Tom McCartney

Last updated

Tom McCartney
Birth nameThomas McCartney
Date of birth (1985-09-06) 6 September 1985 (age 39)
Place of birth Auckland, New Zealand
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight113 kg (249 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker
Current team Connacht
Provincial / State sides
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2007 North Harbour 6 (0)
2007–2014 Auckland 94 (25)
2014–2020 Connacht 112 (70)
Correct as of 13 July 2020
Super Rugby
YearsTeamApps(Points)
2008–2014 Blues 63 (10)
Correct as of 1 June 2014

Tom McCartney (born 6 September 1985) is a rugby union player from New Zealand. Although he mostly played as a hooker, he also played as prop. McCartney retired from rugby finishing with Irish provincial team Connacht in the Pro14. McCartney's nickname, 'Freak,' comes from his strength in the gym. [1]

Contents

Career

New Zealand

Provincial

McCartney started his professional rugby career in 2007, starting an NPC game for North Harbour against Thames Valley, while on loan. Weeks later, McCartney made his debut for Auckland. McCartney made a total of 94 appearances for Auckland between 2007 and 2014, scoring five tries. [2] In his final season, McCartney was the province's most capped player and captained the side. [1] [3]

Super Rugby

In 2008 McCartney was given a place in the Blues squad, making his debut from the bench in a match against the Chiefs. In April 2009, McCartney made his first start for the team, this coming against the Queensland Reds. [4] McCartney made 64 appearances for the Blues and scored two tries, before leaving for Ireland in 2014. [2]

Connacht

In 2014, McCartney signed a three-year deal with Irish provincial side Connacht. [5] He joined the side for the 2014–15 season, but did not link up with the squad until after Auckland had finished in the 2014 ITM Cup. Auckland were knocked out in the semi-finals of the competition on 18 October, and McCartney made his debut for Connacht on 21 November, coming on as a replacement against Zebre in the 2014–15 Pro12. [6] McCartney made a further 14 appearances in the league all of them coming as starts. [7] He made his European debut on 6 December 2014 against Bayonne in the 2014–15 Challenge Cup, and made three more appearances in the competition, all of them starts. [8] Having celebrated his 50th Connacht appearance with a Man of the Match performance and two tries against Benetton Treviso in the Guinness PRO12, McCartney secured his place at Sportsground with a 3-year extension until at least the summer of 2020. He became a strong fan favourite was part of coach Pat Lam's PRO12 title-winning team in 2016 and along with 7 of his team-mates was selected for the PRO12 Dream Team of the season by PRO14 players. McCartney also started in Connacht's final game of the season, a play-off with Gloucester for entry to the 2015–16 Champions Cup, which Connacht lost after extra time. On 22 March 2019, McCartney earned his 100th cap for the province. He went on to play in his final year for Connacht in the 2019/20 season which was unexpectedly cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He played his last game for Connacht starting against Toulouse in Heineken Champions Cup at The Sportsground on 11 Jan 2020. His contract ended in June 2020. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connacht Rugby</span> Rugby team in Ireland

Connacht Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Connacht Branch, which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union throughout the geographical Irish province of Connacht.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Keatley</span> Irish rugby union player

Ian James T. Keatley is an Irish rugby union player. He plays primarily as a fly-half, but can also play as a centre or fullback.

Nathan White is a retired rugby union player from New Zealand, who played internationally for Ireland. He played as a prop, primarily at tighthead. White last played for Irish provincial side Connacht in the Pro12, and had previously played for Leinster, another province. Before moving to Ireland, he played Super Rugby for the Chiefs and provincial rugby for Waikato.

Ronan Loughney is a retired professional rugby union player from Ireland. He played as a prop. Having started his career playing at loosehead, Loughney moved to tighthead in the 2011–12 season, but primarily played as a loosehead again until his retirement in 2017.

Mata Fifita is a Tongan professional rugby union and rugby league footballer. He has played for Irish provincial side Connacht Rugby in the Pro14. Though his favoured position when he started playing for Connacht was centre, the 2013–14 season saw Fifita converted to a flanker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Healy (rugby union)</span> Rugby player

Matthew Healy is an Irish former professional rugby union player. His primary position was on the wing and he was also used as injury cover at fullback, while earlier in his career he played at scrum-half. Healy played his entire career for Irish provincial team Connacht Rugby in the Pro14 and represented Ireland at test level once. He is Connacht's all-time leading try scorer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denis Buckley</span> Rugby player

Denis Buckley is a rugby union player from Ireland. He predominantly plays as a loosehead prop. Buckley currently plays for Irish provincial team Connacht in the Pro14. He plays his club rugby for Buccaneers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Cooney (rugby union)</span> Irish rugby union player

John Cooney is an Irish rugby union player who plays scrum-half for Irish provincial side Ulster in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup, having previously played for Leinster and Connacht, and has eleven caps for Ireland. Since joining Ulster in 2017, he has been nominated for EPCR European Player of the Year once, been named in the Pro14 Dream Team four times, and been Ulster's player of the year twice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jake Heenan</span> New Zealand rugby union player

Jake Heenan is a rugby union player from New Zealand. He plays primarily as an openside flanker. Heenan currently plays for English side Bristol. He played for Connacht from 2013 to 2018, winning a Pro12 title with the side in 2016. In March 2020 renewed his contract with Bristol for the 2020/21 season. Having reached the semi-finals of the Gallagher Premiership finals Heenan both captained and played number 8 on a number of occasions. Heenan was integral in the Bears first European trophy with Challenge Cup victory over Toulon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Ronaldson</span> Rugby player

Craig Ronaldson is a rugby union player from Ireland. His primary position is at fly half, though he also plays as a centre. Ronaldson most recently played professionally for Irish provincial side Connacht in the Pro14, where he spent six seasons from 2013 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darragh Leader</span> Irish rugby union player

Darragh Leader is a retired rugby player from Ireland. His primary position is at fullback, though he has also played on the wing. Leader played for Connacht in the Pro14, having come through Connacht's academy. Darragh has also joined the NFL player pathway program as a kicker/punter

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack Carty (rugby union)</span> Irish rugby union player

Jack Carty is a rugby union player from Ireland. His primary position is at fly-half. Having started out with his hometown club, Buccaneers, Carty currently plays for the team of his native province of Connacht in the United Rugby Championship, having come through the team's academy. He is Connacht's record points scorer in the Pro14, having overtaken Ian Keatley in March 2019. Carty is an Ireland international, having made his debut for the side against Italy in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finlay Bealham</span> Ireland international rugby union player

Finlay Harry Bealham is a professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for United Rugby Championship club Connacht. Born in Australia, he represents Ireland at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.

Cian Kelleher is an Irish professional rugby union player. He primarily plays on the wing or at fullback. Kelleher currently plays for Ealing Trailfinders in the RFU Championship. After initially coming through Leinster's academy, Kelleher had a three-year spell with Irish rivals Connacht, before returning to Leinster for the 2019–20 season.

Nepia Fox-Matamua is a rugby union player from Auckland in New Zealand. He plays as a flanker, primarily at openside. Fox-Matamua has played for New Zealand Provincial Championship sides Auckland and North Harbour, and played for Irish provincial team Connacht in the Pro12 from 2015 to 2017.

The 2015–16 season was Irish provincial rugby union side Connacht Rugby's fifteenth season competing in the Pro12, and the team's twentieth season as a professional side. It was Pat Lam's third season in charge of the side. Connacht finished the season as league champions after defeating Leinster in the 2016 Pro12 Grand Final, the team's first trophy in its 131-year history.

Dominic Robertson-McCoy is a professional rugby union player from New Zealand. He primarily plays as a prop and can play at both loosehead and tighthead. Robertson-McCoy currently plays for Irish provincial side Connacht in the United Rugby Championship. He previously played at provincial level in New Zealand for Northland. Robertson-McCoy is qualified to play for Ireland at international level through his grandfather from Mowhan in County Armagh.

Ciaran Gaffney is a former rugby union player from Ireland. He played as a fullback or on the wing, and also played at centre in his youth career. Gaffney last played for Italian side Zebre in the Pro14, having come through the academy of Irish side Connacht.

The 2018–19 Pro14 is the eighteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the second season to be referred to as the Pro14.

The 2019–20 PRO14 was the nineteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the third season to be referred to as the PRO14.

References

  1. 1 2 "ITM Cup Players: Tom McCartney". Auckland Rugby . Archived from the original on 2 November 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. 1 2 "Freak's Blues era is over". Times Live. 3 November 2014. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Connacht's Kiwi hooker cannot wait for a crack at famed Red Army". Irish Independent . 31 December 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2015. McCartney arrived in the Sportsground off the back of an ITM Cup campaign with Auckland where he captained his native province.
  4. ↑ "McCartney elevated to Blues' starting 15". 3 News. 23 April 2009. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  5. ↑ "Tom McCartney signs with Irish side Connacht". The Blues Media Unit (Press release). 17 April 2014. Archived from the original on 17 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  6. ↑ "Connacht romp to bonus-point win over sorry Zebre". Pro12 . 21 November 2014. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Connacht Squad Index: Tom McCartney". Pro12 .
  8. ↑ "Player Archive: Tom McCartney". European Professional Club Rugby .
  9. ↑ "Connacht Rugby – Connacht Rugby confirm departing players". 29 May 2020.
  10. ↑ ""Connacht Will Always Be Our Second Home" - The Tom McCartney Interview | 8th June 2020 | News". Connacht Rugby. 8 June 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.