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| Date of birth | 16 April 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Cork, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 105 kg (16.5 st; 231 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Presentation Brothers College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Kevin O'Byrne (born 16 April 1991) is an Irish rugby union player for English club Ealing Trailfinders in the RFU Championship. He plays as a hooker.
He captained the Munster under-18s club side during the 2008–09 inter-provincials and was part of Highfield under-18s All-Ireland winning squad in 2009. [1]
O'Byrne made his Munster debut on 5 September 2014, starting against Edinburgh in the first game of the 2014–15 Pro12 season. [2] He signed a one-year development contract with Munster in March 2015. [3] On 3 September 2016, O'Byrne went off injured in Munster's 2016–17 Pro12 fixture against Scarlets. He was subsequently ruled out for 3 months with an elbow injury. [4]
O'Byrne made his European Rugby Champions Cup debut for Munster on 21 October 2017, doing so when he came on as a replacement for Rhys Marshall in the round 2 fixture against Racing 92. [5] [6] He scored his first try for Munster on 3 November 2017, having come on as a replacement in the 2017–18 Pro14 fixture against Welsh side Dragons, which Munster won 49–6. [7]
He signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in January 2018. [8] He earned the Man-of-the-Match award in Munster's 30–26 away win against South African side Cheetahs during the 2018–19 Pro14 on 4 November 2018. [9] O'Byrne won his 50th cap for Munster in their opening 2019–20 Pro14 fixture against Welsh side Dragons on 28 September 2019, a match Munster won 39–9. [10]
He signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in March 2020, a deal that will see O'Byrne remain with the province until at least June 2022. [11] O'Byrne was rewarded for a series of strong performances by being named in the 2020–21 Pro14 Dream Team. [12] O'Byrne will depart Munster at the end of the 2021–22 season. [13]
O'Byrne will join English RFU Championship side Ealing Trailfinders from the 2022–23 season. [13]
Individual
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