Conán O'Donnell

Conán O'Donnell
Date of birth (1996-05-23) 23 May 1996
Place of birth Sligo, Ireland
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 115 kg (18 st 2 lb)
School Summerhill College
University NUI Galway
Rugby union career
Position(s) Prop
Current team Connacht
Youth Career
–2014 Sligo
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2017 Sligo ()
2014–2017 NUI Galway ()
2017– Buccaneers ()
Correct as of 11 April 2018
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2015– Connacht 9 (0)
Correct as of 11 April 2018
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014 Ireland U18 5 (0)
2015–2016 Ireland U20 14 (0)
Correct as of 11 April 2018

Conán O'Donnell (born 23 May 1996) is a rugby union player from Ireland. He primarily plays as a prop. O'Donnell currently plays for Irish Pro14 side Connacht, having come through the province's academy. He signed his first senior contract in March 2018.

Born in Sligo, O'Donnell was educated in Summerhill College in the town and played for Sligo RFC in Strandhill from an early age. He later studied at NUI Galway and played for the university rugby team. He has also played for Athlone-based club Buccaneers. O'Donnell has represented Ireland internationally at under-age level.

Early life

O'Donnell was born in Sligo. In his youth he played a number of sport, including Gaelic football and hurling. He first played rugby with Strandhill-based club, Sligo RFC. Initially a winger, O'Donnell switched to prop at under-11 level. O'Donnell was a pupil of Summerhill College in Sligo town and played rugby for the school team. He received his third level education in NUI Galway, studying commerce. While there, he played for the NUIG rugby team.[1][2]

Connacht

O'Donnell was involved with Connacht at under-age level throughout his teenage years and joined the team's sub-academy in 2014.[1] During the 2014–15 season, O'Donnell played in the All-Ireland League for Sligo at senior level, while also representing NUI Galway in the Connacht Junior League.[3] After one year in the sub-academy, he was promoted to the academy ahead of the 2015–16 season, becoming the first player from the NUIG team to receive an academy contract.[4]

In O'Donnell's first season in the academy, injuries to first team players led to him making several appearances for the senior team.[5] He made his debut against Cardiff Blues in the 2015–16 Pro12 on 3 October 2015.[6] His European debut came on 14 November 2015, when he was part of the squad that traveled to Siberia to face Enisei-STM in the European Challenge Cup.[7][8] O'Donnell's first start for the team also came in the Challenge Cup, when the province faced Newcastle Falcons away in the pool stages.[9] He made a total of eight appearances for the senior team in his first academy season, playing four times in the Pro12 and Challenge Cup.[6][7]

At the beginning of the 2017–18 season, his final year in the academy, O'Donnell joined Buccaneers who had recently been promoted to Division 1A of the All-Ireland League.[10] O'Donnell played with the Pirates when available, but also missed league matches to play with the Connacht Eagles.[11] In January 2018, he made his return to the senior Connacht team when he featured from the bench against Munster in the Pro14.[6] In March 2018, it was announced that O'Donnell had signed a senior contract with Connacht for the following season.[12]

International

O'Donnell has represented Ireland internationally at under-age level. He was part of the Ireland schools team in 2014, despite Summerhill College not being a traditional rugby school.[2] O'Donnell made five appearances for the schools team.[1] He went on to play for the Ireland under-20s, featuring in all five of the team's games in the 2015 Under-20 Six Nations.[13] O'Donnell was subsequently named in Nigel Carolan's squad for the 2015 Junior World Cup,[14] and played in four of the side's five matches in the tournament as they finished seventh overall.[13] O'Donnell was young enough to return to the under-20s for a second season and played in the 2016 Six Nations,[15] again featuring in all the games.[13] He missed out on the 2016 Junior World Cup through injury, however.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Future Is Bright: Conán O Donnell (First year academy)". Irish Independent. 11 September 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Hotshot: Connacht prop Conan O'Donnell". Rugby World. 22 September 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  3. ↑ "NUIG student, Conan O'Donnell, is answering Ireland's call". NUIG Rugby Club. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "Conan becomes the first NUI Galway player to receive a contract with the Academy". NUIG Rugby Club. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "A Sligo 19-year-old could make his Connacht debut this weekend". The42. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 "Player Profile: Conan O'Donnell". Pro14.
  7. 1 2 "Player Archive: Conan O'Donnell". European Professional Club Rugby.
  8. ↑ "Connacht Announce 24-Man Squad For Siberian Trip". Irish Rugby. 10 November 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "First Connacht Starts For O'Leary And O'Donnell". Irish Rugby. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "Buccaneers host Lansdowne in All-Ireland League opener". Athlone Advertiser. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  11. ↑ "Ulster Bank League: Division 1A Previews". Irish Rugby. 8 December 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2018. they are missing the Connacht Eagles-tied quartet of Conor McKeon, Conan O'Donnell, Conor Kenny and Paul Boyle for this rematch
  12. ↑ "Three promising homegrown players sign pro contracts with Connacht". The42. 9 March 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  13. 1 2 3 "Ireland U20 Squad Profiles: Conan O'Donnell". Irish Rugby. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  14. ↑ "Carolan names U20's Squad for WRC". Connacht Rugby. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  15. ↑ "Ireland Under-20s can call upon a physically imposing pack in 2016". Irish Times. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  16. ↑ "Ireland Squad Named For World Rugby U-20 Championship". Irish Rugby. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.