Coventry Rugby has a new-look medical team ahead of the 2019/20 season.
Dermot Austin has joined the club as Head Physiotherapist. Austin arrives from Welsh Pro 14 club Scarlets, where he was Lead Academy Physiotherapist for two years, with time also spent with the Welsh national Sevens team.
Austin also has experience working in the Football League and overseas with the Singapore Rugby Union.
Austin will be supported full-time by Andrew Hemming, who is moving across the city from a position as Academy Head Physiotherapist at Coventry City FC, and John Chaffe, former Head Physiotherapist at Worcester Warriors and Head of Academy Sports Science and Medicine at West Bromwich Albion, who will be working with Coventry Rugby on a part-time basis.
Chris Hart – formerly of Northampton Saints, Worcester Warriors and Scotland Rugby – continues as the club’s Head of Strength and Conditioning, leading a team including Cyrus Azariah (formerly of Wasps) as full-time Strength and Conditioning Coach and Marc Finney (former Head of Strength and Conditioning at Northampton Saints), who will be working with the club on a part-time basis.
Director of Rugby Rowland Winter says that the recruitment of experienced and top-class practitioners in the medical and conditioning areas is important if the team is to progress in the Championship this season.
“We’re delighted to welcome Dermot, Andrew and John into our medical team,” he said. “They bring a massive amount of experience and expertise across a range of sports and this is important for us as we prepare for another challenging season.
“Hannah Walker did an amazing amount of work and was a big part of helping us get to where we are. We will always be grateful for her commitment and expertise and wish her all the best in the future.
“Overall we’re really happy with the balance of our medical and conditioning teams. Our full-time staff is a strong group, but it is also important that they have John and Marc to call on for their support and experience as well.”
Coventry Rugby is also recruiting for a part-time Physiotherapist/Sports Therapist intern. This internship role will involve working daily with the Coventry Rugby first team as well as its academy/development squad. There may be an opportunity to take a more prominent role with the Club’s U18 team as well. The ideal candidate will have the desire for a career in high performance sport and be committed to enhancing their skills and experiences in this area.
See Coventry Intern Job Advert for full details.