Tadhg Leader

Tadhg Leader
Tadhg Leader kicks the ball in the National Championship in Glendale, Colorado
Date of birth (1992-03-01) 1 March 1992
Place of birth Galway, Ireland
Height 189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 93 kg (205 lb; 14 st 9 lb)
School Cistercian College
University Lindenwood University
Notable relative(s) Darragh Leader (brother)
Occupation(s) Rugby player
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half
Current team San Diego Legion
Youth Career
– Galwegians
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011–2014 Connacht ()
2014–2015 Rugby Badia ASD ()
2015 Lindenwood Lions ()
2016–2017 St. Louis Royals ()
Correct as of 10 January 2018
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011 Ireland under–19 ()
2012 Ireland under-20 ()
Correct as of 24 March 2018

Tadhg Leader (born 1 March 1992, in Galway) is a rugby union player from Ireland. His primary position is at fly-half, though he has also played at inside center. Leader currently plays for American professional rugby union club San Diego Legion in Major League Rugby.

Early life

Born in Galway, Leader grew up in Castlegar, just outside the city. He is a past pupil of the Bish, one of the city's secondary schools, and the Cistercian College in Roscrea. Leader is the older brother of current Connacht player Darragh Leader. Greg, the eldest brother, played for the province at underage level. Their parents were also heavily involved in sport, with their mother, Breda, serving as secretary for Rowing Ireland and their father, Noel, having played for and served as president of the Galwegians rugby club, where Leader first played the sport.[1]

Club career

Connacht

Leader graduated secondary school and signed for the Connacht academy in 2011. Later that year, Leader played an integral role in the Connacht under-20 grand slam winning team.[2] Leader was brought into the Connacht senior squad for the 2012–13 season.[3] Leader went on to make multiple appearances for the Connacht Eagles in the British and Irish Cup.[4] After multiple injury setbacks Leader left Connacht and signed with Italian club Rugby Badia ASD.

Rugby Badia ASD

Leader arrived in Italy to play with Rugby Badia ASD in Italy's Serie A rugby competition.[5] A few months into his time in Italy a shoulder injury forced him to return to Ireland for surgery.[6]

Lindenwood University

In 2015, whilst recovering from a shoulder reconstruction Leader received a rugby scholarship at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri to play for the school's college rugby side the Lindenwood Lions. During his time at Lindenwood, Leader pursued an undergraduate degree in sports management. Leader was selected to play in the Lindenwood team that represented the United States at the Red Bull World Uni 7's in Bath in England.[7] However, shortly after arriving, Leader was ruled ineligible to represent the university in intercollegiate matches due to his time spent as a professional player in Ireland and Italy.[8]

St. Louis Royals

Leader linked up with local club the St. Louis Royals in 2016, whilst continuing his studies at Lindenwood. As captain-coach Leader led the Royals to a national championship in 2017.[9] Leader was also named player's MVP of the Royals after the 2017 season.

San Diego Legion

In January 2018, Leader signed a two-year contract with the San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby.[10]

International career

In April 2011, Leader was selected for the Ireland under-19 squad for their game against France.[11] Later that year in December 2011, Leader was selected as part of Mike Ruddock's squad for the Ireland under-20s in preparation for the 2012 under-20 Six Nations tournament.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Kinsella, Murray. "Irishman Leader's path leads him into USA's Major League Rugby". The42. Archived from the original on 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  2. ↑ "Irish Rugby". irishrugby.ie. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  3. ↑ Murphy, Alan. "Connacht Rugby". www.connachtrugby.ie. Archived from the original on 2018-03-23. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  4. ↑ "Leader shows the way as Connacht edge Reds". 2012-09-21. Archived from the original on 2012-12-09. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  5. ↑ "- PolesineRugby E' ARRIVATO TADGH LEADER". PolesineRugby (in Italian). 2014-08-28. Archived from the original on 2018-03-23. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  6. ↑ "Per il professore l'Eccellenza è da riformare - RUGBY Tadhg Leader, il mediano d'apertura irlandese, potrebbe tornare a disposizione del Badia per cercare di ottenere la salvezza. Nicola Mazzuccato e Joe McDonnell verranno confermati alla guida del Progetto Polesine e della Monti Junior Rovigo". RovigoOggi.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2018-03-23. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  7. ↑ Lappen, Evan (2016-08-29). "Lindenwood Heads to England for World Red Bull Uni 7s". www.rugbytoday.com. Archived from the original on 2016-09-01. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  8. ↑ Kinsella, Murray. "Irishman Leader's path leads him into USA's Major League Rugby". The42. Archived from the original on 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  9. ↑ "USA Club Rugby Report: St. Louis Royals Reign, Win Men's DIII National Championship; Stephen Duff Named Player of the Match - The Runner Sports". The Runner Sports. 2017-06-04. Archived from the original on 2017-06-18. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  10. ↑ Kinsella, Murray. "Irishman Leader's path leads him into USA's Major League Rugby". The42. Archived from the original on 2018-01-15. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  11. ↑ "SportsNewsIRELAND - SportsNewsIRELAND". Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  12. ↑ "Ruddock's under-20s enjoy a marked superiority over Leinster". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 2018-03-23. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
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