Justin Fitzpatrick
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| Full name | Justin Michael Fitzpatrick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 21 November 1973 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 117 kg (18 st 6 lb; 258 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | The Regis School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Brunel University London | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Justin Michael Fitzpatrick (born 21 November 1973) is an Irish former rugby union player who most recently was head coach of the Houston SaberCats of Major League Rugby (MLR). He previously played for London Irish, Castres Olympique, Dungannon RFC & Ulster. He had also held several other coaching positions, including head coach of Dungannon RFC and the Seattle Saracens, and assistant coach of the United States national rugby union team.
Fitzpatrick joined London Irish at the age of 16, and played for their first team from 1994.[1] Born in Chichester, West Sussex, England, he qualified for Ireland through his mother, and he was selected for Ireland's 1998 tour of South Africa,[2] making his debut in a 13–37 defeat against the Springboks on 13 June 1998. He went on to win 26 caps.[3]
In 1998 Ireland coach Warren Gatland began a drive for Irish-qualified players to be based in Ireland.[2][4] Fitzpatrick moved to Dungannon RFC,[5] making him available to play for Ulster. With Ulster, he was part of the team that won the 1998-99 Heineken Cup, defeating Colomiers 21–6 in the final before 49,500 fans at Lansdowne Road in Dublin.[6] He also helped coach Willie Anderson's Dungannon side win Ulster's first All-Ireland League title in 2001, beating favorites Cork Constitution in the final.[7]
In 2003, after making 73 appearances for Ulster, he moved to Castres Olympique,[8] and in his first season there he helped the club win the Coupe de France, beating CS Bourgoin-Jallieu 27-26 in the final.[9] He returned to Ulster in 2005.[10] He was forced to retire through injury in 2010.[2]