Ed O'Donoghue (born 24 June 1982 in London, UK) is an 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 ...

player.

Position

O'Donoghue's position of choice is 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 ...

and he can also operate as a flanker.

Early years

He was born in London to an Irish father and an Australian mother, he grew up in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia O'Donoghue attended

Marist College Rosalie , motto_translation = Whatever you do, do wholeheartedly and well , established = 1929 , closed = 2008 , type = Independent, Roman Catholic, single-sex, secondary , grades = 8–12 , colors = Cerise and blue , city = Paddington, Brisb ...

where he was selected to play for Australia at rugby union and volleyball, having to pass up the latter due to the requirements of the Australian Schoolboys Rugby Union team.

Rugby career

He earned a place on the Australia under 19s team to contest the Junior World Cup in Chile in 2001. Searching for top flight rugby experience he played for

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

and

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union club, based in Worcester, England, that is currently in Administration (law), administration and which has been suspended and will be relegated from Premiership Rugby, the top ...

in the

Guinness Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition. The Premiership has consisted of thirteen clubs since 2021, and is the ...

. In 2006 O'Donoghue returned to Australia to take up a contract with his home state team

Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competition ...

recruited by then coach Eddie Jones. O'Donoghue played in the Australian Provincial Championship in 2006 and earned his first Super 14 start in 2007, going on to play all thirteen games in the season. O'Donoghue joined

Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Ulster Branch, which is one of ...

at the start of the 2008/09 season after a two-year contract with Queensland Reds. He went on to represent the province 45 times in two seasons there" He signed for

Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby ...

in 2010 on a three-year contract. He was released early from his contract on compassionate grounds and signed for

London Wasps Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in r ...

on a short-term contract. He returned to Australia and took up an unpaid training position with the

for the 2013 season playing in every match in their run to the

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

finals and in the process earning himself a full-time contract with the team.

International Rugby

Ireland

Irish-qualified through his parents he made his debut for

Ireland Wolfhounds The Ireland Wolfhounds (formerly Ireland A and Ireland B) are the second national rugby union team of Ireland, behind the Ireland national team. They previously competed in the Churchill Cup together with the England Saxons, the national teams ...

in February 2009 against Scotland A in the RDS in the 35–10 win. He was selected for the 2010 Ireland rugby union tour of New Zealand/Australia. He played two non-cap matches for Ireland against

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 ...

and New Zealand Māori in June 2010.

References

External links

Ed O'Donoghue Reds College Player ProfileUlster Rugby ProfileIreland A Rugby ProfileLeinster Rugby Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonoghue, Ed 1982 births Irish rugby union players Ulster Rugby players Northampton Saints players Worcester Warriors players Irish Exiles rugby union players Queensland Reds players Leinster Rugby players Wasps RFC players SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne players Rugby union locks Irish expatriate rugby union players Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in Australia Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Irish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate rugby union players in France Irish expatriate sportspeople in France Living people English people of Irish descent