Connacht Appoint New Head Of Athletic Performance

Connacht Rugby and the IRFU have announced the appointment of David Howarth as Head of Athletic Performance at the province.
 

David Howarth joins Connacht ahead of the new season from NBA side Oklahoma City Thunder where he has worked as Athletic Performance Coordinator for the past three years.
 
Previous to his work in the US, David was a strength & conditioning coach with the Australian Rugby Academy and has a wealth of experience across different professional sports at the very highest level.

Growing up in Australia, he played with Eastern Suburbs RFC from 1999 to 2007.
 
Commenting on the new appointment, Connacht Rugby CEO Willie Ruane said: “We are delighted to welcome David to Connacht Rugby. He has a proven track record in strength and conditioning and a great deal of experience when it comes to getting the best out of professional sportsmen at the very highest level.

“David will be in place at the Sportsground for the beginning of the pre-season period and we look forward to working with him.”
 
Nick Winkelman, the IRFU’s Head of Athletic Performance & Science, added: “We are very excited to welcome David into the Connacht Rugby family. We believe that his passion for rugby and experience leading within a diversity of high performance sport environments will allow him to seamlessly transition into Connacht and start making a positive impact from day one.”