Dave Nolan (born 19 June 1988) is a

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 from

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 primarily plays as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

. Nolan currently plays for

Doncaster Knights Doncaster Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing the town of Doncaster, England. The first XV are known as the "Doncaster Knights", and play in the RFU Championship. Being the most promoted side in English history has led to ...

in the

English Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

. He has previously 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 ...

in Ireland and

Bourgoin Bourgoin-Jallieu (; frp, Brégon) is a commune in the Isère department in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France. The city had 28,834 inhabitants in 2019 and lies 35 kilometres east-southeast of Lyon. It was formed by the merger of th ...

in France. Nolan made his first appearance for Connacht in the 2009–10 Celtic League. His debut came on 25 April 2010, away against Welsh side

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

. Nolan started and played the full 80 minutes for his side as they lost 58–10. He also made an appearance for Connacht against the Newport Gwent Dragons as a replacement in the

2010–11 Celtic League The 2010–11 Magners League was the tenth Celtic League season and the fifth with Magners as title sponsor. The regular season began on 3 September 2010 and finished on the weekend of 6–8 May 2011. During these stages, each team played every ...

, playing for 20 minutes. During his time with Connacht, Nolan suffered a number of long-term injuries that kept him out of the game for long periods. He missed the 2011–12 season after breaking his leg in a pre-season game with Exeter. Another break to the same leg in training occurred shortly before the 2012–13 season, and caused Nolan to also miss that season. In April 2014, it was announced that Nolan's contract would not be renewed and he would be leaving the province at the end of the season. In June 2014 he signed for French Pro D2 side Bourgoin.

References

1988 births Living people Connacht Rugby players Galwegians RFC players Irish rugby union players Rugby union locks Rugby union players from County Galway CS Bourgoin-Jallieu players Irish expatriate rugby union players in France {{Ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub