Tomás O'Leary

Tomás O'Leary (born 22 October 1983) is an Irish former rugby union player who played as a scrum-half. O'Leary played most of his career in the Pro14 with Munster, where he was part of the team that won the Heineken Cup in 2006 and again in 2008. He also played in the English Premiership with London Irish, and the Top 14 with Montpellier. Internationally, he represented Ireland, where he was a member of the team that won the 2009 Six Nations Championship and Grand Slam. Also in 2009, he was selected for the British and Irish Lions, though injury prevented him from touring with the squad. O'Leary retired from professional rugby in July 2017.[1][2]

Tomás O'Leary
Date of birth (1983-10-22) 22 October 1983
Place of birthCork, Ireland
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight85 kg (13.4 st; 187 lb)
SchoolChristian Brothers College
UniversityUniversity College Cork
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
Dolphin ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2005–2012 Munster 127 (57)
2012–2015 London Irish 42 (5)
2015–2016 Munster 18 (0)
2016–2017 Montpellier 6 (0)
Correct as of 28 January 2017
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2006–2012 Ireland Wolfhounds 9 (5)
2007–2012 Ireland 24 (15)
2009 British and Irish Lions 0 (0)
Correct as of 18 March 2012

Early years

O'Leary was born in Cork, Ireland. The son of Cork hurler, Seánie O'Leary, O'Leary attended Saint Patrick's School on Gardiner's Hill before going to Christian Brothers College (CBC) for his second-level education. CBC has a rugby tradition and this is where O'Leary first started playing. He was recognised as a talent and played Munster Schools Senior Cup for the school. During this time he continued to play hurling and won minor Munster and All-Ireland titles with Cork in 2000 and 2001.

Club career

Munster

After he completed school, O'Leary chose to continue with his rugby career instead of playing within the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was a member of the Irish U-21 side that reached the final of the 2004 Under 21 Rugby World Cup. Munster announced that O'Leary would be a member of the squad for the following year in August 2005. An injury to Peter Stringer early in the 2005/2006 season meant O'Leary had a chance to play, making his Heineken Cup debut against Sale Sharks in October 2005. He played his club rugby in Ireland with a Munster club, Dolphin. O'Leary played a prominent role in Munster's Heineken Cup winning campaigns in 2005/06 and 2007/08, especially in the knockout stages of the 2007–08 tournament.

London Irish

French television channel Canal+ reported that O'Leary had signed for USA Perpignan on a two-year deal on 17 February 2012, but a spokesman for O'Leary said the player hadn't signed anything yet and would be making a decision shortly.[3] It emerged that the deal with Perpignan collapsed and, having rejected a deal from Munster, O'Leary was in a state of limbo. However, Aviva Premiership side London Irish stepped in to secure O'Leary's services on a three-year contract, with O'Leary joining the English side for the start of the 2012–13 season.[4][5] O'Leary made his full debut for London Irish on 1 September 2012, in their opening league fixture against Saracens.

O'Leary was ruled out of the rest of the 2012–13 season, after being forced to have surgery on a back injury in December 2012 which kept him out for the rest of the season.[6] O'Leary returned from the injury at the beginning of the 2013–14 season.

Return to Munster

On 21 January 2015, it was announced that O'Leary would return to Munster on a two-year contract.[7] O'Leary made his first appearance of his second spell with Munster on 17 October 2015, coming off the bench during the 35–17 win against Cardiff Blues.[8] O'Leary came off the bench in Munster's opening pool game of the 2015–16 European Rugby Champions Cup against Treviso on 14 November 2015.[9] On 24 January 2017, it was announced that O'Leary would not be returning to Munster after the completion of his short-term contract with Montpellier.[10]

Montpellier

In October 2016, O'Leary joined French Top 14 side Montpellier Hérault Rugby as a medical joker replacement for the injured Benoît Paillaugue.

Ireland

O'Leary was named in the Irish squad to tour Argentina in the summer of 2007 where he earned his first cap as a sub on 26 May. He made his first Test start for Ireland against New Zealand on 15 November 2008.

O'Leary was a member of the victorious Ireland team that won the 2009 Six Nations Championship and Grand Slam, starting four of Ireland's five matches in that tournament.[11] O'Leary scored his first try for Ireland in the 29–11 2010 Six Nations Championship opener against Italy. O'Leary was awarded Man of the Match for his outstanding performance during Ireland's 27–12 win over Wales at Croke Park on 13 March 2010. He broke his thumb against Leinster in October 2010 and was ruled out for 6–8 weeks.[12] O'Leary recovered to fitness and featured against Italy and France during the 2011 Six Nations, but a troublesome back and a freak eye injury sustained during training ruled him out of the remainder of the tournament. Injury and the form of Conor Murray kept him out of the Munster team for the rest of the 2010/11 season, but O'Leary was selected in Ireland's training squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup warm-ups in August. However, O'Leary did not make the final 30-man squad for the World Cup in New Zealand.[13]

O'Leary was named in the Ireland Wolfhounds squad for their games against Scotland A and England Saxons in January and February 2012, missing out on selection for the 24-man squad for the 2012 Six Nations Championship.[14] However, a knee injury suffered by Conor Murray meant that O'Leary was called into the Ireland squad for the remaining 2012 Six Nations games against Scotland and England.[15]

British & Irish Lions

O'Leary was named to take part in the 2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa.[16] On 24 April, however, during a Munster match against Scarlets, O'Leary was stretchered off the field with a broken ankle, which ruled him out of the tour of South Africa.[17][18]

Statistics

International analysis by opposition
Against Played Won Lost Drawn Tries Points % Won
 Argentina21100050
 Australia201100
 England32100066.67
 Fiji110000100
 France41301525
 Italy330015100
 New Zealand202000
 Scotland42200050
 South Africa110000100
 Wales220015100
Total241310131554.17

Correct as of 5 July 2017[19]

See also

References
  1. "O'Leary calls time on career". Planet Rugby. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  2. "Former Ireland international Tomas O'Leary announces his retirement from rugby". Irish Independent. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  3. "Ooh là là: O'Leary linked with Perpignan, but no final decision yet". thescore.ie. 18 February 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2012.
  4. "O'Leary Signs Up With Irish". munsterrugby.ie. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  5. "London Irish sign Ireland scrum-half Tomas O'Leary". BBC Sport. 21 March 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  6. "London Irish scrum-half Tomas O'Leary faces six-month lay-off". BBC Sport. 11 December 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  7. "Players Commit To Munster". munsterrugby.ie. 21 January 2015. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
  8. "Winning Ways Continue In Cork". munsterrugby.ie. 17 October 2015. Archived from the original on 22 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  9. "Job Done In Thomond". munsterrugby.ie. 14 November 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 14 November 2015.
  10. "Munster Confirm Latest Signings". munsterrugby.ie. 24 January 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
  11. Roberts, Gareth (22 March 2009). "2009 Six Nations". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
  12. "Tough to lay a finger on elegantly evasive O'Leary". The Irish Times.
  13. "O'Leary and Buckley left out of Irish Squad". The Limerick Post. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011.
  14. "Ireland And O2 Ireland Wolfhounds Squads Announced". irishrugby.ie. 18 January 2012. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  15. "O'Connell And Murray Ruled Out For Rest of the Championship". irishrugby.ie. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  16. "British & Irish Lions tour squad announced". The British and Irish Lions official website. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2009.
  17. "O'Leary injury mars Munster win". BBC. 24 April 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
  18. Fanning, Brendan (24 April 2009). "Lions injury problems begin as Tomás O'Leary is stretchered off". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2009.
  19. Tomás O'Leary, ESPN Scrum, 5 July 2017
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