Stuart McCloskey
Stuart McCloskey (born 6 August 1992) is an Irish professional rugby union player for Ulster Rugby.[5] He plays in the centre.
| Birth name | Stuart McCloskey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 6 August 1992 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bangor, Northern Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 111 kg (17 st 7 lb)[1][2][3][4] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Bangor Grammar School | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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McCloskey attended Bangor Grammar School as a youth, where he struggled to break into his year groups ‘A’ team before experiencing a growth spurt in his lower sixth year. Upon his return for his final year of school, Mccloskey significantly improved his game and began to develop his trademark hard running style.
Professional
Upon leaving school, Mccloskey played for Ulster Bank League side Dungannon RFC where he gained attention from Ulster Rugby and later proceeded to the Ulster academy. He made his breakthrough into the Ulster Rugby first team in the 2013-14 season.[6]
International career
McCloskey played for Emerging Ireland (effectively the third XV of the Irish rugby team) at the 2014 IRB Nations Cup.[7]
McCloskey received his first call up to the senior Ireland squad by coach Joe Schmidt for the 2016 Six Nations Championship. On 27 February 2016 he was included in the Ireland starting 15 for the first time in the 21-10 defeat against England at Twickenham.[8] McCloskey had to wait until 18 November 2017 for his next call up to the Irish team. He was selected for the second test against Fiji in the inside centre berth, and he played the full 80 minutes in a 23-20 win.[9] In his third match for Ireland on 24 November 2018, he scored his first try in a 57-14 win against the USA at the Aviva Stadium.
References
- http://www.ulsterrugby.com/team/player.php?PlayId=108298#.VpL8TcCLTow
- http://www.ulsterrugby.com/team/player.php?PlayId=108298#.V8jFnD595o4
- http://www.itsrugby.co.uk/player-31431.html
- http://www.rbs6nations.com/en/ireland/squad_profile_master.php?player=108298&includeref=dynamic#bkGA1W3oxBmw1DMJ.97
- http://www.espn.co.uk/ireland/rugby/player/216409.html
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Emerging Ireland squad named for IRB Nations Cup in Romania". Irish Independent. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
- "Six Nations 2016: Rory Best named as new Ireland captain". BBC. 20 January 2016.
- http://www.espn.com/rugby/commentary?gameId=291262&league=289234