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Justin Michael Fitzpatrick (born 21 November 1973) is an Irish former
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 ...
player who most recently was head coach of the
Houston SaberCats The Houston SaberCats are an American professional rugby union team based in Houston, Texas. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby, the top-level rugby union competition in the United States and Canada that played its f ...
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 ...
(MLR). He previously played for
London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...
,
Castres Olympique Castres Olympique () is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the top level of the French league system. Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906. They play at the Sta ...
,
Dungannon RFC Dungannon RFC (Dungannon Football Club) is a rugby union club from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, playing in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League. History The 5th Earl of Ranfurly, who was President of Dungannon Football Club for 24 years an ...
&
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
. He had also held several other coaching positions, including head coach of Dungannon RFC and the
Seattle Saracens The Seattle Rugby Club (formerly Seattle Saracens and Old Puget Sound Beach after a merger) is a rugby union club based in Seattle. The club travels throughout the US and into Canada. In 2014 the club was ranked as the number one US club while als ...
, and assistant coach of the
United States national rugby union team The United States men's national rugby union team represents the United States in men's international rugby union. Nicknamed the Eagles, it is controlled by USA Rugby, the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United Stat ...
.


Playing career

Fitzpatrick made his debut for the senior
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
team in a 13–37 defeat against
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
on 13 June
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...
going on to win 26 caps. Fitzpatrick was also a prominent member of the
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
squad that was the first Irish team to win the 1998-99 Heineken Cup, defeating
Colomiers Colomiers (; oc, Colomèrs; Languedocien dialect: ''Colomièrs'') is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Garonne Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania Regions of France, region in Southwester ...
21–6 in the final before 49,500 fans at
Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...
in Dublin. While a professional player at
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
he helped Willie Anderson's
Dungannon RFC Dungannon RFC (Dungannon Football Club) is a rugby union club from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, playing in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League. History The 5th Earl of Ranfurly, who was President of Dungannon Football Club for 24 years an ...
side win Ulster's first All-Ireland League (AIL) title in 2001 beating favorites
Cork Constitution The Cork Constitution (CC) is a rugby union club based in Cork (city), Cork, playing in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League (rugby union), All-Ireland League. It was founded by staff of the ''Cork Constitution (newspaper), Cork Constitution'' ...
in the final. During Fitzpatrick's first season at
Castres Olympique Castres Olympique () is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the top level of the French league system. Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906. They play at the Sta ...
he helped the club win the
Coupe de France The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...
in 2003 beating
CS Bourgoin-Jallieu CS Bourgoin-Jallieu is a French rugby union club currently competing in the third level of the French league system, Nationale. The club have been runners-up in the French championship and the French Cup competitions, and have won the Challen ...
27-26 in the Final. In the 2005-06 season after returning from playing in France with
Castres Olympique Castres Olympique () is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the top level of the French league system. Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906. They play at the Sta ...
he helped
Mark McCall Mark McCall (born 29 November 1967 in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland) is an Irish former rugby union player and current Director of Rugby (DoR) at Saracens. While DoR for Saracens the team has won the English Premiership Rugby competition ...
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
side win the
Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...
now the
Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...
Fitzpatrick retired from playing with Ulster with a career ending injury in 2010.


Coaching


Ireland

Fitzpatrick went on to coach
Dungannon RFC Dungannon RFC (Dungannon Football Club) is a rugby union club from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, playing in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League. History The 5th Earl of Ranfurly, who was President of Dungannon Football Club for 24 years an ...
guiding them to win the Ulster Senior League twice and the
Ulster Senior Cup The Ulster Senior Cup is a knock-out competition for senior rugby union teams in the province of Ulster. It is administered by Ulster Rugby. The most successful club is Queen's University with 23 wins. The current holders are City of Armagh RF ...
which was the first time in
Dungannon RFC Dungannon RFC (Dungannon Football Club) is a rugby union club from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, playing in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League. History The 5th Earl of Ranfurly, who was President of Dungannon Football Club for 24 years an ...
history that the club had won the 'Double'. Fitzpatrick also took
Dungannon RFC Dungannon RFC (Dungannon Football Club) is a rugby union club from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, playing in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League. History The 5th Earl of Ranfurly, who was President of Dungannon Football Club for 24 years an ...
to their first All-Ireland Cup Final, losing a closely contested match against Bruff Rugby Union Football Club 24-18. Alongside fostering a winning culture and professional atmosphere, Fitzpatrick had great success in identifying, recruiting and developing talent during his stay at
Dungannon RFC Dungannon RFC (Dungannon Football Club) is a rugby union club from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, playing in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League. History The 5th Earl of Ranfurly, who was President of Dungannon Football Club for 24 years an ...
, with such players as Craig Gilroy,
Paddy Jackson David Patrick Lindsay James "Paddy" Jackson (born 5 January 1992) is a professional rugby union player from Northern Ireland who plays for Gallagher Premiership side London Irish. He primarily plays at fly-half and previously played for Irish p ...
, Chris Cochrane, Ali Birch & Stuart McCloskey being products of the
Dungannon RFC Dungannon RFC (Dungannon Football Club) is a rugby union club from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, playing in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League. History The 5th Earl of Ranfurly, who was President of Dungannon Football Club for 24 years an ...
pipeline all of which went on to become professional players. During his tenure in charge at
Dungannon RFC Dungannon RFC (Dungannon Football Club) is a rugby union club from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, playing in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League. History The 5th Earl of Ranfurly, who was President of Dungannon Football Club for 24 years an ...
Fitzpatrick was invited to join Philip Doyle staff as an assistant coach for the Irish women's national team helping them build a strong scrum.


Pakistan

During the summer of 2012 Fitzpatrick was hired as Head Coach of the
Pakistan national rugby union team The Pakistan national rugby union team represents Pakistan in international rugby union. Pakistan is a member of the International Rugby Board (IRB), and have yet to play in a Rugby World Cup tournament. As of 2021, they will play in Division II of ...
for the HSBC
Asian 5 Nations The Asia Rugby Championship, or ARC, is an annual rugby union competition held amongst national rugby sides within the Asia Rugby region. The competition was originally known as the Asian Rugby Football Tournament when founded in 1969, and was call ...
in
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...
.


United States

At the start of 2013, Fitzpatrick relocated to
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, United States, to become Head Coach of
Seattle Saracens The Seattle Rugby Club (formerly Seattle Saracens and Old Puget Sound Beach after a merger) is a rugby union club based in Seattle. The club travels throughout the US and into Canada. In 2014 the club was ranked as the number one US club while als ...
then known as Seattle OPSB. During his first spring season, Fitzpatrick guided the club to
USA Rugby Elite Cup The USA Rugby Elite Cup was an American 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 ...
semifinal and a
USA Rugby USA Rugby (officially the United States of America Rugby Football Union, Ltd.) is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States. Its role is to achieve and maintain “high levels of quality in all aspects of rugb ...
Division 1 final in XV's, and assisted
Waisale Serevi Waisale Tikoisolomoni Serevi (born 20 May 1968) is a Fijian former rugby union football player and coach, and is a member of the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Serevi is renowned for his achievements in rugby sevens, while also enjoying a long car ...
and
Ben Gollings Ben Gollings (born 13 May 1980) is an English former rugby union player who currently works as a rugby coach for Fiji sevens team. Gollings is best known for his time with the England national rugby sevens team. He is the career leader in poi ...
guide the club to win National 7's title. Fitzpatrick continues to show an eye for identifying promising talent and has helped identify and nurture players to become internationals, including Olive Kilifi,
John Cullen Barry John Cullen (born August 2, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Hartford Whalers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning. He was a stan ...
,
Matt Trouville Matthew "Matt" Trouville (born 6 September 1986 in Darlinghurst, New South Wales) is an Australian-American former rugby union player who played flanker for the Houston SaberCats in Major League Rugby (MLR) and also for the United States Eagles ...
, Ben Landry and Tim Stanfill. Fitzpatrick has been an assistant coach for the U.S. national rugby team since 2013, helping the team qualify, prepare and compete in the
2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...
. In Spring 2017, Fitzpatrick was recruited by the
Houston SaberCats The Houston SaberCats are an American professional rugby union team based in Houston, Texas. The team was founded in 2017 and competes in Major League Rugby, the top-level rugby union competition in the United States and Canada that played its f ...
to become their Head Coach and build Houston’s first professional rugby team to compete in the inaugural season 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 ...
. On 2 May 2019 Fitzpatrick resigned.


References


External links


Ulster profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzpatrick, Justin 1973 births Living people Dungannon RFC players English rugby union coaches English rugby union players Houston SaberCats coaches Ireland international rugby union players Irish Exiles rugby union players London Irish players Rugby union players from Chichester Ulster Rugby players