Team Management

John Mitchell

John Mulvihill

Tom Fearn

Scott Anderson

Haydn Masters

Richard Trend

Peter Steele

The management staff of the Emirates Western Force that will take the team into the toughest, most exciting Provincial Rugby Competition in the world - the Investec Super 14.

John Mitchell – Head Coach

John played for the All Blacks in 1993, captaining the team on three occasions. In 1997, he was appointed assistant to England coach Clive Woodward for three years. In 2001, John was made head coach of Waikato in the Super 12 competiton and the following year became head coach of the All Blacks until after the 2003 World Cup. During the period he was in charge, the All Blacks won back-to-back Tri Nations championships and the Bledisloe Cup. A Level 3 accredited coach, John left his job as head coach of the Waikato provincial side to join the Emirates Western Force.

 John Mulvihill – Attack Coach 

John represented Australia at Under 21 level and played for Queensland B and the New South Wales Waratahs before switching to rugby league and playing for the Balmain Tigers. He played club rugby in Ireland and later coached the Leinster division one club, Navan, to three championships. He joined the Emirates Western Force from the Gold Coast, where he was head coach of the Southport School First XV and assistant coach of the Gold Coast Breakers, both of which won premierships during his tenure.    

 Tom Fearn – Defence Coach

Tom played in the National Provincial Championship for Wanganui and also played club rugby in Italy. In 1988, Tom moved to Perth and played First Grade for Nedlands and the WA State team for next eight years. He was also head coach of Nedlands First Grade for five years, during which time they won two premierships. He was WA State coach in 2001 and joined the Emirates Western Force after coaching Wests-Subiaco First Grade to three consecutive premierships.    

 Scott Anderson - Performance Analyst

Scott graduated from UWA with an Honours degree in Human Movement before moving to Tasmania to start a business in exercise rehabilitation and lecture at the University of Tasmania. In 2000, Scott worked for the AIS Biomechanics Department at the Sydney Olympics, which led to a one year scholarship. He then spent four years as the performance analyst at the ACT Brumbies before returning home to join the Emirates Western Force.

Haydn Masters - Strength & Conditioning Coordinator

Haydn grew up in Manly playing rugby and rowing surf boats, where he was part of two silver medal winning crews at the National Championships. Whilst completing a Masters degree in sports science, Haydn worked for the North Sydney Bears Rugby League club for four years. He then moved to England where he spent three years as Strength & Conditioning Coordinator at the London Broncos Rugby League club. Haydn returned to Australia in 2004 to take up a similar role at the ARU’s High Performance Unit for the State of NSW. Haydn joined the Emirates Western Force in June 2005.

Richard Trend - Team Manager

Before joining RugbyWA, Richard was a school teacher for 34 years including stints as head of the mathematics department at City Beach and Churchlands Senior High Schools. He played rugby for 30 years with the Associates club and coached for more than 20 at school, club and State level. Richard has also held numerous administrative positions with Associates including President. He was a handy water polo in his time, clocking up more than 450 games for the Claremont-based Dolphins and coaching at all levels.   

Peter Steele – Team Doctor

Peter has been involved in sports medicine since 1997. The University of Queensland Medical School graduate was a one-time team doctor for the Claremont and then Subiaco football clubs, and works at Sportsmed Subiaco. He has been the team doctor for the Australian Men’s Hockey Team since 2000, recently attending a pre-Olympics tournament in Beijing with the Kookaburras. Peter joined the Emirates Western Force in December 2005.