Matt O'Connor (rugby union)

Matt O'Connor (born 29 January 1971) is an Australian professional rugby union coach and a former international player. He was recently the head coach of the Leicester Tigers. O'Connor has held head coaching positions with the Queensland Reds (co-head coach alongside Nick Stiles during 2016); at Irish province Leinster, where he won the Pro12 in 2013–14;[1] and in a previous stint with Leicester, where he won the Premiership in 2013.

Matt O'Connor
Birth nameMatthew Gerard O'Connor
Date of birth (1971-01-29) 29 January 1971
Place of birthCanberra, Australia
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1994 Australia 1 (0)
Teams coached
Years Team
2017–2018
2016
2013–2015
2010–2013		 Leicester
Queensland Reds (interim)
Leinster
Leicester

Playing career

O'Connor played rugby for the ACT in the 1990s and was awarded a single cap for the Wallabies against Ireland in 1994.[1]

He signed for rugby league club the Hunter Mariners in 1996, but the club's existence was threatened by the Super League war, so he played in only several trial matches that year.[2] He played for Paris Saint-Germain in 1997.[3] O'Connor spent three years in Japan playing for and then coaching Kubota Rugby Team. He lived in Japan with his wife and three children.

Coaching

Returning to Australia, O'Connor joined the Brumbies as a backline coach in Canberra. He was appointed head coach of Australia A for the Pacific Nations Cup competition.

O'Connor joined the Leicester Tigers as the backline coach under Heyneke Meyer, replacing another Australian former centre, Pat Howard. Leicester won the English Premiership in 2009. O'Connor remained as attack coach when Richard Cockerill took over as head coach for the following season with the club going on to win the Premiership again in 2010. Cockerill was promoted to the position of director of rugby and O'Connor was appointed head coach of Leicester in July 2010,[4] and he was extremely influential in the Tigers Premiership win of 2013.

He was signed as the head coach of Irish province Leinster in 2013,[5][6][7] and won the 2013–14 Pro12 title in his first season.[8] The following season, when the team missed out on a play-off spot in the Pro12 and lost at the semi-final stage of the Champions Cup,[9][10] O'Connor was sacked by Leinster after completing two years of a three-year contract.[11][12]

O'Connor joined the Queensland Reds as attack coach for 2016. After Richard Graham was sacked two games into the season, O'Connor was appointed as co-interim head coach of the team alongside Nick Stiles.[13]

In March 2017, following the sacking of Richard Cockerill as director of rugby in January, Leicester Tigers announced that O'Connor would return to the club as head coach, with current head coach Aaron Mauger leaving with immediate effect.[14] On 3 September 2018 it was announced O'Connor had left Leicester with immediate effect.[15]

References
  1. "Matt O'Connor | Rugby Union | Players and Officials". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 10 March 2012.
  2. Hunter Mariners 1908.com
  3. Matt O'Connor rugbyleagueproject.org
  4. "Matt O'Connor happy to leave Leicester Tigers legacy". British Broadcasting Corporation. 22 May 2013. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  5. "Matt O'Connor to replace Joe Schmidt as Leinster head coach". Guardian. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  6. "Leinster confirm Matt O'Connor as the man to succeed Schmidt". Irish Independent. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  7. "Matt O'Connor to succeed Joe Schmidt as Leinster head coach". BBC Sport. 6 May 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  8. "Leinster refusing to let their era end". Irish Independent. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  9. "Matt O'Connor to leave Leinster after two years in charge". The 42. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  10. "Matt O'Connor and Leinster part ways". Irish Examiner. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  11. "Matt O'Connor sacked by Leinster". RTE Sport. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  12. "Matt O'Connor on Leinster departure: 'I am disappointed and frustrated with our form in the PRO12 this season'". Irish Independent. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 21 May 2015.
  13. "Queensland Reds sack head coach Richard Graham, Matt O'Connor and Nick Stiles appointed co-coaches". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 7 March 2016. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  14. "Club statement on appointment of new head coach". Leicester Tigers. 20 March 2017. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  15. "Leicester Tigers club statement on head coach" (Press release). Leicester Tigers. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
Preceded by
Joe Schmidt		 Leinster Rugby coach
2013-2015		 Succeeded by
Leo Cullen
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