Simon James Mannix (born 10 August 1971 in

Lower Hutt, New Zealand Lower Hutt () is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most populous city, with a popula ...

) is a former

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

footballer. He served as head coach of

Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (; ), usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional rugby union team based in the Iparralde, Basque city of Biarritz in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine ...

in the French second division D2, having previously worked at Pau and as a backs coach for

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

and Racing Metro. Mannix played one test for the

New Zealand national rugby union team The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 1994. He was educated at

St Patrick's College, Silverstream St Patrick's College is a state-integrated Catholic boys' day and boarding secondary school located in Silverstream, Upper Hutt, New Zealand. It was established in 1931 when the original St Patrick's College, Wellington that had been establi ...

Playing career

Mannix played for

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, and

Wellington Hurricanes The Hurricanes ( ; ; formerly the Wellington Hurricanes) is a New Zealand professional men's rugby union team based in Wellington that competes in Super Rugby. The Hurricanes were formed to represent the lower North Island, including the East ...

in his native New Zealand. Later in his playing career, he moved to Europe and played for

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as ...

Gloucester Rugby Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was formed in 1873 and since 1891 has played its home matches ...

and

Racing Métro 92 Racing 92 () is a French professional rugby union club based in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Paris' western inner suburbs that competes in Top 14. The club plays its home matches at the 30,681-capacity domed stadium Paris La Défense Arena, l ...

. He made eight appearances, including one test match, for New Zealand between 1990 and 1994.

Coaching

Mannix was backs coach for Racing Metro from 2006 until December 2011, when he was dismissed. He was part of the management team that gained the club promotion to the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

in 2009. In 2012, Mannix was appointed backs coach of

on a two-year contract from the 2012–13 season under head coach

Rob Penney Robin Hugh Penney (born 27 April 1964) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former representative player. Generally known as Rob Penney he played in the positions of Flanker or No.8 throughout his career, most notably for Canterbury. He has s ...

. He was appointed head coach of Pau, then in the Pro D2, for the start of the 2014–2015 season. He went on to top the Pro D2 in his first season, earning the team promotion to the top 14. In 2019, Mannix was appointed coach of the Singapore rugby team on a three-year contract. He resigned in 2021. Mannix has been coach of the

Portugal national rugby union team The Portugal national rugby union team, nicknamed Os Lobos (''The Wolves'') is administered by the Portuguese Rugby Federation. Portugal have experienced modest success in the last two decades. They qualified for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in Fr ...

, the Wolves, since 2024, and got the qualification for 2027 World Cup in Australia.

Notes

External links

* 1971 births Living people New Zealand rugby union coaches New Zealand rugby union players Rugby union players from Lower Hutt New Zealand international rugby union players People educated at St Patrick's College, Silverstream Racing 92 coaches Racing 92 players Munster Rugby non-playing staff Sale Sharks players Gloucester Rugby players Rugby union fly-halves New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in France New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in England Section Paloise coaches Expatriate rugby union coaches Hurricanes (rugby union) players Wellington rugby union players {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-bio-1970s-stub