Name Daryl Howland Height 1.78 m | Weight 93 kg | |
Daryl "Spinner" Howland is an Australian-born American rugby league administrator and coach. He is co-founder and event coordinator of the Jacksonville Axemen team based in Jacksonville, Florida, and is involved with the administration of the USA Rugby League. A former player, he previously played for the Axemen club that he founded and also for the United States national rugby league team (the Tomahawks) and for various clubs in the U.S., Australia, England, France, and Canada. As a player, he typically played as a hooker or halfback.
Life
Howland was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He played for various rugby league teams in Australia, the United States, England, France, and Canada. After living in the United States for several years he qualified to represent the U.S. in rugby league via the residency rule. He coached the U.S. student side in the 1999 Student Rugby League World Cup, and played on the U.S. national team (the Tomahawks) in a number of matches.
In 2000 Howland moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where he worked as a marketing manager for Outback Steakhouse and set about founding a rugby league franchise. In 2006 Howland and partner Drew Slover founded the Jacksonville Axemen, who joined the American National Rugby League (AMNRL) competition. Howland also served as head coach and event coordinator of the Axemen, as well as playing on the team. Since that time the club has become one of the most successful rugby league franchises in the U.S., advancing to the league playoffs four times in five seasons, and winning the championship in 2010.
On January 12, 2011 Howland's Axemen became one of seven teams to leave the AMNRL to form the USA Rugby League, which kicked off in summer 2011. As part of the USARL's democratic governance structure, Howland was heavily involved in the early running of the league, and oversaw the establishment of the South Conference in 2014.