Brent Semmons Joins The Austin Gilgronis

ROUND ROCK, Texas (December 23, 2019) – Austin Gilgronis is excited to announce that today Brent Semmons has joined the coaching staff for the 2020 Major League Rugby season. Semmons will take on a lead coaching role alongside former mentee Andrew Suniula.

Semmons hails from Auckland, New Zealand from which he brings 20 years of coaching experience from multiple levels of the high-performance pathway, including three years in the manager role of the Auckland International Rugby Academy. In 2019, Semmons integrated three levels of Auckland’s Mitre 10 pathway which created unprecedented depth for the union and an eventual top-four finish for all three teams for the first time in club history.

“I place huge importance on growing the local pathway here in Austin,” said Semmons. “We’re looking to be a fully professional side, so we’re obliged really to ensure that we serve the community and have a good relationship with the local clubs. To me, that looks like us going down to the local clubs full noise and putting our fingerprints on their development as we create an opportunity for a seamless transition to our top side.”

In the last three seasons, Semmons coached; the Auckland U19s, the Blues U20s & U18s, and the Auckland Mitre 10 side. In his 20 years coaching in New Zealand, Italy, Spain, the United States, and Argentina he’s served as a mentor to a bevy of world-class players, including Andrew Suniula.

“We go way back, I coached Drew in the early 2000s at the club level in Auckland,” said Semmons. “I came up earlier this year and together we came up with a plan of attack, so we’ll be on the same wavelength as we head into 2020.”

Semmons and Suniula look to diverge from the traditional labels of forward & backs coach and rather shift focus on more specialized roles as lead coaches for the Austin Gilgronis this season. 

Welcome to the Gilgronis coaching staff, Brent Semmons!