Eric Miller
] (born 23 September 1975) is a former Irish

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 ...

and

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

player. As a rugby player Miller played for, among others

Old Wesley Old Wesley Rugby Football Club was founded in 1891 from the past pupils of Wesley College, Dublin. Since then it has become one of Leinster's most famous clubs. It plays in Division 1B of the All-Ireland League. The club won the Leinster Seni ...

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

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 ...

, the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

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 ...

and the British and Irish Lions. After retiring as a rugby player, Miller switched football codes and went on to play Gaelic football for the Dublin county team.

Early years

As a schoolboy and youth, Miller played several sports. He was educated at Wesley College where he played both

and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

. At the same time he played

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

for

Leicester Celtic Leicester Celtic A.F.C. is an Irish association football club based in Rathfarnham, Dublin. The club's senior team compete in the Leinster Senior League where they have enjoyed reasonable success. Youth sides compete in the Dublin and Distric ...

, a team whose former players also included

Damian Duff Damien Anthony Duff (born 2 March 1979) is an Irish professional football manager and former player who played predominantly as a winger. He has been the manager of League of Ireland club Shelbourne F.C. since November 2021. He began his prof ...

. He also played

for Ballyboden St Enda's and, together with

Brian Stynes Brian Stynes (born 29 September 1971) is an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for the Dublin county team and now resides in Australia. He attended De La Salle College, Churchtown, Dublin. Playing career Australian rules football Stynes saw t ...

, he helped them win a Dublin Under 21 Championship title in 1995. Miller eventually opted to concentrate on rugby union and spent the 1995–96 season playing for

. He also represented

for the first time at senior level. Interview at www.independent.co.uk
/ref> www.ercrugby.com
/ref>
/ref>

Leicester Tigers

In 1996 Miller joined

and went on to make 12 appearances for them in the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

. His impressive performances for the Tigers saw him make his debut for

and then represent the British and Irish Lions. While playing for the Tigers, he also attended both

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

, where he studied for a degree in

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

Sheffield Hallam University Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...

Leinster

Miller first played for

during the 1995–96 season while still attached to

. After his spell with

he returned to Ireland and initially linked up with

Terenure College RFC Terenure College RFC was founded on 5 November 1940. It is a senior rugby club in Dublin, Ireland, playing in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. History Terenure College RFC was founded on 5 November 1940. With a great love for the game an ...

and

. In 2000, he returned to Leinster and went on to make 148 appearances for the province in the Celtic League and the

. Back at Leinster he helped them win the 2001–02 Celtic League title.

Rugby international

Ireland

As well as winning senior caps, Miller also represented Ireland at

schoolboy A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...

, U21 and A levels. In 1996, he was a prominent member of the Ireland U21 team that won a Triple Crown for the first time. Between 1997 and

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, Miller made 48 appearances and scored 30 points, including 6 tries, for

. He made his international debut in a friendly against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

on 4 January 1997. He went on to play for Ireland at both the

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

and

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

World Cups. He scored two of six his tries in one game against

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

during the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup. Originally planned to be hosted by India, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the Indian Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup ...

. He made his final appearance for Ireland in a friendly against

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on 19 June 2005. www.magnersleague.com
/ref>

British and Irish Lions

After playing just four senior internationals for

, Miller was selected by the British and Irish Lions for their 1997 tour of South Africa. He played in five games during the tour, lining up against the Border Bulldogs, Northern Transvaal, and the

Free State Cheetahs The Free State Cheetahs (formerly the Orange Free State), currently named the Toyota Free State Cheetahs, for sponsorship reasons, are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They are governed by th ...

. A bout of flu saw him miss the first test against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

but he recovered in time to feature in the second test on 28 June 1997. However injury saw him miss the third test. At 21 he was youngest member of the touring party.

Barbarians

Miller has also played for the

several times. In May 2004 he was included in their squad for games against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. On 25 May 2005 he featured in a 38–7 defeat against

at Pittodrie.

Return to Gaelic football

After retiring as a rugby player in January 2006, Miller started playing

again. In August 2006 he came on as a substitute for Ballyboden St Enda's in a

Dublin AFL Division 1 The Dublin Adult Football League Division 1 is the top Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on ...

game against Thomas Davis. On 5 December 2006, he played his first senior game for the Dublin county team against

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town *Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * County ...

. He has since ended his short return to GAA. Since finishing with Gaelic football, Miller set up his own personal training company called the real golf solution.

Coaching

Miller has also had a successful coaching career. In September 2006 he undertook a coaching position in Wesley College, Dublin until 2009. He also coached for

as well as Saint Gerard's School. In 2011, he was appointed Head Coach Blackrock College Rugby Club Dublin. From 2009 to 2012, Miller also served as Head and assistant coach to the Leinster U18 Club (youths) team and helped the team win three interprovincial championships in a row during his tenure. In August 2012 Miller was appointed Head Coach of CYM Rugby Club in Terenure Dublin, following in the footsteps of club luminaries like Ray Fagan. In May 2013 Miller was appointed Head Coach of Seapoint Rugby Club, a Division 2A side in South Dublin playing in the All-Ireland League. From August 2014 until May 2016, Miller served as the Director of Rugby for

Trinity College Kandy "Look to the End" , mottoes = , founder = John Ireland Jones , established = , type = Independent Private , affiliation = Church of Ceylon, Anglican , grade ...

, Sri Lanka. Beginning in 2016, Miller coached the men's senior firsts team in the Wicklow-based Arklow Rugby Club, and the all boys private school Catholic University School on Lower Leeson Street in Dublin, until 2019 .

Honours

''Rugby union'' Wesley College * Leinster Schools Junior Cup **''Runner-up'': 1989–90 : 1 Leinster * Celtic League **''Winners'': 2000–01 : 1 ''Gaelic football'' Ballyboden St Enda's *

Dublin Under 21 Football Championship The Dublin Under 21 Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association club competition between the under-21 Gaelic footballers of Dublin clubs. The current (2017) under 21 champions of Dublin are Na Fianna who beat Ballyboden St ...

**''Winners'': 1995: 1

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Eric 1975 births Living people Alumni of Loughborough University Alumni of Sheffield Hallam University Irish Methodists People educated at Wesley College, Dublin Rugby union number eights Irish rugby union coaches Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Barbarian F.C. players Old Wesley players Leicester Tigers players Terenure College RFC players Leinster Rugby players Ulster Rugby players Dublin inter-county Gaelic footballers Ballyboden St Enda's Gaelic footballers Gaelic footballers who switched code Loughborough Students RUFC players Irish expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in England Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Leicester Celtic A.F.C. players Ireland international rugby sevens players Association footballers not categorized by position Republic of Ireland association footballers