Join the Connacht Rugby WhatsApp channel
Stay up to date with the latest news
Connacht Rugby are delighted to announce the appointment of Billy Millard as General Manager of Performance from the start of next season.
A newly created role, Millard will have ultimate responsibility for all high-performance programmes in Connacht. His appointment will allow Connacht Rugby to take a further integrated and aligned approach to our high-performance programmes across our pathway, academy and senior male and female teams, in line with our recently released 10-year Vision & Strategy, and the “Rugby in Ireland” Strategic Plan.
Millard joins from the Harlequins where he has had a very successful 7-year spell as both General Manager and Director of Rugby Performance. During his time with the club, the 55-year-old Australian has had overall responsibility for all performance aspects of the club across both the male and female teams and pathways.
In this period the Senior Women's Team lifted the Premier 15’s title in the 2020/2021 season after finishing runners up in the previous two seasons and reached the semi-finals in the 2024/25 season.
The Men’s Professional side also won the Gallagher Premiership title in the 2020/2021 season, and last season reached the semi-finals of the Investec Champions Cup.
Millard is a familiar face to Connacht supporters, having served as assistant coach from 2011-2013. Following his time with Connacht Rugby, Millard progressed to the role of National Performance Director with USA Rugby prior to taking up a similar role as Director of Performance with Cardiff Blues before moving to Harlequins as General Manager / Director of Performance in 2018.
Billy Millard says:
“I’m 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.
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.”
CEO Willie Ruane says:
“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.”
