Mike Coman (born 28 September 1987) is a former New Zealand

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 who played as loose forward (back row) for

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

in the

Aviva 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 ...

. He has been involved in the Wider Training Group in both the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2013 Super Rugby season The 2013 Super Rugby season was the third season of the new 15-team format for the Super Rugby competition involving teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The tournament was won by the Chiefs, who defeated the Canberra-based Brumbi ...

Early life

Born in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

, New Zealand, Coman was educated at

Waimea College Waimea College is a co-educational secondary school in Richmond, Tasman District, New Zealand. Opened in 1957, the college has over 1500 students, and is the largest school in the top of the South Island. History Waimea College was established ...

, where he captained the 1st XV. Coman was a member of the New Zealand schoolboys team and also represented New Zealand U21 team.

Career

Having previously played in his homeland for Hawke's Bay Magpies in the

ITM Cup ITM may stand for: Education * ITM Law School, one of the professional graduate schools of ITM University * ITM-IFM, Mumbai, India * Institut Teknologi Mara, a public university in Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia * Institute for Information, Tel ...

, Coman moved to

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

upon signing for

Edinburgh Rugby Edinburgh Rugby (formerly Edinburgh Reivers, Edinburgh Gunners) is one of the two professional rugby union teams from Scotland. The club competes in the United Rugby Championship, along with the Glasgow Warriors, its oldest rival. Edinburgh play ...

in September 2013, and made his debut with a brief appearance from the replacements' bench during the home

Boxing Day Boxing Day, also called as Offering Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part ...

defeat to

Glasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...

. With Edinburgh's captain

Greig Laidlaw Greig Laidlaw (born 12 October 1985) is a Scottish former professional rugby union player who played as a scrum-half and as a fly-half. Laidlaw holds the record for most caps as captain, 39, of the Scottish national team. He also represented ...

on international duty during the 2014

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

, Coman captained the side during their ongoing

Pro12 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

campaign, with his first victory as skipper coming in the win over

Ospreys The osprey (; ''Pandion haliaetus''), historically known as sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and a wingspan of . It is ...

on 28 February. Laidlaw left the side in summer 2014, and Coman was named as skipper on a permanent basis ahead of the 2014–15 season. Coman's first points for the club came courtesy of a try during December 2014's 48–0 demolition of

opponents Benetton Treviso. After big improvements to Edinburgh's form in 2014–15, during which he led the team to the final of the

European Rugby Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

, Coman signed a contract extension which will see him remain in the Scottish capital until at least the end of the 2015–16 season. Coman then moved onto London Irish at the conclusion of the 2015/2016 season. Coman played two seasons for the Exiles taking home player of the season in his first year with the club. A hamstring injury in 2018 forced him to retire from professional rugby.

Personal life

Coman's Father Gordon Coman played number eight for Nelson Bays and his elder brother Ben Coman played for both Tasman and Buller. Coman was married in Hawke's bay in 2017 and has a son and two twin daughters

References

*https://www.london-irish.com/players/mike-coman/s169394/ *https://www.hurricanes.co.nz/squad/player/mike-coman/ *https://en.espn.co.uk/scrum/rugby/player/120414.html *https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-union/35463437

External links

*http://www.edinburghrugby.org/edinburgh-rugby/player/mike-coman {{DEFAULTSORT:Coman, Mike 1987 births Living people Rugby union players from Nelson, New Zealand People educated at Waimea College Rugby union number eights Canterbury rugby union players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Hawke's Bay rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Edinburgh Rugby players New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Scotland