Cillian Willis (born 19 January 1985) is a former professional

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 its m ...

footballer. His primary position was scrum-half. He was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and educated at

Blackrock College Blackrock College ( ga, Coláiste na Carraige Duibhe) is a voluntary secondary school, voluntary day school, day and boarding school, boarding Catholicism, Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, Dublin, Bl ...

in Williamstown and

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

, where in 2006 he completed a commerce degree with honours. Willis broke through into the Leinster team due to injuries to Chris Whittaker and

Guy Easterby Guy Easterby (born 21 March 1971) is a former rugby union player for Ireland. He is currently head of rugby operations of Leinster. His father is English and his mother is Irish. He is the brother of Simon Easterby, also an Ireland internatio ...

early on in the 2006/2007 season. His performances earned him the Leinster Player of the Month Award for October/November. Willis is also cousin to

Brian O'Driscoll Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the ...

. In July 2010, Willis signed a new contract with

Connacht Rugby Connacht Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Connachta) is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Con ...

and joined his new squad on their pre-season training trip on the Aran Islands. He left Connacht after one season and with

Eoin Reddan Eoin Reddan (born Limerick, Ireland, 20 November 1980) is an Irish rugby union player who plays at scrum half. He initially attended the Jesuit boarding school, Clongowes Wood, before moving school to Crescent College Comprehensive where he ...

and

Isaac Boss Isaac Boss (born 9 April 1980, in Tokoroa, New Zealand) is a New Zealand–born Irish rugby union former player. His grandmother was born in Glenarm, County Antrim, thereby qualifying him to play for Ireland. He played scrum-half or fullb ...

both called into the Irish

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

squad he was given a contract until October 2011 by

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 Ir ...

. Willis signed for

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

for the 2011/2012 season.

References

External links

Leinster ProfileUlster ProfileConnacht Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Cillian 1985 births Living people Irish rugby union players Alumni of University College Dublin University College Dublin R.F.C. players Greystones RFC players Leinster Rugby players Ulster Rugby players Connacht Rugby players People educated at Blackrock College Irish expatriate rugby union players Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate rugby union players in England Sale Sharks players Rugby union scrum-halves Rugby union players from County Dublin