Craig Dowd born 26 October 1969 in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand, 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 ...

player and ex-coach. He played 60 test matches for

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

between 1993 and 2000, spending his entire provincial career with

. He spent his entire

Super 12 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

career, 64 matches, with the

Auckland Blues The Blues (; known as the Auckland Blues from 1996 to 1999) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Auckland, who play in the Super Rugby competition. Like New Zealand's four other Super Rugby teams, the Blues were established b ...

, between 1996 and 2001 and is the official Blues player number 001, winning back-to-back titles in 1996 and 1997. From 2001 to 2005 he played for London Wasps in the

Guinness Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...

, amassing 115 caps with the club. He started as Wasps won the 2002–03 Premiership Final, and two years later was a replacement when they won it again. Following his retirement as a player he took on a coaching role with the club. In 2009 he took up a position as the Head coach for

North Harbour North Harbour or North Harbor may refer to: Canada * North Harbour, St. Mary's Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community on St. Mary's Bay * North Harbour, Placentia Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community on Placentia Bay * North Harbour, ...

in the

Air New Zealand Cup An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosphere ...

. Formed one of the greatest frontrow combinations with Sean Fitzpatrick and Olo Brown. In 2020, he finished season 1 of ''Match Fit'', despite battling weight issues and

sciatica Sciatica is pain going down the leg from the lower back. This pain may go down the back, outside, or front of the leg. Onset is often sudden following activities such as heavy lifting, though gradual onset may also occur. The pain is often desc ...

''.'' He managed to revert back to his playing weight.

References

External links

* *
Wasps coaching profileWasps playing profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowd, Craig 1969 births Living people Wasps RFC players New Zealand international rugby union players New Zealand people of Irish descent New Zealand rugby union coaches New Zealand rugby union players People educated at Liston College Rugby union props New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in England Rugby union players from Auckland Auckland rugby union players Blues (Super Rugby) players 1995 Rugby World Cup players 1999 Rugby World Cup players