Will Connors
Will Connors (born 4 April 1996) is an Irish rugby union player for Pro14 and European Rugby Champions Cup side Leinster, and for the Ireland national rugby union team. He plays in the back-row, primarily as an openside flanker.
| Date of birth | 4 April 1996 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Donadea, Kildare, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 100 kg (16 st; 220 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Clongowes Wood College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University College Dublin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
Connors was born in Donadea, County Kildare and attended Clongowes Wood College, where he played on the school's Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup side.
Leinster
Connors spent a year in the Leinster Rugby sub-academy after leaving school in 2015, before entering the academy in Summer 2016. He impressed in making his senior debut in the 2017–18 season and was promoted to the senior squad ahead of the 2018–19 season (after completing two of the usual three academy years).[1][2] Connors performances earned him a spot on the 2019–20 Pro14 Dream Team.[3]
Ireland
Connors played for Ireland Under-20s in both 2016 and 2017. He was a part of the side at the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship, where Ireland beat the New Zealand Under-20s for the first time and enjoyed their best ever tournament finish of runners-up, losing the final to England Under-20s after an otherwise excellent campaign. He has also featured for the Ireland 7s team.
Connors debuted for the Ireland national rugby union team on 24 October 2020 in a Six Nations fixture against Italy, where he scored a try and had a team-high 20 tackles, earning the man-of-the-match honor for his performance.[4]
References
- https://www.leinsterrugby.ie/201617-academy-panel-announced/
- "'You always hope the chance will come your way' - Independent.ie".
- Chop tackler Will Connors a vital cog in Leinster machine. Irish Examiner. 10 September 2020.
- Ireland v Italy. Six Nations Rugby. Accessed 24 October 2020.