Clontarf FC Confirm Coaching Ticket for 2020/21 Season

Clontarf FC Confirm Coaching Ticket for 2020/21 Season

Andy Wood will once again take the reins at Castle Avenue this season, as Clontarf FC confirm their coaching ticket for their Senior Rugby Panel for the 2020/21 season.

Karl Curran joins Wood on the 1st XV as assistant coach. The 2nds will be coached by Valentine Tauamiti and the U20s will be under the guidance of Joe Carbery and George Naoupu.

Matt D'Arcy has been appointed as Club Captain for the new season.

Head Coach Wood lined out for Clontarf in the second-row in the All Ireland League, playing in the 2003 and 2006 finals. He took over from Phil Werahiko as Head Coach in 2007.

Andy spent two seasons in charge, and after stints with Naas and Blackrock College RFC, returned in 2011 and has been at the helm ever since.

During that time, he has led the Clontarf to two All-Ireland League titles in 2014 and 2016, and they were runners up in 2012, 2015, and 2017.

Andy is Games Master at Belvedere College.

His assistant coach Karl Curran makes the step up from coaching the Clontarf U20s.

As a player, Curran picked up a Leinster Schools Junior and Senior Cup medals with Blackrock College.

He lined out for Clontarf until injury curtailed his playing career. He has coached the Clontarf U20s for the past six seasons alongside Brendan Fanning, helping them to the JP Fanagan title in 2019. He has also coached Blackrock College and Belvedere in the Schools Cup. Karl runs KoCoon Fitness in Dublin 3.

Valentine Tauamiti is in his second season at Clontarf after a year as player-coach at De La Salle Palmerstown. Originally from Christchurch, New Zealand playing out of Sydenham RFC, he played through the age group representative system with Canterbury and Canterbury Country, before moving to Auckland University RFC and playing for New Zealand Universities.

He is currently working as the Director of Player of Development at Belvedere College where he is in his third season coaching the Senior Cup Team, and also leads the Transition Year rugby programme in the school.

Joe Carbery has been appointed as Head Coach of the Clontarf U20s, with George Naoupu as forwards coach.

Carbery has been coaching for over 20 years at various levels and age groups of the game. Father of Ireland, Munster and Clontarf player Joey, and Leinster underage scrum-half Ciara, Joe has spent the last 13 years working with Leinster Rugby, assisting in the development of players coaches and clubs across the province.

George Naoupu is a former professional back-row, who lined out for Connacht, Harlequins, Kobelco Steelers in Japan and Hawke's Bay and the Highlanders in his native New Zealand, for whom he lined out for in the 7 a side game.

Naoupu picked up a Pro12 winners medal with Connacht in 2016 and has been coaching since his retirement, most recently with Gonzaga College and Wicklow RFC.

George's wife Sene is one of the vice-captains on the Ireland Women's team and is captain of Leinster Women.

Club Captain Matt D'Arcy started playing rugby in Clontarf in 1996 as a 6-year-old alongside his twin brother Adrian.

He has played AIL rugby since 2012, making over 100 All-Ireland league appearances and was the league’s top try-scorer in 2015, a year in which he was also named AIL Player of the Season.

He has made nine appearances for the Ireland Clubs side, captaining them on four occasions.