The veil on Austin’s new Head Coach for the 2020 Major League Rugby season has been lifted. Brent Semmons will lead the re-branded Herd, joining the team from New Zealand where he has been a Coaching Manager with the Auckland’s International Rugby Academy. He replaces Alain Hyardet, who left the team ahead of their final regular season match of the 2019 campaign.
As a player, Semmons represented North Harbour and the New Zealand Māori as a hooker. His extensive coaching record includes over a decade at the helm of national high school powerhouse Kelston Boys School, an overseas stint with Getxo Artea in Spain, and a role with the Cook Islands national team.
Supporting Semmons will be former Eagles center Andrew Suniula and Scotland Sevens international Tane Jericevich, with the USA’s record cap winner Todd Clever the Director of Rugby. The herd have already begun conditioning work and will reassemble for preseason training in January.