Douglas Charles Howlett (born 21 September 1978) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player.

[citation needed] He started playing rugby at Auckland Grammar School,[1] where he was also a star sprinter, captain of athletics and, during his final year in 1996, Head Prefect.

He calls upon his speed as a sprinter (he once clocked a personal best 10.94 seconds for the 100 metres in an under 20 athletics championship in 1998) to great effect in his rugby career.

He has played with three Super Rugby teams, briefly with the Otago Highlanders and Wellington Hurricanes and, for the majority of his career in his home city, the Auckland Blues.

It was with his hometown Blues that he established himself as one of the finest back players in the world,[citation needed] winning a Super 12 title in 2003.

He made his debut for Munster in the Heineken Cup against ASM Clermont Auvergne, notably starting the movement for Lifeimi Mafi's try.

Howlett joins Rod Kafer and Brad Thorn in having won major rugby tournaments in both the southern and northern hemispheres, the Super 14 and Heineken Cup respectively.

[5][6] But in December 2011, Howlett picked up an Achilles tendon injury in a Pro 12 game against Ospreys which ruled him out for the rest of the season.

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.

In May 2019, Howlett announced his decision to leave his role as Munster Rugby's Head of Commercial and Marketing after 6 years to return to New Zealand with his family.