John Kelly (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
John "Rags" Kelly is an Irish
rugby union
footballer. He played for Munster
in the Celtic League and the Heineken Cup
and currently plays with All Ireland League (AIL) division one team, Cork Constitution
. He was a part of the Munster team which defeated Biarritz Olympique
in the 2005-06 Heineken Cup
final in Cardiff.
Kelly played on the wing
or at second centre
for Munster. Though not the paciest, he always demonstrated great awareness, rarely lost possession and scored crucial tries. He scored two in Munster's 2003 'Miracle Match' against Gloucester
and another the following year against the same opposition. His trademark is rolling over the ball while scoring a try.
He has also played for the Irish national team
and was part of their 2003 Rugby World Cup
squad. He made his international debut for Ireland against Italy
in 2002, scoring two tries in the process. His most recent cap came against France
at the 2003 World Cup.
On 21 December 2007 Kelly announced his intention to retire from professional rugby when his current contract with Munster Rugby would expire at the end of 2007. This saw him play his last match for Munster against Connacht Rugby
in Musgrave Park
in the Magners League. He was replaced with a minute to go in the 17-0 victory to a tremendous reaction from the crowd, and was later chaired off the pitch by his peers.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
rugby union
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...
footballer. He played 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 Celtic League and the Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
and currently plays with All Ireland League (AIL) division one team, Cork Constitution
Cork Constitution
Cork Constitution is a club, based in Cork. It was founded by staff of the Cork Constitution. Since the paper did not publish on Sundays, the staff were looking for activities to pursue on Saturday afternoons. In the summer, cricket was played, while in the winter, rugby was the designated...
. He was a part of the Munster team which defeated Biarritz Olympique
Biarritz Olympique
Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque is a French professional rugby union team based in the Basque city of Biarritz, Aquitaine which competes in the Top 14 and the Heineken Cup...
in the 2005-06 Heineken Cup
2005-06 Heineken Cup
The 2005–06 Heineken Cup was the eleventh edition of the European Heineken Cup rugby union club tournament. 24 teams from 7 different countries took part, with the opening game played on Friday October 21, 2005...
final in Cardiff.
Kelly played on the wing
Rugby union positions
In the game rugby union, there are fifteen players on each team, comprising eight forwards and seven backs . Depending upon the competition, there may be up to eight replacement players. Early games consisted primarily of forwards that attacked plus a handful of "tends" that played back in defence...
or at second centre
Rugby union positions
In the game rugby union, there are fifteen players on each team, comprising eight forwards and seven backs . Depending upon the competition, there may be up to eight replacement players. Early games consisted primarily of forwards that attacked plus a handful of "tends" that played back in defence...
for Munster. Though not the paciest, he always demonstrated great awareness, rarely lost possession and scored crucial tries. He scored two in Munster's 2003 'Miracle Match' against Gloucester
Gloucester RFC
Gloucester Rugby are a professional English rugby union club situated in the west country city of Gloucester. The club plays in the domestic Aviva Premiership...
and another the following year against the same opposition. His trademark is rolling over the ball while scoring a try.
He has also played for the Irish national team
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
and was part of their 2003 Rugby World Cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
squad. He made his international debut for Ireland against Italy
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
in 2002, scoring two tries in the process. His most recent cap came against France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
at the 2003 World Cup.
On 21 December 2007 Kelly announced his intention to retire from professional rugby when his current contract with Munster Rugby would expire at the end of 2007. This saw him play his last match for Munster against Connacht Rugby
Connacht Rugby
Connacht Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Connacht that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 comprising teams from the Celtic nations plus Italy. Normally, it also competes in the second-tier pan-European club competition, the European Challenge Cup...
in Musgrave Park
Musgrave Park, Cork
Musgrave Park is a rugby football stadium in the city of Cork, Ireland. The ground consists of four terraces, one stand, three tribunes, one jogging track, and two VIP stands on the west side. Musgrave has a capacity of about 9,251 and is situated on Pearse Road in Ballyphehane...
in the Magners League. He was replaced with a minute to go in the 17-0 victory to a tremendous reaction from the crowd, and was later chaired off the pitch by his peers.
External links
- John Kelly on munsterrugby.com
- John Kelly on ercrugby.com