The Houston SaberCats announced that the hiring of Paul Healy as the Director of Rugby and Head Coach. Healy has been involved in international and domestic rugby coaching since 1996.
Healy is from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and was a center in his playing days, playing both rugby union and rugby league.
Most recently he was an assistant coach under Mike Ford for the Deutscher Rugby-Verband in Germany and as an attack coach for the Rugby World Cup 2019 Repechage.
Healy coached in France with Stade Francáis from 1999-2002 and was a Finalists in the Heineken Cup. He was an Assitant Coach from Swansea RFC in Wales from 2002-2004 and also served as the Coaching Coordinator of the Uruguay National Team from 2002-2005 and as the Techincal Advisor from 2002-04, which included the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
Healy was a member of the coaching staff for Brothers Rugby Club’s Premier Rugby Team in Brisbane from 2005-09 with the team advancing to two Premier Grand Finals. In 2009 he became an Assistant Coach with the Ballymore Tornadoes in the National Rugby Competition and from 2009-2010 with the University of Queensland with the Premier Grade team. During 2010-2011, he was the Northern Territories High-Performance Coach (Darwin, Australia).
It was then back to Europe where he became the Head Coach of Ordizia Rugby Elkartea in Spain from 2011-13. While there, the team won the Copa De Rey for the first time in the clubs history & were Runners up in the Division De Honor 2011/2012.
In 2014 he became the Director of Rugby and Head Coach of CSM Bucharesti Rugby and from 2014-2016, the Head Coach of Rugby Chile with responsibilities for National Team 15s and 7s, coaching structure, development pathways, Academies, and in overseeing club rugby.
He then became a Coach Consultant for TVP Rugby in Pforzheim, Germany in 2016 and from 2016-2017 was the High-performance Academy Manager of the Brazilian Rugby Union.
Then it was on to Germany as the Attack Coach for Germany in the 2019 Olympic Repechage.
Healy has now signed a multiple-year contract to become the Director of Rugby and Head Coach of the Houston SaberCats for the 2020 season and beyond.
Paul Healy Education
Paul Healy attended St Columbans College in Brisbane, Australia in the 1970s where he played rugby and cricket. He attended the Swinburne University of Technology where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management in 2012-2014.
Healy also is a Level 2 Sports Trainer from the University of Queensland and was certified as a Level 3 Elite Rugby Coach by Rugby Australia in 1997.
Houston SaberCats Comments
“Taking on this important role represents an exciting challenge for me both professionally and personally. I am privileged to be given this opportunity to call on my coaching experiences, and management expertise in order to make significant contributions to the Houston SaberCats. I will be aiming to play a key role within the SaberCats organization, working with coaches, developing players/athletes, improving awareness of rugby within the community, and culminating levels of performances across all senior and junior rugby environments.”
Previous to his coaching career, Healy played his highest level of rugby as a center in Brisbane, as a utility backline player for the Brothers Rugby and Norths Rugby clubs and spent three seasons in Rugby League.
“With the rapidly growing interest and participation worldwide, especially within the USA, I feel there is no better time to be joining the SaberCats organization. We plan to grow and expand within the MLR competition, now and into the future.”
SaberCats President, JT Onyett, says he is looking forward to Healy taking the helm and building off the success of 2019, in which the SaberCats ended the season on a four-game win streak.
“Paul brings years of Rugby expertise and international experience that will help the SaberCats as we move to the future. Many high-quality coaches applied for this job and Paul stood out amongst the rest. We look forward to Paul leading the team for years to come at AVEVA Stadium.”
Paul Emerick, who led the SaberCats to a 4-0 finish as interim head coach, will remain on the staff for the 2020 season.
“We thank Paul Emerick for the great job he did leading us at the end of the season,” says Onyett. “He will continue to play an important role as we prepare for the upcoming season.”
The SaberCats will begin their third MLR season early next year and the schedule will be released in the coming weeks. For more information visit http://www.houstonsabercats.com.
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