Derren John Charles Witcombe (born 30 October 1978) is an Australian-born New Zealand

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 it ...

coach and former player. As a player, he played at hooker. He played for the All Blacks in 2005 and at Super Rugby level for the Blues between 2002 and 2007. He represented Northland and then

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

at provincial level. Witcombe retired from playing in 2007 due to a neck injury. He took up coaching and was appointed head coach of Northland in the 2013 and 2014

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, o ...

s. He departed suddenly in early 2015 to take up a position at Japanese club Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars. In February 2017, Witcombe signed a contract to return to the Northland province as head coach for the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup. Witcombe grew up on a dry stock farm in Taupo Bay before attending high school in Whangarei, where he pursued both Rugby and Cricket. He played Cricket for the Northland province as a wicket keeper/batsman. He went on to work in forestry for four years, playing both Rugby and Cricket at club level, making his debut for Northland in 2001.

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* 1978 births Living people Australian emigrants to New Zealand Rugby union hookers Blues (Super Rugby) players Northland rugby union players Auckland rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand international rugby union players Rugby union players from Hobart {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1970s-stub