Connacht's John Muldoon will end his 15-year association with the province in the summer, after he confirmed that he will be joining Bristol Rugby as a coach.

The Portumna man will link up with former Connacht head coach Pat Lam in England as he hangs up his boots and takes over as Bristol's defence coach.

Bristol secured promotion back to the English top-tier last weekend.

Muldoon made his Connacht senior debut in 2004 and is the highest capped player, both for the province and in the Pro14 championship.

The 35-year-old Muldoon told Bristol's website: "I’m delighted to be linking up with Pat [Lam] and the team at Bristol Rugby at a hugely exciting time for the club.

"I’m inspired by the vision that the club has and the philosophy around community is something that is very important to me.

"I'm honoured to have represented Connacht as a player throughout my career and now I’m relishing the chance to begin my coaching career and help contribute to Bristol’s success in the Premiership."

Muldoon, who captained Connacht to victory in 2016's Pro12 Grand Final, will begin a farewell tour with the province now and has been named on the bench for Friday's clash with Glasgow Warriors in Scotstoun.

Lam is delighted by the prospect of working with Muldoon again and believes he will offer the team a wealth of knowledge when he joins up with them.

"John’s arrival as defence coach reinforces the club vision and culture that we are striving to instil in our players and staff," he said.

"We're so aligned in our philosophies and it’s a relationship built on mutual trust and understanding of the way the coaching team want Bristol to play.

"John has played more games than anyone else in the PRO14 and he has an intelligent rugby brain. When we coached together in the Galway community and worked closely together on gameplan and leadership strategy whilst at Connacht, I could see he had the makings of an excellent coach.

"When I was still playing, my mentor – Ian McGeechan – gave me my first coaching opportunity in the professional game and I want John to have the same opportunity to begin his coaching career. He has the character traits and qualities that match everything we are looking for."