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Zac Ward is an Irish rugby union player. He represents Ireland internationally at Rugby Sevens. He is the son of former International Andy Ward.
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Zac Ward is an Irish rugby union player. He represents Ireland internationally at Rugby Sevens. He is the son of former International Andy Ward.
By 2004, Ward was already playing age group rugby in Ulster. [1] He attended Down High School, [2] and Hartpury College. [3]
In November 2021, Ward was called up to the Ireland Sevens squad for the World Rugby Sevens Series event in Dubai. [4] In May 2023, Ward featured as Ireland finished sixth at the World Rugby Sevens Series event in London. [5] Ward was then selected for the Ireland squad for the 2023 European Games held in Kraków in June 2023. [6] Ward played with in the final against Great Britain, with Ireland winning gold in the tournament and therefore qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games. [7]
He is the son of former rugby union International Andy Ward and was born during his father’s triumphant 1998–99 Heineken Cup campaign with Ulster Rugby. [8]
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.
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 1879, making it the third oldest rugby union in the world after the RFU (England) and the SRU (Scotland).
Andy Ward is a New Zealand-born former rugby union player, who played flanker professionally for Ulster and internationally for Ireland.
Mark Conn McCall is an Irish professional rugby union coach and former player, who is the current director of rugby of Premiership Rugby club Saracens. Arriving as an assistant in 2009 and taking charge of the first-team in 2011, he is considered one of the greatest club managers of all time and holds the record for the most English championships won with six Premiership trophies. McCall also led Saracens to three European Rugby Champions Cup wins.
Darren Cave is a retired professional Irish rugby union player who played centre for Ulster, sharing the province's appearance record with Andrew Trimble and Rob Herring with 229, and won eleven caps for Ireland.
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David Humphreys MBE is a former Irish rugby union player. He played 72 times for Ireland, scoring 560 points, including 6 tries, and at the time of his international retirement was Ireland's most capped out-half. He played his club rugby for London Irish and Ulster, winning the 1998-99 Heineken Cup, the 2004 Celtic Cup and the 2005–06 Celtic League with the latter. Since retiring as a player he has served as director of rugby for Ulster and Gloucester, as a performance consultant with the Georgian Rugby Union, and is currently Director of Performance Operations with the England and Wales Cricket Board. He will succeed David Nucifora as the IRFU Performance Director in 2024.
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Thomas Samuel Fenwick Seymour is a Scottish former professional rugby union player. He made 55 international appearances for the Scotland national rugby union team 2013–2019, scoring 20 tries which placed him fourth-top try scorer for the country. He played in two world cups and the 2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. His regular playing position is wing.
Billy Sean Burns is a professional rugby union player who plays for Ulster and Ireland. His favoured position is fly-half. He is the younger brother of England rugby union team fly-half Freddie Burns. Born in England, Burns represented England for youth rugby union teams, before choosing to represent Ireland at the 2020 Six Nations Championship
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Jacob Alexander Stockdale is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for United Rugby Championship club Ulster and the Ireland national team.
Michael Lowry is an Irish rugby union player from Northern Ireland who plays fullback and out-half for United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup side Ulster, and internationally for Ireland. Doubted early on because of his small stature, he has exceptional footwork and acceleration. Ireland coach Andy Farrell describes him as a "nightmare" to play against, praising his explosiveness and bravery.
Thomas Niall O'Toole is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for United Rugby Championship club Ulster and the Ireland national team.
Aaron Sexton is an Irish rugby union player who plays wing or fullback for Ulster in the United Rugby Championship
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Ireland is scheduled to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024, commemorating its centenary of the team's debut as an independent country in the same venue. Irish athletes have competed in every Summer Olympics edition of the modern era, either in its own right or as part of a Great Britain and Ireland team before 1924, except for the Nazi-ruled Berlin 1936.
The 2023–24 season is Ulster Rugby's 30th season since the advent of professionalism in rugby union. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. It is Dan McFarland's sixth season as head coach.
Sean Cribbin is an Irish rugby union player. He won a gold medal in the Rugby sevens at the 2023 European Games.