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Kieran Crowley has been named as the new Head Coach of Italy. He will replace Franco Smith in the role on July 01. Smith will take up a new position as Italy’s High Performance Director.
Crowley is a former All Black. His pathway to becoming Head Coach of a Tier 1 side is lengthy. He was the head coach of Canada from 2008-2016. He experienced highs and lows. In RWC 2011 Canada recorded an impressive win over Tonga and competed to a draw against Japan. Canada were winless in RWC 2015, including losing against Romania despite having been in total command in the second half.
He stayed on as coach in 2016 before departing for Italy. He joined Benetton and was named Pro 14 Coach of the Year. Under his direction, Treviso became the first Italian side to reach the knockout stages of the competition.
