Justin Michael Fitzpatrick (born 21 November 1973) is an Irish former rugby union player who most recently was head coach of the Houston SaberCats of Major League Rugby (MLR). He previously played for London Irish, Castres Olympique, Dungannon RFC & Ulster. He had also held several other coaching positions, including head coach of Dungannon RFC and the Seattle Saracens, and assistant coach of the United States national rugby union team.
Playing career
Fitzpatrick joined London Irish at the age of 16, and played for their first team from 1994.[1] Born in Chichester, West Sussex, England, he qualified for Ireland through his mother, and he was selected for Ireland's 1998 tour of South Africa,[2] making his debut in a 13–37 defeat against the Springboks on 13 June 1998. He went on to win 26 caps.[3]
In 1998 Ireland coach Warren Gatland began a drive for Irish-qualified players to be based in Ireland.[2][4] Fitzpatrick moved to Dungannon RFC,[5] making him available to play for Ulster. With Ulster, he was part of the team that won the 1998-99 Heineken Cup, defeating Colomiers 21–6 in the final before 49,500 fans at Lansdowne Road in Dublin.[6] He also helped coach Willie Anderson's Dungannon side win Ulster's first All-Ireland League title in 2001, beating favorites Cork Constitution in the final.[7]
In 2003, after making 73 appearances for Ulster, he moved to Castres Olympique,[8] and in his first season there he helped the club win the Coupe de France, beating CS Bourgoin-Jallieu 27-26 in the final.[9] He returned to Ulster in 2005.[10] He was forced to retire through injury in 2010.[2]
Coaching
On his retirement from playing, Fitzpatrick became director of rugby at Dungannon RFC, assisted by player-coach Kieran Campbell.[11] He led them to win the Ulster Senior League twice and the Ulster Senior Cup[12] the first time Dungannon had won the "double". He also took them to their first All-Ireland Cup Final, losing a closely contested match against Bruff Rugby Union Football Club 24-18.[13] During this time was invited to join Philip Doyle's staff as an assistant coach for the Irish women's national team,[2] and spent a month as head coach of the Pakistan national rugby union team for the HSBC Asian 5 Nations in Kuala Lumpur.[14]
In 2013 he became head coach of Seattle Saracens then known as Seattle OPSB.[15] During his first spring season, Fitzpatrick guided the club to USA Rugby Elite Cup semifinal and a USA Rugby Division 1 final in XV's, and assisted Waisale Serevi and Ben Gollings guide the club to win the National 7's title. Soon after arriving in Seattle, he was appointed forwards coach for the Collegiate All-Americans, and in October 2013 he became assistant coach for the U.S. national rugby team, spending three years in the position[2] and helping the team qualify, prepare and compete in the 2015 Rugby World Cup.[16]
In Spring 2017, he was recruited by the Houston SaberCats to become their Head Coach and build Houston’s first professional rugby team to compete in the inaugural season of Major League Rugby. He left the position on 2 May 2019.[17]
References
- ^ "Strikers Rugby Name Justin Fitzpatrick Head Coach", DJCoil Rugby, 4 April 2017
- ^ a b c d e "Ex-Ireland prop Fitzpatrick embedded in US rugby's exciting rise", The 42, 13 January 2019
- ^ www.irishrugby.ie
- ^ Jonathan Bradley, The Last Amateurs: The Incredible Story of Ulster Rugby's 1999 European Champions, The Blackstaff Press, 2018
- ^ Susan Thompson, "Rugby: Fitzy aiming to stay in Irish fold", Belfast Telegraph, 23 April 2003
- ^ Bruce McKendry, Champions: The Players' Story, IRFU, 1999
- ^ Micheal McGeary, "Willie's boys get job Dun", Sunday Life, 27 May 2001
- ^ Barry Coughlan, "Castres deal lures Fitzpatrick from Ulster", Irish Examiner, 4 April 2003
- ^ Pontet, Mélaine (20 July 2011). "Challenge Sud Radio : Castres l'emporte" (in French) – via rugby365.fr.
- ^ David Kelly, "Fitzpatrick back in Ulster fold", Irish Independent, 9 March 2005
- ^ "Fitzpatrick Takes Charge Of Dungannon", IrishRugby.ie, 30 August 2010
- ^ "Dungannon beat City of Derry in Senior Cup final". BBC Sport. 17 December 2010.
- ^ "Bateman Cup: Bruff 24 Dungannon 18". The Front Row Union. 9 April 2011.
- ^ "Fitzpatrick eager to get to work with Pakistan". RTÉ Sport. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
- ^ "New Seattle-OPSB Coach Fitzpatrick Hungry For Wins". This is American Rugby. 1 March 2013. Archived from the original on 29 December 2014.[self-published source]
- ^ "Exclusive – Ireland’s Justin Fitzpatrick And His Great American Journey", Pundit Arena, 29 July 2016
- ^ "SaberCats coach Justin Fitzpatrick resigns". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2 May 2019.