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Stuart McCloskey

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Stuart McCloskey
McCloskey representing Ireland during the Six Nations Championship
Date of birth (1992-08-06) 6 August 1992 (age 32)
Place of birthBangor, Northern Ireland
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight114 kg (251 lb; 17 st 13 lb)[1][2]
SchoolBangor Grammar School
UniversityQueens University Belfast
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre
Current team Ulster
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
Dungannon ()
Correct as of 5 May 2023
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014– Ulster 195 (184)
Correct as of 14 December 2024[3]
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014–2015 Emerging Ireland 4 (5)
2016– Ireland 19 (20)
Correct as of 23 November 2024[4]

Stuart McCloskey (born 6 August 1992) is a professional rugby union player from Northern Ireland, who plays as a centre for United Rugby Championship club Ulster and the Ireland national team.

He has been Ulster's player of the year twice, and has twice been named on the Pro14 Dream Team. He is described as "a true cornerstone of this Ulster team, providing a rounded skillset at inside centre that includes strong ball-carrying, offloading, short and long passing, a breakdown threat, defensive communication, and even attacking kicking."[5]

Early life

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He grew up in Bangor, County Down, where his father, Wilson McCloskey, owned a landscaping business and played fullback for Ards RFC. McCloskey played rugby at Bangor Grammar School, but was not selected for any age-grade representative sides, and was not on Ulster's radar until he joined Dungannon RFC in the All-Ireland League after leaving school. Dungannon coach Kieran Campbell promoted him to the first team and recommended him to Ulster's academy manager, Allen Clarke, who asked him to join the sub-academy. He combined playing for Dungannon and games for Ulster "A" with studying structural engineering with architecture at Queens University Belfast, until he joined the full academy before the 2013–14 season.[6]

Professional career

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He made four appearances in the senior team in the 2013-14 season,[6] and was named Academy Player of the Year at the 2014 Ulster Rugby Awards.[7] He played for Emerging Ireland (effectively the third XV of the Irish rugby team) at the 2014 IRB Nations Cup in June 2014.[8] He signed a development contract ahead of the 2014–15 season, during which he made fifteen appearances, including nine starts,[6] and won Ulster's Young Player of the Year award.[9] He was part of the Emerging Ireland team that won the Tbilisi Cup in June 2015.[10]

In 2015–16 he made 23 appearances for Ulster , including 21 starts, scoring four tries[3] and making 186 tackles,[11] won his first senior cap for Ireland against England in the 2016 Six Nations Championship,[12] and was named Ulster's Player of the Year.[13] In 2016–17 he made sixteen appearances, including thirteen starts, and scored two tries for Ulster, and has five caps for Ireland. In 2017–18 season he made 24 appearances, all starts, scored seven tries,[3] and made four try assists, 213 tackles and 14 turnovers.[14] He won his second cap for Ireland against Fiji in the 2017 end-of-year rugby union internationals.[15]

In 2018–19 he made 26 appearances, including 25 starts, scored four tries,[3] made 232 tackles, and won 18 turnovers.[16] He made his 100th appearance for Ulster in February 2019.[17] He made his third Ireland cap, scoring a try, against the USA in the 2018 end-of-year rugby union internationals.[4] At the end of the season he was named in the 2018–19 Pro14 Dream Team,[18] and won Player of the Year and Supporters Club Player of the Year at the Ulster Rugby Awards.[19] In 2019–20 he made 17 appearances, all starts, and scored three tries.[3] He was named on the Pro14 Dream Team for the second year running.[20] In 2020–21 he made 15 appearances, all starts, scored two tries,[3] made 121 tackles and 13 turnovers, and carried 171 times with 40 defenders beaten and five clean breaks.[21] He played for Ireland against Georgia in the 2020 end-of-year internationals, and against Japan and the USA in July 2021.[4] In the 2021–22 season he has made 15 appearances, all starts, and scored three tries.[3] He made his 150th appearance for Ulster in March 2022.[22] He started all three of Ireland three tests in the 2022 end-of-year internationals,[23] and was named in the Irish 6 nations squad for 2023 on the 19 January 2023. He started in Ireland's 34-10 victory over Wales in the opening week. He was called up to the Ireland squad for their two-match tour of South Africa in July 2024.[24]

References

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  1. ^ Ulster Rugby player profile
  2. ^ "Guinness Six Nations Rugby News".
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Club playing statistics at Its Rugby.co.uk
  4. ^ a b c International playing statistics at ItsRugby.co.uk
  5. ^ "The Ulster depth chart: A World Cup winner and the thrilling back three", The42, 17 September 2021
  6. ^ a b c Gerry Thornley, "Stuart McCloskey eager to add to his sole Ireland cap", The Irish Times, 28 October 2018
  7. ^ Richard Mulligan, "Trimble celebrates hat-trick", News Letter, 5 May 2014
  8. ^ "Emerging Ireland squad named for IRB Nations Cup in Romania". Irish Independent. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Best, Gilroy And Cave Among The Ulster Award Winners", Irish Rugby, 1 May 2015
  10. ^ "Emerging Ireland Win Tbilisi Cup", Ulster Rugby, 21 June 2015
  11. ^ Ulster: Season Review 2015 – 2016, The Front Row Union, 23 May 2016
  12. ^ "Six Nations 2016: Rory Best named as new Ireland captain". BBC. 20 January 2016.
  13. ^ "Nick Williams Wins The Heineken Ulster Rugby Personality of The Year Award", Ulster Tatler, 13 May 2016
  14. ^ Ulster Rugby: Who did what 2017-18, The Front Row Union, 25 June 2018
  15. ^ "Ireland vs Fiji - Commentary - Friendly 2017 - 18 Nov, 2017 - ESPN".
  16. ^ Ulster Men: Who did what 2018-19, The Front Row Union, 18 July 2019
  17. ^ Jonathan Bradley, "McCloskey celebrates his 100th cap with crucial score as Ulster bring down Ospreys", Belfast Telegraph, 16 February 2019
  18. ^ "Guinness PRO14 Dream Team Revealed on Premier Sports & eir sport". GuinnessPro14. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  19. ^ Darren Fullerton, "2019 Ulster Rugby Awards: Retiring captain Rory Best is named Heineken Personality of the Year", Belfast Live, 9 May 2019
  20. ^ "Awards 2020: Guinness 19/20 Dream Team". GuinnessPro14. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  21. ^ Ulster 2020-21 - Who Did What?, The Front Row Union, 12 August 2021
  22. ^ Paul Marshall, "Ulster have shown a strong case for the defence in victory over Leinster", Belfast Telegraph, 13 March 2022
  23. ^ "McCloskey to start in Six Nations Opener", Ulster Rugby, 2 February 2023
  24. ^ "Ireland Squad Update", Irish Rugby, 8 July 2024
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