Pat Howard
Encyclopedia
Patrick William Howard, usually known as Pat Howard or Paddy Howard (born 14 November 1973) is an ex-head coach at Leicester Tigers
and a former Australia
n rugby union
international who played centre or fly-half. He was educated at Queensland University
.
He was born in Sydney
. His father Jake Howard
played prop for Australia
and his grandfather Cyril Towers
also played centre for the Wallabies
.
, before moving to the ACT Brumbies, he also played club football at Sydney University. Howard played 20 tests for Australia
between 1993 and 1997, making his debut against New Zealand
. In 1998 he signed for Leicester Tigers
, displacing Will Greenwood
, who was forced return to Harlequins for first team rugby. Howard became a pivotal part of the Tigers
' championship winning side.
in 2000, he was appointed as the Tigers
' backs coach, however he had his sights set on regaining a Wallaby
jersey ahead of the 2003 World Cup
. He returned to the Brumbies in 2001, swapping his playing position with Rod Kafer
, but was unable to make the squad for the World Cup. He then returned to Europe, playing for French side Montferrand
in 2003.
After retiring as a player at the end of the season in 2004, Howard returned to Leicester Tigers
, once again becoming backs coach. In 2005 he was appointed as head coach succeeding John Wells
.
He guided Tigers to the Guinness Premiership
and EDF Energy Cup
finals in 2007, winning the domestic double. They also made the final of the Heineken Cup
but were denied an historic treble - succumbing to Wasps
25-9.
On 28 December 2006 he announced he would resign as coach of the Tigers at the end of the 2006/7 season. Marcelo Loffreda
was named Howard's successor, who took up his new role after the 2007 Rugby World Cup
.
Howard returned to his native Australia
to manage his family's pharmaceutical company, however quickly became general manager of the Australian Rugby Union's high performance unit.
He was linked with the position of Ireland Head coach after Eddie O'Sullivan
resigned.. It was reported on Irish Radio on 22 March 2008 that he had turned down the opportunity of coaching Ireland.
On 13th October 2011, he was announced as the GM, Team Performance - for the Australian Cricket Team. This role, created to focus solely on team performance, was one of the key recommendations of the Don Argus led Australian Team Performance Review (ATPR) adopted by CA’s Board in August.
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
and a former 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 union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
international who played centre or fly-half. He was educated at Queensland University
University of Queensland
The University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
.
He was born in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. His father Jake Howard
Jake Howard
Jake Howard is a former international rugby footballer who played prop for Australia.Howard gained 7 caps following his debut on the 6 June 1970 against Scotland...
played prop for Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
and his grandfather Cyril Towers
Cyril Towers
Cyril Towers was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative centre who made 57 appearances for the Wallabies, played in 19 Test matches and captained the national side on three occasions in 1937...
also played centre for the Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
.
Playing career
He attended Marist College Ashgrove, Brisbane where he played 1st XV Rugby. He started his career playing for the University of Queensland Football club. Studying pharmacy at the University he was a recipient of a prestgious University of Queensland Sporting Scholarships. Picked up by the Queensland RedsQueensland Reds
The Queensland Reds represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland...
, before moving to the ACT Brumbies, he also played club football at Sydney University. Howard played 20 tests for Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
between 1993 and 1997, making his debut against New Zealand
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
. In 1998 he signed for Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
, displacing Will Greenwood
Will Greenwood
William John Heaton "Will" Greenwood, MBE is an English former rugby union footballer of the 1990s and 2000s.-Career:...
, who was forced return to Harlequins for first team rugby. Howard became a pivotal part of the Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
' championship winning side.
Coaching career
After the departure of Joel StranskyJoel Stransky
Joel Theodore Stransky is a former South African rugby union rugby player, most notable for scoring all of South Africa's points, including the famous dramatic winning drop goal, against New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. He played as a fly-half.-Early life:Stransky was born in...
in 2000, he was appointed as the Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
' backs coach, however he had his sights set on regaining a Wallaby
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
jersey ahead of the 2003 World Cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
. He returned to the Brumbies in 2001, swapping his playing position with Rod Kafer
Rod Kafer
Rodney "Rod" B. Kafer was a rugby union player for the ACT Brumbies and the Australian Wallabies. He is remembered by Brumbies fans for kicking a drop-goal in the final minute in a 2001 game against the Cats giving the Brumbies a one point win...
, but was unable to make the squad for the World Cup. He then returned to Europe, playing for French side Montferrand
ASM Clermont Auvergne
Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne are a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system, ASMCA are the were the 2010 France Top 14 Champions. It is the rugby section of the multi-sport club...
in 2003.
After retiring as a player at the end of the season in 2004, Howard returned to Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers is an English rugby union club that plays in the Aviva Premiership.Leicester are the most successful English club since the introduction of league rugby in 1987, a record 9 times English champions - 3 more than either Bath or Wasps, the last of which was in 2010...
, once again becoming backs coach. In 2005 he was appointed as head coach succeeding John Wells
John Wells (rugby)
John Wells is a former captain and coach of the Leicester Tigers rugby union team and presently forwards coach for England.Wells was born in Driffield, Yorkshire...
.
He guided Tigers to the Guinness Premiership
Guinness Premiership
The English Premiership, also currently known as the Aviva Premiership because of the league's sponsorship by Aviva, is a professional league competition for rugby union football clubs in the top division of the English rugby system. There are twelve clubs in the Premiership...
and EDF Energy Cup
EDF Energy Cup
The Anglo-Welsh Cup, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the LV Cup , is an English and Welsh rugby union knock-out cup competition featuring the twelve Aviva Premiership clubs and four Welsh Regions...
finals in 2007, winning the domestic double. They also made the final of the Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
but were denied an historic treble - succumbing to Wasps
London Wasps
London Wasps is an English professional rugby union team. The men's first team, which forms London Wasps, was derived from Wasps Football Club who were formed in 1867 at the now defunct Eton and Middlesex Tavern in North London, at the turn of professionalism in 1999...
25-9.
On 28 December 2006 he announced he would resign as coach of the Tigers at the end of the 2006/7 season. Marcelo Loffreda
Marcelo Loffreda
Marcelo Loffreda is a rugby player and coach, until recently head coach for the English club power Leicester Tigers. Loffreda won 44 caps with one as captain, playing at centre for the Argentine rugby union side...
was named Howard's successor, who took up his new role after the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2007 Rugby World Cup
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003,...
.
Howard returned to his native 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...
to manage his family's pharmaceutical company, however quickly became general manager of the Australian Rugby Union's high performance unit.
He was linked with the position of Ireland Head coach after Eddie O'Sullivan
Eddie O'Sullivan
Eddie O'Sullivan is an Irish rugby union coach and a former footballer. He is a former head coach of the United States national rugby union team and of the Ireland national rugby union team....
resigned.. It was reported on Irish Radio on 22 March 2008 that he had turned down the opportunity of coaching Ireland.
On 13th October 2011, he was announced as the GM, Team Performance - for the Australian Cricket Team. This role, created to focus solely on team performance, was one of the key recommendations of the Don Argus led Australian Team Performance Review (ATPR) adopted by CA’s Board in August.