| Date of birth | (1976-07-17)17 July 1976 (age 48) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Brisbane,Queensland, Australia[1][2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 190 cm (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 112 kg (247 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Townsville Grammar School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height and weight correct as of 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Dan McKellar (born 17 July 1976) is an Australian professionalrugby union coach. He was most recently head coach forLeicester Tigers in England'sPremiership Rugby until 22 June 2024.[3] He was previously the head coach ofSuper Rugby team theBrumbies, head coach of theUniversity of Canberra Vikings in Australia'sNational Rugby Championship,[4] and an assistant coach for theAustralian national rugby union team.
McKellar grew up inBurdekin in North Queensland. He was introduced to rugby atTownsville Grammar School. He played first grade club rugby as a teenager, helping the Burdekin Canetoads win the Townsville premiership in 1994.[5]
As aloosehead prop, McKellar played more than 150 premier grade games over a decade atSouths Rugby Club in Brisbane, winning a premiership in 2000. He was a member of theQueensland Reds Super Rugby squad in 2005 and 2006.[5][6] He also had stints playing overseas in Scotland and Ireland.[6] McKellar began learning the art of coaching at Wicklow, a small rugby club just outsideDublin in Ireland. He was playing in the team and acting as his side's assistant coach in 2001, and took over the main player-coach role from 2002 to 2005.[7][8][9]
McKellar was a premier grade assistant coach at Souths Rugby Club in Brisbane in 2007,[10] and the head coach from 2008 to 2010.[6] He was appointed as coaching director and head coach of the Tuggeranong Vikings Rugby Club in Canberra for seasons 2011 and 2012 which included back to back premierships in premier grade. He also set up the professional rugby academy at the Vikings Club.[6] In February 2013, McKellar moved to Japan to take up a position as forwards coach ofTop League teamNTT DoCoMo Red Hurricanes.
Returning to Canberra, he signed with theBrumbies as the club's defence and skills coach for the2014 Super Rugby season.[6] After the launch of the National Rugby Championship, he was appointed as head coach of theUniversity of Canberra Vikings team to play in the new competition.[4]
McKellar was appointed as head coach of the Brumbies for the 2018 season followingStephen Larkham's departure.[11]
In August 2021 it was announced McKellar would wind up a successful five-year stint as Brumbies head coach at the end of the 2022 Super Rugby season and would remain in his position with the Australia national team.[12] During his time as Brumbies head coach he led the side to the Super Rugby Semi-Final in 2019, and back-to-back Super Rugby AU Grand-Finals in 2020–21, famously taking out the 2020 title in front of a home crowd at GIO Stadium.[13]
After holding his role within the Australia national team since 2021, McKellar resigned from his job to joinEnglishPremiership team theLeicester Tigers,[14] effective from 1 July 2023.[15][16] After a single season in charge at Leicester McKellar was dismissed following an underwhelming season and reports of a lack of "buy in" from players to his methods.[3]