Kevin O'Byrne
Kevin O'Byrne (born 16 April 1991) is an Irish rugby union player for Munster in the Pro14. He plays as a hooker and represents Cork Constitution in the All-Ireland League. He captained the Munster under-18s club side during the 2008–09 inter-provincials and was part of Highfield under-18s All-Ireland winning squad in 2009.[1]
Date of birth | 16 April 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | Cork, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 105 kg (16.5 st; 231 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Presentation Brothers College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Munster
O'Byrne made his Munster debut on 5 September 2014, starting against Edinburgh in the first game of the 2014–15 Pro12 season.[2] He signed a one-year development contract with Munster in March 2015.[3] On 3 September 2016, O'Byrne went off injured in Munster's 2016–17 Pro12 fixture against Scarlets. He was subsequently ruled out for 3 months with an elbow injury.[4]
O'Byrne made his European Rugby Champions Cup debut for Munster on 21 October 2017, doing so when he came on as a replacement for Rhys Marshall in the round 2 fixture against Racing 92.[5][6] He scored his first try for Munster on 3 November 2017, having come on as a replacement in the 2017–18 Pro14 fixture against Welsh side Dragons, which Munster won 49–6.[7]
He signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in January 2018.[8] He earned the Man-of-the-Match award in Munster's 30–26 away win against South African side Cheetahs during the 2018–19 Pro14 on 4 November 2018.[9] O'Byrne won his 50th cap for Munster in their opening 2019–20 Pro14 fixture against Welsh side Dragons on 28 September 2019, a match Munster won 39–9.[10] He signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in March 2020, a deal that will see O'Byrne remain with the province until at least June 2022.[11]
References
- "Podcast | The Crooked Feed – Kevin O'Byrne". Munster Rugby. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- "Munster Lose Opener To Edinburgh". Munster Rugby. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- "Front Row Trio Sign Up". Munster Rugby. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
- "Player Update". Munster Rugby. 8 September 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- "Munster Side Named For Racing 92". Munster Rugby. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
- "Gutsy Win in Thomond". Munster Rugby. 21 October 2017. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
- "Too much firepower for Dragons". Munster Rugby. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
- "Contract Signings". Munster Rugby. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- "Report | Munster Down Cheetahs In Thriller". Munster Rugby. 4 November 2018. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
- "Report | Bonus-Point Win Over Dragons At Thomond". Munster Rugby. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- "Kilcoyne & O'Byrne Sign Contract Extensions". Munster Rugby. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2020.