Niall Ronan
Encyclopedia
Niall Ronan is an Irish rugby union
player for Munster
in the RaboDirect Pro12
. He plays as a flanker
.
Ronan grew up playing Gaelic football
and represented Meath GAA
in the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship
. He won the Senior Schools Leinster Championships in 2000 with St. Mary's, Drogheda. Switching from football to rugby, he played at underage level for Leinster
and Ireland, and spent four seasons with Leinster.
He moved to Munster in 2007, and made his debut against Scarlets in September of that year. He was in the Munster team that beat Leinster to win the 2011 Magners League Grand Final.
He made his debut for Ireland against Canada on 23 May 2009, starting and finishing the match in a 25–6 win. He earnt his second cap a week later against USA and was called up to the squad for the 2010 Summer Tour as a replacement for Kevin McLaughlin, and played against the Barbarians, New Zealand Maori and Australia.
Ronan also played for Ireland against Scotland
in a World Cup warm-up on 6th August 2011.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player for Munster
Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...
in the RaboDirect Pro12
Celtic League (rugby union)
The Celtic League is an annual rugby union competition involving professional sides from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
. He plays as a flanker
Flanker (rugby union)
A flanker is a position in the sport of rugby union. Flankers play in the forwards, and are generally classified as either blindside, or openside flankers; numbers six and seven respectively. The name comes from their position in a scrum in which they flank each set of forwards...
.
Ronan grew up playing Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
and represented Meath GAA
Meath GAA
The Meath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Meath GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Meath, as well as for Meath inter-county teams.- Pre-1960s :...
in the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship
All-Ireland Minor Football Championship
The All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier "knockout" competition for under-18 competitors of the game of Gaelic football played in Ireland...
. He won the Senior Schools Leinster Championships in 2000 with St. Mary's, Drogheda. Switching from football to rugby, he played at underage level for Leinster
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
and Ireland, and spent four seasons with Leinster.
He moved to Munster in 2007, and made his debut against Scarlets in September of that year. He was in the Munster team that beat Leinster to win the 2011 Magners League Grand Final.
He made his debut for Ireland against Canada on 23 May 2009, starting and finishing the match in a 25–6 win. He earnt his second cap a week later against USA and was called up to the squad for the 2010 Summer Tour as a replacement for Kevin McLaughlin, and played against the Barbarians, New Zealand Maori and Australia.
Ronan also played for Ireland against Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
in a World Cup warm-up on 6th August 2011.