David Penna is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 coach and former player who played for the Parramatta Eels

Parramatta Eels

The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...

 and South Sydney Rabbitohs

South Sydney Rabbitohs

The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...

 during his long professional career.

Playing career

Penna made his debut for the Parramatta Eels

Parramatta Eels

The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...

 in 1990. He played 22 games over four seasons, often at centre or five-eighth.

In 1994 he moved to join the South Sydney Rabbitohs

South Sydney Rabbitohs

The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...

 and played 56 games for the club over four seasons, usually at centre or fullback.

In 1998 Penna returned to Parramatta where he was usually used at five-eighth before moving into the halfback position in 1999. In 2000 Penna was forced to retire after breaking his neck twice and suffering six concussions in the single season.

Coaching career

Penna turned his attention to coaching. In 2009 he coached an Italian XII

Italy national rugby league team

The Italy national rugby league team represents Italy in international rugby league football. The team dates back from the 1950s after the formation of a domestic competition in the country, and in the 1960s they played Australia, France and a number of English teams.The game disappeared in Italy...

. He has also coached the Manly Sea Eagles Toyota Cup side. He was appointed as Manly's assistant NRL coach for the 2012 season, after Geoff Toovey

Geoff Toovey

Geoffrey "Geoff" Toovey is an Australian rugby league coach and former professional player of the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. He was educated at Davidson High School...

was promoted to the position of head coach.

External links

• David Penna rugbyleague.co.nz