Safeguard Global ACT Brumbies senior assistant coach, Laurie Fisher will retire from full-time coaching at the end of the 2023 Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific season.
A Canberra local and prominent member of the ACT rugby community for more than 40 years, Fisher has left an indelible mark on the Brumbies in his three stints as a coach.
Safeguard Global ACT Brumbies assistant coach, Laurie Fisher said: “I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the Brumbies organisation who provided my first professional opportunity and have shown faith in me over a 25 year period.
“It’s been a blessing to work with so many great people players and staff alike. I believe I’ve had a positive impact on everyone I’ve worked with and step away from the Brumbies with great sense of pride, satisfaction, and accomplishment in the work I’ve done.
“It’s now time for others to step in step up and take the team and organisation forward and I wish them every success.”
Fisher first joined the Brumbies in 1999, coaching the Brumbies Runners before transitioning to the Academy head coach role in 2000. Fisher then moved up to the senior side in 2003, taking on the Australian U21 job as well in 2003 and 2004.
Having been part of the Brumbies Super 12 title winning staff in 2004, Fisher became head coach in 2005, departing in 2008 to take on a senior assistant role with Munster in Ireland.
Fisher returned to the Brumbies for the 2012 season, helping to usher in a new-look side under Jake White that would go on to make the Grand Final and beat the British and Irish Lions in 2013, and the semi-finals in 2014.
A three-year stint with Gloucester in England would follow before Fisher returned at the end of 2017 to join then-rookie head coach Dan McKellar’s staff for the 2018 season.
Fisher’s work in moulding the Brumbies defence and breakdown saw the side reach the Super Rugby semi-finals in 2019 and 2022, with a Super Rugby AU title in 2020 recognition of the team’s difficult journey through the enforced COVID competition shutdown.
2022 also saw Fisher join Dave Rennie’s Wallabies staff for the Rugby Championship and Spring Tour, the 64-year-old returning for his 15th season with the Brumbies in 2023.
Safeguard Global ACT Brumbies CEO, Phil Thomson said: “On behalf of the everyone at the Safeguard Global ACT Brumbies, and indeed everyone in the ACT and Southern NSW rugby community, I want to thank Laurie for his commitment and significant contribution to our club and the game in our region.”
“Laurie has played a key role in building competitive and successful squads over the past 20 years, across three distinct eras, and is without doubt one of the most important figures in the club’s history.
“We will miss having Laurie around on a full-time basis, but we know the work he has done in developing our current playing group and the foundations our pathways program is built on will continue to benefit the Brumbies for many years to come, and he will always be welcome at the Brumbies."
