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| Born | 6 December 1992 Limerick, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 83 kg (13.1 st; 183 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Castletroy College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Limerick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Seán Cronin (brother) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Neil Cronin (born 6 December 1992) is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for United Rugby Championship club Munster.
During the 2017–18 season, Cronin captained Garryowen to a 39th Munster Senior Challenge Cup and, for his efforts, was named the AIL Munster Player of the Year and Division 1A Player of the Year. [2] [3]
Cronin made his Munster debut on 26 December 2014, featuring off the bench in the provinces 28–13 win against Leinster in Thomond Park. [4] [5] He went on to make three more appearances as a substitute for Munster during the 2014–15 season. Following his performances for Garryowen, Cronin was awarded a one-year contract with Munster for the 2018–19 season. [6]
Cronin made his 'second' debut for Munster on 1 September 2018, starting at scrum-half in their opening 2018–19 Pro14 fixture against South African side Cheetahs in Thomond Park. [7] Cronin made his Champions Cup debut on 13 October 2018, featuring off the bench in Munster's opening 2018–19 pool 2 fixture against English side Exeter Chiefs, which ended in a 10–10 draw in Sandy Park. [8]
Cronin signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in October 2018. [9] Cronin scored his first try for Munster in their 43–0 win against South African side Southern Kings on 15 February 2019. [10] He suffered an ACL injury during training with Munster in October 2020, which is expected to rule Cronin out for at least six months. [11] He signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in March 2021, a deal that will see him remain with the province until at least June 2023. [12] Cronin featured off the bench in Munster's historic 28–14 win against a South Africa XV in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on 10 November 2022, [13] and extended his contract with Munster until the end of January 2024. [14]
Cronin has made eight appearances for the Ireland Club XV, most recently in February and March 2018 when he captained the side in two fixtures against Scotland Club XV. [15] [16]
After Cronin's first brief stint with Munster came to an end, he qualified as a secondary school teacher, before going on to earn a teaching degree and a position at St Munchin's College. [1]
