Editing Doug Howlett (section)

===Munster===
On 30 August 2007, Howlett signed for [[Munster Rugby|Munster]], following in the footsteps of another All Black great, [[Christian Cullen]]. Howlett joined Munster at the start of 2008.
He made his debut for Munster in the [[Heineken Cup]] against [[ASM Clermont Auvergne]], notably starting the movement for [[Lifeimi Mafi]]'s try. His second match came against [[Wasps RFC|London Wasps]] where he notably dived to save the ball in the build-up to [[Denis Leamy]]'s try. He scored his first Munster try against [[Ulster Rugby|Ulster]] on 22 March 2008.

On 24 May 2008, Howlett was part of the Munster team that beat [[Stade Toulousain|Toulouse]] 16–13 to win the [[2007–08 Heineken Cup]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.irishtimes.com/munster-rugby/doug-howlett/ | newspaper=The Irish Times | title=Howlett's career highlight | first=John | last=O'Sullivan}}</ref> Howlett had won his first cup with Munster only five and a half months into his career in the Northern Hemisphere. Howlett himself scored a try in the final only for it to be disallowed due to a forward pass from [[Rua Tipoki]].
[[File:Doug Howlett 2010 (cropped).jpg|250px|thumb|right|Howlett during a match against [[Northampton Saints]], April 2010]]
Howlett joins [[Rod Kafer]] and [[Brad Thorn]] in having won major rugby tournaments in both the southern and northern hemispheres, the [[super rugby|Super 14]] and [[Heineken Cup]] respectively. He enjoyed his success with the [[Blues (Super Rugby)|Auckland Blues]] in the 2003 [[Super Rugby|Super]] 12 and [[Munster Rugby|Munster]] in 2008. With Munster winning the Magners League title for the 08–09 season, Howlett held both a Heineken Cup and Magners League medal in the space of just two seasons with Munster. On 26 February 2010 it was announced Howlett had signed a contract to stay on at Munster until the end of the 2010–11 season, with the option for a further year.<ref>{{cite web |last=Geraghty |first=Pat |url=http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/7217.php |title=Munster Rugby: News : Howlett Staying On |publisher=Munsterrugby.ie |date=26 February 2010 |access-date=17 August 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119225240/http://munsterrugby.ie/news/7217.php |archive-date=19 November 2011  }}</ref> That option was confirmed by Munster in February 2011, and he began the 2011/2012.<ref>{{cite web |date=7 February 2011 |title=Munster Rugby: News : Youngsters Weigh in Behind Munster |url=http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/8623.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119024621/http://munsterrugby.ie/news/8623.php |archive-date=19 November 2011 |access-date=17 August 2011 |publisher=Munsterrugby.ie}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/rugby/2011/0207/1224289244950.html|title=Howlett agrees new deal with Munster|date=7 February 2011|newspaper=The Irish Times |access-date=7 February 2011}}</ref> But in December 2011, Howlett picked up an [[Achilles tendon]] injury in a [[2011–12 Pro 12|Pro 12]] game against [[Ospreys (rugby union)|Ospreys]] which ruled him out for the rest of the season.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/sport/rugby/achilles-injury-rules-doug-howlett-out-for-the-season-2956186.html|title=Achilles injury rules Doug Howlett out for the season|date= 7 December 2011|work=Irish Independent|access-date=7 December 2011|first=Hugh|last=Farrelly}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2011/1206/howlettd.html |title=Howlett ankle injury blow for Munster |date=7 December 2011 |work=RTÉ Sport |access-date=7 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111208055442/http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2011/1206/howlettd.html |archive-date= 8 December 2011}}</ref>

On 24 February 2012, Munster announced that Howlett had extended his contract until the end of the 2012–13 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/10160.php |title=Howlett Extends Contract |date=24 February 2012 |work=munsterrugby.ie |access-date=24 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216033857/http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/10160.php |archive-date=16 December 2013}}</ref> On 24 August 2012, it was announced that Howlett would take over from [[Paul O'Connell]] as the Munster squad captain for the 2012–13 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/10707.php |title=Doug Howlett Named Squad Captain |date=24 August 2012 |work=munsterrugby.ie |access-date=24 August 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827014243/http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/10707.php |archive-date=27 August 2012}}</ref> He underwent successful knee surgery in late January 2013, and returned to action after the surgery on 2 March 2013. On 14 May 2013, it was confirmed that Howlett, after receiving medical advice, would retire from rugby due to a shoulder injury he sustained playing against [[Glasgow Warriors]] in March 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.independent.ie/sport/howlett-calls-time-on-playing-career-29266124.html|title=Howlett calls time on playing career|date=14 May 2013|work=Irish Independent|access-date=14 May 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/22527495|title=Munster and former New Zealand wing Doug Howlett Howlett retires|date=14 May 2013|work=BBC Sport|access-date=14 May 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/irish/2013/0514/392199-injury-forces-munsters-howlett-to-retire/ |title=Injury forces Munster's Doug Howlett to retire |date=14 May 2013 |work=RTÉ Sport |access-date=14 May 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216040203/http://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/irish/2013/0514/392199-injury-forces-munsters-howlett-to-retire/ |archive-date=16 December 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/11934.php|title=Injury Forces Howlett To Retire|date=14 May 2013|work=munsterrugby.ie|access-date=14 May 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130610064156/http://www.munsterrugby.ie/news/11934.php|archive-date=10 June 2013}}</ref>

Howlett returned to the province as a corporate ambassador in December 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://munsterrugby.ie/2013/12/07/corporate-role-for-howlett/|title=Corporate Role For Howlett|date=7 December 2013|work=Munster Rugby|access-date=8 December 2013}}</ref> He went on to become Munster's head of commercial and marketing, before returning to New Zealand in the autumn of 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://munsterrugby.ie/2019/05/20/howlett-to-return-to-new-zealand/|title=Doug Howlett To Return To New Zealand|date=20 May 2019|work=Munster Rugby|access-date=21 May 2019}}</ref>