Darren Coleman (born 1973) is an Australian professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

coach. He is currently head coach of the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...

Family and early life

Coleman grew up in Kempsey on the

Mid North Coast The Mid North Coast is a country region in the north-east of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region covers the mid northern coast of the state, beginning from Port Stephens north of Sydney, and extending as far north as Woolgoolg ...

of New South Wales, where he played rugby for the Kempsey Cannonballs team, before moving south to play in the Sydney club rugby competition. His younger brother Scott Coleman also became a professional rugby coach, appointed to Italian club Benevento in 2013.

Rugby career

While attending

Southern Cross University Southern Cross University (SCU) is an Australian public university, with campuses at Lismore and Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, and at Coolangatta, the most southern suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland. It is ranked in the top ...

in the late 1990s Coleman played for the University Gold Rats alongside Justin Harrison. Coleman played as a

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

in Sydney's club rugby competition from 1995 to 2000 for

Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

, Newcastle Wildfires, and

Northern Suburbs Northern Sydney is a large metropolitan area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the north shore of Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River. The region embraces suburbs in Sydney’s north-east, north and inner north west. Northern Sydney ...

. He was a rugby development officer in Newcastle. Coleman combined playing with coaching in the early part of his career. While playing for Northern Suburbs, he was appointed as head coach of the NSW Waratahs Academy in 1998, and then as a skills coach to the Waratahs for the 2000 Super 12 season. In late 2000 he left Australia to take up contract stints as a player-coach with Irish club

Waterpark A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...

, Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

team Benevento_{t/sub> and the Calgary Saints and Calgary Mavericks

The Calgary Mavericks are a Canadian rugby union team based in Calgary, Alberta. The team plays in the Rugby Canada National Junior Championship and draws most of its players from the Calgary Rugby Union, one of fourteen Rugby Unions that have rep ...
in Canada.

Coaching

Coleman came back to Australia and joined the Penrith Emus as the head coach for the 2005 Shute Shield

The Shute Shield is a semi-professional rugby union competition in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier club competition in New South Wales. The Shute Shield is awarded to the winning team from the Sydney premiership grand final held at the end ...
season. He then returned to Northern Suburbs

Northern Sydney is a large metropolitan area in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the north shore of Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River. The region embraces suburbs in Sydney’s north-east, north and inner north west. Northern Sydney ...
as head coach for 2006 and 2007. Coleman was also assistant coach to the Central Coast Rays

Sydney is an Australian rugby union team that competes in the National Rugby Championship (NRC). Formerly known as Sydney Rays, the team is one of two sides from New South Wales in the competition; the other being the NSW Country Eagles.

T ...
in the Australian Rugby Championship

The Australian Rugby Championship, often abbreviated to the ARC and also known as the Mazda Australian Rugby Championship for sponsorship purposes, is a now-defunct domestic professional men's rugby union football competition in Australia, which ...
in 2007. He was appointed to professional Italian club L'Aquila

L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valle ...
for the 2007–08 season. guiding them to a promotion play-off for the Serie A Division.

He joined the Brumbies

The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the brumby, feral horses whi ...
as head coach of the Brumbies Academy for the 2009 season. Brumbies head coach Andy Friend

Andrew Friend (born 24 April 1969) is an Australian rugby union coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Irish province Connacht. He was previously head coach of the Australia Sevens team, the Brumbies in Super Rugby, English c ...
nominated Coleman as the Brumbies attack coach for the 2011 Super Rugby season

The 2011 Super Rugby season was the first season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition, which involved teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Including its past iterations as Super 12 and Super 14, this was the 16t ...
, but the appointment was vetoed by the administration. He left for Japan to coach Toyota Industries Shuttles, where he guided the team to gain promotion to the Top League

Japan Rugby League One (formerly the Top League) is a rugby union competition in Japan. It is the highest level of professional rugby competition in the country. The Japan Rugby Football Union created the competition in 2003, by absorbing the ...
for the 2013–14 season.

On returning to Australia again, Coleman was coaching director of Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to:
Places
*Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India
*Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia
**Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia
Sports clubs

;Association football
*Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand
* Eastern ...
from 2014 to 2016. He was appointed head coach of NSW Country Eagles in 2014, and head coach of Sydney club Warringah Warringah is a name taken from the local Aboriginal word for Middle Harbour, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It may refer to:

*Division of Warringah, an electoral division of the Australian House of Representatives created in 1922
*Electoral ...
in 2017. Coleman won the Shute Shield

The Shute Shield is a semi-professional rugby union competition in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier club competition in New South Wales. The Shute Shield is awarded to the winning team from the Sydney premiership grand final held at the end ...
premiership with Warringah in 2017. He was appointed head coach of Gordon
Gordon may refer to:

People
* Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters
* Gordon (surname), the surname
* Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War
* Clan Gordon, ...
in 2018, winning the Shute Shield with that club in 2020.

Coleman was announced as the head coach of Major League Rugby

Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...
team LA Giltinis

The LA Giltinis are a former Major League Rugby team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. The team was announced in 2020 and entered the league in the 2021 season as an expansion franchise. The Giltinis, named for a yet-to-be-released ...
in the United States for their inaugural season in 2021. The Giltinis won the Western Conference and MLR Championship that year, before Coleman returned to Sydney to coach the New South Wales Waratahs

The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...
for the 2022 season of Super Rugby

Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...
.

Honours

LA Giltinis

The LA Giltinis are a former Major League Rugby team based in Los Angeles, California, United States. The team was announced in 2020 and entered the league in the 2021 season as an expansion franchise. The Giltinis, named for a yet-to-be-released ...

*Major League Rugby

Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

** Championship winner: 2021
** Western Conference champion: 2021

NSW Country Eagles
*National Rugby Championship

The National Rugby Championship, known as NRC, was an Australian rugby union competition. It was contested by eight teams, seven from Australia and one from Fiji. The tournament ran from 2014 until 2019 before being disbanded in 2020 following t ...

** Runner-up: 2014, 2016
** Minor premier: 2016

Central Coast Rays

Sydney is an Australian rugby union team that competes in the National Rugby Championship (NRC). Formerly known as Sydney Rays, the team is one of two sides from New South Wales in the competition; the other being the NSW Country Eagles.

T ...

*Australian Rugby Championship

The Australian Rugby Championship, often abbreviated to the ARC and also known as the Mazda Australian Rugby Championship for sponsorship purposes, is a now-defunct domestic professional men's rugby union football competition in Australia, which ...

** Winner (assistant coach): 2007

Warringah
* Australian Club Championship
** Winner: 2018
*Shute Shield

The Shute Shield is a semi-professional rugby union competition in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier club competition in New South Wales. The Shute Shield is awarded to the winning team from the Sydney premiership grand final held at the end ...

** Winner: 2017
** Runner-up: 2018

Gordon
*Shute Shield

The Shute Shield is a semi-professional rugby union competition in Sydney, Australia. It is the premier club competition in New South Wales. The Shute Shield is awarded to the winning team from the Sydney premiership grand final held at the end ...

** Winner: 2020
** Minor premier: 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coleman, Darren
Living people
Australian rugby union coaches
Australian rugby union players
Rugby union fly-halves
1973 births}