Schmidt". Irish Independent. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ↑ "Matt O'Connor to succeed Joe Schmidt as Leinster head coach". BBC Sport. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ↑ "Leinster refusing to let their era end". Irish Independent. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
| Preceded by Joe Schmidt |
Leinster Rugby coach 2013- |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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