Robin Hugh Penney (born 27 April 1964) is a New Zealand professional rugby union coach and former representative player. Generally known as Rob Penney, he played in the positions of Flanker or No.8 throughout his career, most notably for Canterbury . He has served in various coaching roles since 2005. He is the current Head coach of the Crusaders in Super Rugby. Penney played over 100 games for Canterbury between 1985 and 1994 in what was then the First division , the highest level of provincial rugby in New Zealand. Penney also played in an All Black trial in 1992. He later played for Marlborough in lower division rugby in 1996 and 1997. [ 1 ] He played for the Burnside club in Christchurch and Awatere in Marlborough. Coaching career Canterbury and New Zealand Penney coached Canterbury rugby in New Zealand from 2006 to 2011, and led them to win four ITM Cups in a row from 2008 to 2011. [ 2 ] He also coached the New Zealand under-20 rugby union team at the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship in which New Zealand were beaten 16–22 by the hosts, South Africa, in the final. [ 3 ] [ 4 ] On 3 May 2012, it was announced that Penney would be the new Munster new head coach, signing a two-year contract. He started in the role in July 2012 with Anthony Foley remaining on as forwards coach. [ 5 ] On appointing Penney, Munster rugby CEO Garrett Fitzgerald said; "We conducted a thorough search to find a replacement for Tony McGahan and were delighted with the calibre of the candidates". [ 6 ] [ 7 ] Penney took charge of his first competitive game as Munster coach on 1 September 2012, in a Rabo Direct Pro 12 match against Edinburgh Rugby at Murrayfield . [ 8 ] Despite a slow start, Munster won the game 23–18, to get his coaching career with Munster off to a winning start. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] Penney's Munster side had a surprise loss in the 2012–13 Heineken Cup on 13 October 2012, when they threw away an early lead against Racing Métro 92 and lost the game 22–17, but crucially secured a losing bonus point. Munster got their campaign back on track against Edinburgh Rugby the next week with a bonus point victory, winning 33–0 on the day and leaving themselves in a strong position to get out of the group stages. [ 11 ] A victory and a loss followed in Munster's next two Heineken Cup matches, both against Saracens . [ 12 ] [ 13 ] Munster secured qualification for the quarter-finals in their last match against Racing Métro 92 , beating them 29–6 to arrange a quarter-final against Harlequin F.C. Munster, despite being massive underdogs, beat Harlequins 18–12 to reach the semi-final. [ 14 ] Munster lost the semi-final 16–10 to ASM Clermont Auvergne . [ 15 ] In February 2014, Penney announced that he would be leaving Munster at the end of the 2013–14 season, having turned down the option of a third year in charge. [ 16 ] [ 17 ] Penney won the 2013–14 Pro 12 Coach of the Season Award in May 2014. [ 18 ] The Japanese Top League team NTT Communications Shining Arcs announced Penney as their new head coach for the next season on 11 April 2014. [ 19 ] New South Wales Waratahs Penney joined Australian Super Rugby side the Waratahs on a three-year contract in October 2019. [ 20 ] [ 21 ] On 28 March 2021, the Waratahs sacked Penney as head coach after a struggling 0–5 start to the 2021 Super Rugby AU season . He was replaced by Jason Gilmore and Chris Whitaker as interim coaches for the rest of the season. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] On 6 June, 2023, Penney was appointed as the head coach of the Crusaders , taking over from Scott Robertson who took up the All Blacks coaching role. Penney's assistants are Matt Todd , Dan Perrin , James Marshall , Brad Mooar , and Ryan Crotty . [ 24 ] Penney's Crusaders finished the 2024 season having won 4 matches from 14 games. [ 25 ] In August 2024, it was confirmed that Penney would fulfil his two-year contract and coach the team for their 2025 season. [ 26 ] In the 2025 season , Penney lead the Crusaders to their 15th Championship after only losing 3 games the whole season in a resurging campaign. [ 27 ] [ 28 ] In July 2025, Penney extended his contract with the Crusaders for the 2026 season. [ 29 ] [ 30 ] ↑ "Robin H Penney | Kerry's Rugby History" . Archived from the original on 23 January 2015 . Retrieved 22 March 2025 . ↑ "Fantastic four NPC titles for Canterbury" . New Zealand: Stuff. 5 September 2011. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012 . Retrieved 3 May 2012 . ↑ "Adams insists new Munster boss Penney has quality to answer supporters' prayers" . Irish Independent . 3 May 2012 . Retrieved 3 May 2012 . ↑ "Munster appoint Penney as new boss" . ESPNscrum. 3 May 2012 . Retrieved 3 May 2012 . ↑ "Penney's man for Munster" . Evening Herald . 3 May 2012. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012 . Retrieved 3 May 2012 . ↑ "Munster appoint Rob Penney as head coach" . Limerick Leader . 3 May 2012 . Retrieved 3 May 2012 . ↑ "Canterbury's Rob Penney named new Munster coach" . BBC Sport. 2 May 2012. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012 . Retrieved 3 May 2012 . ↑ "Penney delighted to make winning start" . Irish Independent . 3 September 2012 . Retrieved 6 September 2012 . ↑ "Munster take first big steps for Penney" . Irish Examiner . 3 September 2012 . Retrieved 6 September 2012 . ↑ "Gritty Munster off to winning start" . Limerick Leader . 3 September 2012 . Retrieved 6 September 2012 . ↑ "End Game Earns Bonus" . munsterrugby.ie . Archived from the original on 31 March 2013 . Retrieved 10 June 2013 . ↑ "Munster Show Their Gritty Side" . munsterrugby.ie . Archived from the original on 1 February 2013 . Retrieved 10 June 2013 . ↑ "Munster Lose After Epic Battle" . munsterrugby.ie . Archived from the original on 31 March 2013 . Retrieved 10 June 2013 . ↑ "Alone They Stand" . munsterrugby.ie . Archived from the original on 12 April 2013 . Retrieved 10 June 2013 . ↑ "Munster Lose A Game of Two Halves" . munsterrugby.ie . Archived from the original on 3 May 2013 . Retrieved 10 June 2013 .

↑ "O'Connell shocked and disappointed by Penney's departure" . Irish Examiner . 6 February 2014 . Retrieved 7 February 2014 . ↑ "Rob Penney and Simon Mannix to leave Munster at the end of the season" . Irish Independent . 6 February 2014 . Retrieved 7 February 2014 . ↑ "PRO12 Awards For Penney & Hanrahan" . munsterrugby.ie . 11 May 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017 . Retrieved 12 May 2014 . ↑ "NTT Shining Arcs announces new staff and slogan for 2014" . Top League (in Japanese). 11 February 2014 . Retrieved 14 February 2014 . ↑ "Rob Penney appointed NSW Waratahs Head Coach" . NSW Waratahs . 2 October 2019. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019 . Retrieved 2 October 2019 . ↑ "New Waratahs coach Penney reveals roster wishlist" . The Sydney Morning Herald . 2 October 2019 . Retrieved 2 October 2019 . ↑ "NSW Waratahs part ways with Rob Penney" . nsw.rugby . 28 March 2021. ↑ "Super Rugby: Cantabrian Rob Penney fired as NSW Waratahs head coach" . stuff.co.nz . 29 March 2021. ↑ "Crusaders Coaching Staff" . crusaders.co.nz . Retrieved 7 April 2025 . ↑ "Super Rugby Pacific: Fijian Drua kill off Crusaders' forgettable season" . stuff.co.nz . 1 June 2024. ↑ "Crusaders retain coach Rob Penney despite worst season for 23 years" . stuff.co.nz . 1 August 2024. ↑ "MATCH REPORT: Crusaders win Grand Final" . crusaders.co.nz . 21 June 2025. ↑ "Super Rugby Pacific: Crusaders edge Chiefs to win 15th crown" . stuff.co.nz . 21 June 2025. ↑ "Head Coach Rob Penney remains at the Crusaders for the 2026 season" . crusaders.co.nz . 30 July 2025. ↑ "Crusaders confirm head coach Rob Penney's return for Super Rugby Pacific title defence" . stuff.co.nz . 30 July 2025. Munster Rugby Profile New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand rugby union coaches Munster Rugby non-playing staff Canterbury rugby union players Use British English from August 2013 All Wikipedia articles written in British English Use dmy dates from May 2024 Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata Pages using infobox rugby biography with non-numeric numeric parameters CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)