Bernard Jackman (born 5 May 1976) is an Irish former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player who played for

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

and Sale Sharks. At international level, he has also played for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He released his autobiography, ''Blue Blood'' in 2011. He was dismissed as the head coach of Welsh Pro14 side the

Dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

in December 2018. Jackman is the current head coach of Bective Rangers FC.

Early life

Born 5 May 1976,

Tullow Tullow (; , formerly ''Tulach Ó bhFéidhlim/ Tullowphelim'') is a market town in County Carlow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney where the N81 road intersects with the R725. , the population was 4,673. History There is a statue of ...

, County Carlow, Republic of Ireland, Jackman was educated at

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

and

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its ...

where he studied a degree in business studies and Japanese.

Playing career

Club rugby

Jackman was persuaded by

Warren Gatland Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player who is currently in his second spell as the head coach of the Wales national team. As head coach of Wales from 2007 to 2019, he won four Six N ...

to turn professional and subsequently had two spells playing for

. In between he also played for Sale Sharks, helping them win the

2001–02 European Challenge Cup The 2001–02 European Challenge Cup (known as the Parker Pen Shield for sponsorship reasons) was the 6th season of the European Challenge Cup, Europe's second tier club rugby union competition below the Heineken Cup. A total of 32 teams particip ...

. he In 2005 Jackman signed for

. A broken leg hindered his early Leinster career but he eventually established himself as a first team regular. He was a prominent member of the team that won the 2007–08 Celtic League title and he also earned himself a recall into the senior

squad. He has now retired from the professional game after a concussion injury in 2010. Bernard Jackman has become an acting ambassador for Acquired Brain Injury Ireland, standing strongly behind the concussion awareness campaign 'Mind your Head in Sport'. John Fogarty another Leinster Hooker had to retire with a similar concussion injury soon after.

Ireland international

Jackman represented Ireland at U19, U21 and college levels and captained Ireland A before graduating to the senior

team. He was included in the squad for the 1998 tour of South Africa but was not capped. He was capped twice during the 2005 tour of Japan and won two further caps during the 2007 tour of Argentina. He was also included in Ireland's

2008 Six Nations Championship The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, the 114th series of the international championship. Fifteen ...

squad and featured in all five games.

Coaching career

Jackman has coached several junior Leinster teams, including Tullow RFC, Newbridge RFC and Coolmine RFC. He has guided Newbridge to victory in both a league title and the Lalor Cup. In May 2009, he was appointed Director of Rugby and forwards coach of

Clontarf FC Clontarf Football Club is an Irish rugby union club based in Clontarf, Dublin and playing, as of 2018, in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. History Having played firstly in a field at the bottom of Vernon Avenue, then on a site currentl ...

. In 2011 he was appointed on a consultancy basis as skills and forwards coach with

FC Grenoble The Football Club de Grenoble Rugby (FCG) is a French rugby union club based in Grenoble and founded in 1892. FCG was champion of France in 1954 and runner-up in 1918 and in 1993 during a controversial final, being deprived of the title of champ ...

and made full-time for the 2012/2013 season. In June 2016, following the departure of Fabrice Landreau, he became Head Coach of FC Grenoble. In March 2017, with the club bottom of the Top14 Jackman left Grenoble. Grenoble were subsequently relegated at the end of the 2016-17 season. For 2017-18, he became head coach at the

in Wales. Jackman parted company with the Dragons in December 2018 after 18 months in charge. In May 2019, Jackman was announced as the new head of coaching of Bective Rangers FC, a Dublin based club and one of Ireland's oldest existing rugby clubs. On his appointment to Bective Rangers, Jackman said "I always found Bective to be a club with great people and having helped out the squad at the end of astseason I think they have the potential for future success”.

Honours

Sale Sharks *

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

**''Winners'': 2001–02: 1 Leinster *

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

**''Winners'': 2007–08: 1 **''Runners up'': 2005–06: 1 * Heineken Cup **''Winners'': 2008–09: 1

Books

* ''Blue Blood – The Bernard Jackman Autobiography'',

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackman, Bernard 1976 births Living people Rugby union players from County Carlow People educated at Newbridge College Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Leinster Rugby players Connacht Rugby players Clontarf FC players Lansdowne Football Club players Sale Sharks players Rugby union hookers Irish rugby union coaches Dragons RFC coaches