Pat Howard
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Patrick Howard, usually known as Pat Howard or Paddy Howard (born 14 November 1973) is head coach at Leicester Tigers and a former Australian rugby union international who played centre or fly-half. He was educated at Queensland University.
Conflicting reports indicate that he was born in Brisbane or Sydney. His father Jake Howard played prop for Australia and his grandfather Cyril Towers also played centre for the Wallabies.
He started his career playing for Queensland Reds, before moving to the ACT Brumbies.
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.
After the departure of Joel Stransky in 2000, he was appointed as the Tigers' backs coach. However, he had his sights set on regaining a Wallaby jersey for the 2003 World Cup and returned to the Brumbies in 2001, swapping his playing position with Rod Kafer. Failing to make a return to the Australian team he moved to the French side Montferrand in 2003.
He retired as a player at the end of the season in 2004 and returned to Leicester Tigers, becoming backs coach once again. In 2005 he was appointed as head coach succeeding John Wells.
External links
- Sporting heroes (http://www.sporting-heroes.net/rugby-heroes/displayhero.asp?HeroID=558)