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Billy Millard with Harlequins away at Toulouse in last season's Champions Cup semi-final. Dan Sheridan/INPHO

Connacht appoint Harlequins director of rugby Billy Millard in new 'general manager' role

The Australian was Connacht’s attack coach between 2011 and 2013 and is married to a Galway woman.

FORMER CONNACHT ATTACK coach Billy Millard will return to the western province in a newly created ‘general manager of performance’ role from the start of next season.

Millard, who previously worked with Connacht between 2011 and 2013 and whose wife is from Galway, will join from English Premiership side Harlequins and will have “ultimate responsibility for all high-performance programmes in Connacht”.

Australian Millard has enjoyed a fairly successful seven years as director of rugby at Quins, with the men’s senior team winning a Premiership title in 2020/21 and reaching the semi-finals of last season’s Champions Cup. During Millard’s tenure, the Quins women’s side also won a Premiership title in 2020/2021 after finishing runners up in the previous two seasons, and reached the league semi-finals last year.

Millard’s remit as general manager will be distinct from Connacht’s coaching team and will be focused on further aligning the province’s high-performance programmes across their pathway, academy, men’s and women’s teams.

billy-millard Millard working with Connacht players in 2011. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

Millard said he was “delighted to be returning to Connacht Rugby in this new role and at such an exciting time for the province”.

“Having spent two years at the club, and with my wife from Galway, I know firsthand the passion, drive, and ambition everyone at Connacht has in bringing success to the province,” added the 55-year-old.

“There is a clear vision for the future, with a strong commitment to developing homegrown talent and competing at the highest level for both our male and female teams, and I’m looking forward to playing my part in delivering on that strategy.

My role will be to further build on the excellent work already being done in our high-performance programmes and create an environment that will allow players to thrive and fulfil their potential, using the world-class facilities we’ll soon have at our disposal at the new HPC and redeveloped Dexcom Stadium.

“I want to thank the club for this enormous opportunity, and I look forward to working closely with all the staff and players into the future.”

Connacht CEO Willie Ruane added: “Billy’s appointment is one that we have been looking to make for some time.

“It is a change to our structure that mirrors much of what is in place in many other professional sporting codes and reflects the ever-increasing breadth of Connacht Rugby’s performance programmes across both the male and female games.

“Recruiting someone of Billy’s calibre and experience helps to further strengthen Connacht Rugby, and his knowledge and understanding of our landscape positions him well to help deliver on our strategic priorities across all performance-related matters.”

Millard will be joined at Connacht next season by a fellow Australian, Rod Seib, who will move from the Brumbies to take on a senior coaching role. Seib will steer Connacht’s attack as Mark Sexton heads north to Ulster.

Head coach Pete Wilkins remains on sick leave but he is contracted with Connacht and the IRFU in his current role until 2026. Connacht wish for Wilkins to resume his role whenever possible with a renewed focus on defence, with current defence coach Scott Fardy set to depart at the end of the season.

Scrum and contact coach Cullie Tucker — temporarily in charge while Wilkins is on sick leave — and forwards coach John Muldoon will remain in situ beyond the summer.

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