Dion O'Cuinneagain

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Dion O'Cuinneagain
Date of birth (1972-05-24) 24 May 1972 (age 51)
Place of birth Cape Town, South Africa
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight102 kg (225 lb; 16 st 1 lb)
School Rondebosch Boys' School
University Stellenbosch University
Rugby union career
Position(s) Number 8, Flanker
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1997–1999
1999–2000		 Sale Sharks
Ballymena RFC 		()
Provincial / State sides
YearsTeamApps(Points)
19xx-1997
1999–2000
2001		 Western Province
Ulster
Munster 		()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1998–2000
1998–2000		 Ireland A
Ireland 		?
19		0(?)
0(5)
National sevens team
YearsTeamComps
1995 South Africa

Dion O'Cuinneagain (born 24 May 1972 in Cape Town, South Africa) is a former rugby union player who represented both South Africa and Ireland. Since retiring as a rugby player, O'Cuinneagain has worked as a doctor and as a rugby coach.

Contents

Early years

O'Cuinneagain was born and raised in Cape Town. His father, Connell, was a dentist who came from County Dublin, Ireland. The O'Cuinneagain family originally came from Enniscorthy in County Wexford. His mother was an English nurse who came from Lancashire. O'Cuinneagain was educated at Rondebosch Boys' School before going on to study medicine at Stellenbosch University. As a youth he showed potential in several sports. He also represented Western Cape at schoolboy cricket and was a notable hurdler. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Clubs and Provinces

O'Cuinneagain played rugby at various levels with University of Cape Town and then Western Province where his teammates included, among others, Tiaan Strauss, Corné Krige and Bobby Skinstad. However his career was initially hindered by a serious hip injury and in 1997 he left South Africa and moved to England where he joined Sale Sharks. Then in 1999 he switched to playing for Ballymena RFC and Ulster. He made five appearances for the latter in the Heineken Cup . [1] [6] [7] Injuries continued to hinder O'Cuinneagain's career and in 1999 he suffered two shoulder injuries and a broken wrist. [8] [9] In 2000 he decided to return to South Africa to complete his medical studies. [10] However, in 2001 he made a brief comeback when he agreed to help out an injury depleted Munster. On 13 April 2001 he played in a 24–22 win against a Rest of Ireland XV at Thomond Park [11] before making a late appearance as a replacement against Stade Français in the Heineken Cup semi-final defeat on 22 April. [12]

Rugby international

South Africa

O'Cuinneagain captained South Africa at sevens level. He was a schoolboy international in 1989 and 1990 [13] and in 1995 played for the sevens team at the Hong Kong Sevens. [1] [14]

Ireland

O'Cuinneagain first played for Ireland at A level and on 3 April 1998 played against England A in a 40–30 away defeat. [15] Between 1998 and 2000 he made 19 full appearances and scored one try for the senior Ireland team. He made his senior international debut in a 37–13 defeat against South Africa on 13 June 1998. He played in all four games during the 1999 Five Nations Championship and then captained Ireland on both a tour of Australia and during the 1999 Rugby World Cup. He scored his one and only try for Ireland on 15 October 1999 in a World Cup game against Romania. He made his final appearance for Ireland in a 60–13 win against Italy at Lansdowne Road on 2 March 2000. [16] [17] [18]

Later career

After retiring as a rugby player, O'Cuinneagain returned to Cape Town to work as a doctor. He has since worked for several institutes, including the Sports Science Orthopaedic Clinic at the Sport Science Institute of South Africa. [19] [20] He has also worked as a general practitioner in Tokai, Cape Town. [21] He remains actively involved in rugby and has coached and / or managed the South Africa Sevens and rugby teams at the University of Cape Town . [22] [23] [24]

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The 1998 Ireland rugby union tour of South Africa was the team's third tour to the country, having previously visited in 1961 and 1981. Both Paul Wallace and Keith Wood had previously been on a tour to South Africa with the British and Irish Lions in 1997. Cape Town-born Dion O'Cuinneagain, had captained South Africa at both schoolboy and sevens level, before he switched allegiances. He made his senior international debut for Ireland in the 37–13 defeat against South Africa on 13 June 1998. Justin Fitzpatrick and Trevor Brennan also made their senior international debuts in the same game. A fourth debutant, Justin Bishop, scored a try while Eric Elwood added a conversion and two penalties. South Africa won the series 2-0, but the series was marred by violence and ill-will between the two teams.

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References

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  2. ↑ "Telegraph". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 December 2000.
  3. ↑ Independent Newspapers Online (5 May 2010). "www.capeargus.co.za". capeargus.co.za. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  4. ↑ UCT Athletic Club Archived 1 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
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  11. ↑ "www.rte.ie". rte.ie. 13 April 2001. Archived from the original on 25 September 2003. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  12. ↑ www.ercrugby.com [ dead link ]
  13. ↑ "SA Rugby Annual 2007" (PDF). South African Rugby Union. p. 516. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  14. ↑ Lanson Kelly (6 May 1999). "Irish Examiner". Archives.tcm.ie. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  15. ↑ "www.irishrugby.ie". irishrugby.ie. 26 January 2007. Archived from the original on 27 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  16. ↑ Ireland stats at www.irishrugby.ie Archived 22 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ Books (14 September 2003). "www.independent.ie". Irish Independent. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  18. ↑ "Ireland stats at www.sporting-heroes.net". Sporting-heroes.net. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
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  21. ↑ "www.safindit.co.za". safindit.co.za. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 12 December 2011.
  22. ↑ "Sevens Boks gather for training camp". South African Rugby Union. 27 February 2004. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  23. ↑ "UCT Springboks celebrate - University of Cape Town News". 3 March 2016. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016.
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