Derren Witcombe
| Born | Derren John Charles Witcombe 30 October 1978 Hobart, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 108 kg (238 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Derren John Charles Witcombe (born 30 October 1978) is an Australian-born New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He played as a hooker.[1]
Playing career
[edit]Witcombe grew up on a dry stock farm in Taupo Bay before attending high school in Whangarei. He was educated at Pompallier Catholic College where he pursued both Rugby and Cricket.[2]
He went on to work in forestry for four years, playing both Rugby and Cricket at club level.
He played Cricket for the Northland province as a wicket keeper/batsman.[3]
Witcombe represented the Hora Hora club and Northland, making his provincial debut in 2001. He later played for Grammar Carlton and Auckland. He played at Super Rugby level for the Blues between 2002 and 2007, winning the Super 12 title with them in 2003.[4]
He appeared in 5 test matches for the All Blacks in 2005 including two wins over the British & Irish Lions.[5]
Witcombe retired from playing in 2007 due to a neck injury.[6][7]
Coaching career
[edit]Witcombe took up coaching and was appointed head coach of Northland in the 2013 and 2014 National Provincial Championships. He departed suddenly in early 2015 to take up a position at Japanese club Mitsubishi Sagamihara DynaBoars.[8]
In February 2017, returned to the Northland province as head coach for the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup.[9][10] He coached them for the 2017 to 2019 seasons.
While in charge of Northland the team's results were[11][12]:
- 2013 ITM Cup - 10 games, 2 wins, 1 draw, 7 losses - 6th in Championship.
- 2014 ITM Cup - 11 games, 5 wins, 0 draws, 6 losses - 3rd in Championship. Lost 21-26 to Hawke's Bay in the semi final.
- 2017 Mitre 10 Cup - 11 games, 5 wins, 0 draws, 6 losses - 4th in Championship. Lost 21-49 to Wellington in the semi final.
- 2018 Mitre 10 Cup - 11 games, 4 wins, 0 draws, 7 losses - 4th in Championship. Lost 26-48 to Waikato in the semi final.
- 2018 Mitre 10 Cup - 10 games, 2 wins, 0 draws, 8 losses - 6th in Championship.
He resigned as Northland coach after the 2019 season.[13]
Notes and references
[edit]- ↑ "Derren Witcombe Career Stats, Teams, & Rugby Record | Rugby Database". www.rugbydatabase.com.au.
- ↑ Paul, Gregor (26 June 2005). "Derren never gave up on dream". NZ Herald. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ↑ "Derren Witcombe | allblacks.com". All Blacks. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- ↑ www.vcsnet.co.nz, VCS Websites (NZ)-Lower Hutt and Wellington. "Derren John Charles Witcombe | New Zealand Rugby History". www.rugbyhistory.co.nz.
- ↑ "Derren Witcombe". NZ Rugby Stats.
- ↑ Luxford, Bob. "Derren Witcombe". allblacks.com. New Zealand Rugby Union. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- ↑ "Derren Witcombe". theblues.co.nz. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- ↑ Thorley, Peter (14 February 2015). "Shock exit stuns Taniwha". The Northern Advocate. stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- ↑ "Rugby: Witcombe returns as Northland coach". m.nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
- ↑ Johnsen, Andrew. "Northland name strong squad for 2017". NZ Herald.
- ↑ "Derren Witcombe Rugby Coach Profile | Career Summary & Stats | Rugby Database". www.rugbydatabase.com.au.
- ↑ www.vcsnet.co.nz, VCS Websites (NZ)-Lower Hutt and Wellington. "Derren John Charles Witcombe (Coach) | New Zealand Rugby History". www.rugbyhistory.co.nz.
- ↑ Pearse, Adam. "Konia in, Witcombe out for Taniwha". NZ Herald.
External links
[edit]- "Derren Witcombe" (in Japanese). Mitsubishi Dynaboars. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
 | This biographical article relating to New Zealand rugby union, about a person born in the 1970s, is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information. |
- 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
- People educated at Pompallier Catholic College
- 21st-century New Zealand sportsmen
- New Zealand rugby union biography, 1970s birth stubs
