Keith Wood is an Irish former rugby union player who played as a hooker at international level for Ireland, and the British & Irish Lions. He also played at club level for Garryowen, Harlequins and Munster. He was nicknamed 'The Raging Potato' because of his bald head, and as 'Uncle Fester' due to his resemblance to the character in The Addams Family. Wood is considered by many to have been the best hooker in rugby union during his era, winning the inaugural World Rugby Player of the Year award, and to be among the best hookers in the history of the game.
Leinster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial club rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
Rockwell College, founded in 1864, is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school near Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland.
Brian Pala LimaOM is a Samoan former rugby union player who was inducted into the IRB Hall of Fame in 2011. He earned the nickname of "The Chiropractor" for his shuddering hits both on and off the pitch that supposedly rearranged the bones of the victim.
Brian Carney is an Irish professional rugby league commentator and former dual-code rugby international player. He most recently played rugby league for Warrington Wolves, but he also played for Gateshead Thunder, Hull F.C. and Wigan Warriors in the Super League, as well as Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League. Carney crossed codes to play rugby union for Munster between 2007 and 2009. He earned caps for international representation, for Ireland in both rugby league and rugby union, and also Great Britain and Ireland in rugby league. He also played Gaelic football as a junior.
Presentation Brothers College is a Catholic, boys, private fee-paying secondary school in Cork, Ireland. As of 2020, Presentation Brothers College was ranked as the top boys secondary school in Ireland and regularly places first in the annual top performing schools table rankings conducted by The Irish Times.
Rugby union is a popular team sport on the island of Ireland, organised on an all-Ireland basis, including players and teams from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Its governing body, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), was founded in 1875, making it the third oldest rugby union in the world after the RFU (England) and the SRU (Scotland), which were both founded in 1871.
Michael Joseph Galwey won an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship with the Kerry Gaelic football team in 1986, as a 19-year-old, before turning to rugby union. He is thus the only winner of an "All-Ireland" in both rugby union and Gaelic football. He also holds County Championship medals in Senior, Junior and Minor grades. His nickname 'Gaillimh' comes from the name of Irish town Galway, in the Irish language.
Michael Rowan O'Driscoll is an Irish former rugby union player. He played for Munster in the Pro12 and Heineken Cup, and played internationally for Ireland. He was an integral senior player for Munster and captained the province numerous times, particularly during the 2008–09 season.
Anthony Joseph Patrick Ward, commonly referred to as Tony Ward, is an Irish former rugby union and football player during the 1970s and 1980s. He played rugby as a fly-half for, among others, Munster, Leinster, Ireland, the British and Irish Lions and the Barbarians. Ward was selected 1979 European rugby player of the year.
Richard Michael Wallace is a former Garryowen, Munster, Saracens, Ireland and Lions rugby union player. He was a winger and gained 29 caps with the Ireland national rugby union team. He was a member of the first Munster team to compete in the Heineken Cup. He made his full international debut in 1991 against Namibia. He is the all-time top try scorer for the Ireland national rugby sevens team in Rugby World Cup Sevens with 10 tries.
Ian Dowling is an Irish former rugby union and rugby league player. He played underage and junior club rugby with Kilkenny RFC. He won an All-Ireland League medal with Shannon RFC before joining Munster, with whom he has won two European Rugby Cups both in Cardiff in May 2006 and May 2008. He also has played for the Ireland national rugby league team and Ireland A level. Caretaker Ireland coach Michael Bradley named him in the Ireland squad for the summer 2008 tour to New Zealand and Australia. Dowling played 27 times in the Heineken Cup for Munster, scoring 5 tries. Dowling won his first cap with the Irish International Rugby Union Team on their 2009 summer tour of North America when he lined out against Canada on 23 May 2009.
Jim Williams is a former international rugby union player and coach. He was most recently assistant coach to the Australian national rugby union team. Williams was head coach of the Greater Sydney Rams in the National Rugby Championship during 2015, succeeding Brian Melrose
Pat O'Hara is a retired Irish rugby union wing-forward. Born in Hornchurch, Essex, on 4 August 1961, he played for Sundays Well, Cork Constitution Munster and Ireland, winning 15 caps between 1988 and 1994.
Christiaan Johan Stander is a South African-born Irish former rugby union player. Stander's career began in his native South Africa, where he played for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup between 2010 and 2012 and for the Bulls in Super Rugby in 2012. He moved to Irish province Munster in 2012 and, after qualifying via residency in 2015, made his debut for Ireland in 2016, going on to earn 51 caps for his adopted country, as well as 1 cap for the British & Irish Lions in 2017, before retiring in 2021.
Damian de Allende is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national team and Japanese club Saitama Wild Knights. His usual position is either centre or wing. He was a member of the Springboks team that won a record-equalling third Rugby World Cup in 2019 and he was a member of the Springboks team that won a record-setting fourth Rugby World Cup in 2023. De Allende is a part of a few elite players to have won two world cup titles.
Jean Kleyn is a South African professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for Irish United Rugby Championship club Munster and the South Africa national team. He came on as a replacement during South Africa’s 2023 World Cup win vs New Zealand.
Rebecca Anne Essex is an English female rugby union player and headteacher. She competed for England at the 2010 Rugby World Cup and was part of the Champion, 2014 side.
Rudolph Gerhardus Snyman is a South African rugby union player who plays as a lock for Irish United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the South Africa national team. Snyman was part of the South Africa team that won the Rugby World Cup in 2019 and 2023, and is widely known as 'The Viking' among fans and teammates in reference to his appearance.
Oliver G.J.T. Jager is an Irish rugby union player who currently plays as a prop for Munster. Previously he represented Canterbury in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and the Crusaders in the international Super Rugby competition. In November 2023, he announced that he was joining Munster Rugby from 1 December 2023. Jager made his international debut for Ireland on 24 February 2024 coming on as a replacement in the Six Nations match against Wales.
