 O'Toole representing Ireland during the Six Nations Championship | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Thomas Niall O'Toole | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 23 September 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Drogheda, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 123 kg (271 lb; 19 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Campbell College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Thomas Niall O'Toole (born 23 September 1998) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for United Rugby Championship club Ulster and the Ireland national team.
Born in Drogheda, O'Toole lived in Ratoath, County Meath until he was six years of age before moving to Brisbane, Australia for ten years due to his father's work commitments, [3] where he attended Padua College. [4] He was selected for the Queensland Reds development side and Queensland Schoolboys in 2015, before being connected with the Irish Exiles setup. [5] He moved to Campbell College in Northern Ireland which allowed him to link up with the Ulster and Ireland age grade setups, going on to play for Ireland at under-18, under-19 and under-20 level. [6]
He joined the Ulster Rugby academy straight from school in 2017, [7] and made his senior Ulster debut on 6 April 2018 in round 19 of the 2017–18 Pro14, starting in the provinces 32–20 away win against Scottish side Edinburgh. [8] [9] He made five senior appearances, including two starts, in the 2017–18 season, [10] and won Academy Player of the Year at the 2018 Ulster Rugby Awards. [11] He was awarded a development contract for the 2018–19 season, which would advance to a senior contract from the 2019–20 season until June 2022. [12] during which he made 18 appearances, including 3 starts. [1]
In the 2019–20 season he made 22 appearances, including ten starts, [1] and was named Young Player of the Year in the Ulster Rugby Awards. [13] He received his first call up to the senior Ireland squad on 15 January 2020 for the 2020 Six Nations Championship. [14]
In 2020–21 he made fifteen appearances, including two starts, [1] and made 141 tackes and one turnover. [15] In June 2021 he was called up again to the senior Ireland squad for the Summer tests, [16] and made his senior international debut in a 71–10 victory over the United States on 10 July 2021. [17] In the 2021–22 season he has made 15 appearances, including eight starts, [1] and appeared off the bench for Ireland in their 53–7 home win over Argentina in the 2021 Autumn internationals. [18] He was called up to the Ireland squad for their 2022 tour of New Zealand. [19] He was called up to Ireland's 2023 Six Nations Championship squad coming off the bench in all 5 matches as Ireland won the championship and Grand Slam. [20]
Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Irish regional pool of the United Rugby Championship and in the European Rugby Champions Cup, each of which they have won once. Ulster were the first Irish team and the first team outside England and France to win the European Cup in 1999.
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The 2021–22 season was Ulster Rugby's 28th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's fourth season as head coach. They competed in the inaugural United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
The 2020-21 season was Ulster's 27th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's third season as head coach. Iain Henderson was captain. They competed in the Pro14, the Pro14 Rainbow Cup, the European Rugby Champions Cup and the European Rugby Challenge Cup.
The 2019–20 season was Ulster's 26th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's second season as head coach. Lock Iain Henderson was named captain in place of retired hooker Rory Best. They competed in the Pro14 and the European Rugby Champions Cup. Both competitions were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, he later stages being played in August, September and October 2020. In the Pro14, Ulster finished second in Conference A, making the playoffs and qualifying for next season's Champions Cup. They beat Edinburgh in the semi-final, but lost to Leinster in the final. They finished second in Pool 3 in the Champions Cup, qualifying for the quarter-finals, where they were beaten by Toulouse.
The 2018-19 season was Ulster's 25th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union, and Dan McFarland's first season as head coach. Rory Best was captain. They competed in the Pro14, making the semi-finals, and the European Rugby Champions Cup, making the quarter-finals.
The 2022–23 season was Ulster Rugby's 29th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union. They competed in the United Rugby Championship, finishing second in the league table and going out in the quarter-finals, and the European Rugby Champions Cup going out in the round of 16. It was Dan McFarland's fifth season as head coach. Scrum-half John Cooney was leading scorer with 154 points. Hooker Tom Stewart was leading try scorer with 17, and won the URC Top Try Scorer and Next-Gen Player of the Season awards.
