Coach Profiles
ANDY FRIEND Head Coach  Born: 24/04/69
Head Coach Andy Friend is a highly-respected figure coach who joins the CA Brumbies from English club, Harlequins. Friend, who was the architect behind the London club’s return to England’s Premier Division, joins the Canberra-based side with an attacking mindset and a commitment to entertaining CA Brumbies supporters with an expansive and exciting game plan. Born in Canberra, Friend attended Canberra Grammar School before etching out a career as a prolific point-scoring fullback for Canberra club Royals and the ACT before a knee injury prematurely ended his career. Following his forced retirement, Friend started working with junior New South Wales teams and after three years as Skills Coach with the Waratahs he took up the role of Coaching Coordinator with Japanese club, Suntory Sungoliath in 1999. During his four seasons at the helm of the Tokyo-based club, he helped develop and guide the side to two premierships in 2001 and 2002. On completion of his time in Japan, Friend took up an advisory role with the Wallabies during the 2002 Tri Nations Series and 2003 Rugby World Cup. Friend returned to Waratahs where he was appointed Assistant Coach for the 2003 and 2004 Super 12 seasons under head coaches Bob Dwyer and Ewen McKenzie. In 2005 he was Assistant Coach to the Australian side that was runner up at the IRB Under 21 World Championship and featured current CA Brumbies Ben Alexander, Adam Ashley-Cooper, and Julian Salvi, before taking up his role of head coach with Harlequins. During his time at the London-based club, he masterminded the club’s promotion from their 2005 standing in the National Division One competition back into the country’s top level competition. During the Quins’ two years under Friend in the top league he consolidated their position with a mid-table finish in their first year before narrowly missing out on the play-offs in the 2007/2008 season by a solitary competition point, despite boasting the most bonus points during the 2007/08 season. TONY REA - Assistant Coach (Defence & Skills) 
Born: 25/07/66 Tony Rea joins the CA Brumbies after seven years as head coach of the London Broncos/Harlequins RL in the UK Super League. The former rugby league hooker, who also spent three years as CEO of the London club, carved out a seven-year, 120-match career for North Sydney in the New South Wales Rugby League/Australian Rugby League before joining the London Broncos in 1994 where he made 47 appearances for the club. OWEN FINEGAN Forwards Coach 
Born: 22/04/72 Owen Finegan is a foundation player for the CA Brumbies, joining the side for their inaugural season in 1996. The hulking blindside flanker/lock held the record for the competition’s most tries for a forward and remains the fifth all time try scorer for the CA Brumbies. Finegan played a total of 92 Super Rugby matches across 10 years representing the CA Brumbies, including captaining the title-winning side in the 2004 Super 12 grand final. Finegan completed his playing career overseas with Newcastle, Leinster and Leicester, before returning to Canberra in 2008 to take up the role of Head Coach for the Brumbies Academy and Brumby Runners.
JULIAN HUXLEY Kicking Coach 
Born: 03/08/79 Julian Huxley joins the CA Brumbies coaching staff as a specialist kicking and skills coach for 2009. Huxley, a utility back, played 53 Super Rugby matches for the CA Brumbies and Queensland Reds before his career was put on hold following the discovery of a brain tumour last year. Renowned for his pinpoint kicking game and ability to read the play, Huxley scored 270 points throughout his career and broke through for his Wallaby debut in 2007, including three caps during the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
BILL YOUNG Scrum Coach 
Born: 04/03/74 Bill Young returns to Canberra to assume the role of Scrum Coach for the 2009 Investec Super 14 season. Regarded as one of the country’s top scrummagers during his playing career, Young represented the CA Brumbies on 100 occasions, including starting at loosehead in the CA Brumbies title wins in 2001 and 2004. Young was also Assistant Coach for the table-topping Western Sydney Rams during the 2007 Mazda Australian Rugby Championship.
|