Fionn McLoughlin (born 6 September 1982) is an Irish rugby union player. He has represented both Ireland and Wales at youth level. He plays centre, winger and fly half. He is the son of former

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 British Lions prop

Gerry McLoughlin Gerard Anthony Joseph McLoughlin (born 11 June 1952) in Limerick is a former international rugby union player. Rugby career McLoughlin played club rugby for Shannon and Munster. He was part of the Munster team that beat the All Blacks 12 to ...

Early life

Born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, Republic of Ireland on 6 September 1982, McLoughlin grew up in Wales where his father was a teacher. In 1999, he played for Cardinal Newman Roman Catholic School in

Rhydyfelin Rhydyfelin (, ''Mill Ford'') is a large village (originally known as Rhydfelen) and part of the community of Pontypridd Town, about two miles to its south east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf. It is on the eastern bank ...

in the Welsh Schools Under-18 Cup Final at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Career

McLoughlin started his career at

Shannon RFC Shannon Rugby Football Club is the most successful club in the All Ireland League, having won the competition nine times. They hail from Limerick near the banks of the Shannon river. Shannon RFC is a member of the '' Irish Rugby Football Unio ...

where he played for Irish region

Munster Rugby Munster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Mumhan) 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's Munster B ...

He also played for

Galwegians RFC Galwegians Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club in Galway, Ireland. The Galwegians senior side plays in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League, the Irish domestic club competition. Galwegians field over 16 teams including Senior, Junior (S ...

and

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 ...

in 2001. In 2002, McLoughlin moved to Welsh club

Caerphilly RFC Caerphilly Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team founded in 1887. Their home ground is Virginia Park in Caerphilly and their nickname is ''The Cheesemen''. Caerphilly RFC currently play in the WRU Division Two East Central and are a ...

where he took part in their 2002-03 European Shield campaign. In 2007, McLoughlin moved to

Pontypridd RFC Pontypridd Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Pontypridd) are a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. They compete in the Indigo Group Premiership, which they won for four consecutive seasons between 2012 and 2015, and ...

on a dual-registration with

Llanharan RFC Llanharan Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Llanharan, South Wales. Llanharan RFC was formally established in 1891-92 when Llanharan was little more than an agricultural hamlet. The earliest photograph on the clubhouse wall is date ...

. In 2008, McLoughlin joined

Bedwas RFC Bedwas RFC ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Bedwas) is a rugby union club located in the Welsh village of Bedwas. Bedwas has two senior teams, their 1st XV competing in the Welsh Championship and their development side, the Bedwas Barbarians. The club is a member ...

owing to limited opportunities at Pontypridd. In 2009, McLoughlin returned to Ireland to rejoin Shannon where he helped them win the All-Ireland League. During the orthern Hemispheresummer, he played in Australia for the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

RUFC. Later that year, he had a trial with English

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

team Plymouth Albion R.F.C., where he was signed permanently. In 2015, McLoughlin was signed by

National League 2 South National League 2 South (known before September 2009 as National Division Three South) was a level four league in the English rugby union system until the end of season 2021–22. It was one of two leagues at this level, with its counterpart, N ...

Old Elthamians Old Elthamians Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Chislehurst in SE London-Kent. Due to financial difficulties they withdrew from National League One, the third tier of English club rugby, in August, 2021. Upon retur ...

. In 2017, McLoughlin joined

Tunbridge Wells RFC Tunbridge Wells RFC is an English Rugby union club that plays in Regional 1 South East from Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. History Tunbridge Wells RFC was officially formed as Old Skinners RFC in 1931 as a rugby union club for former pup ...

, where he played a part in them achieving a second successive promotion.

International career

McLoughlin has represented both the

Wales national under-18 rugby union team The Wales national Under 18 rugby team is for Welsh rugby union players aged 18 or under on January 1 of the year during which they are selected. They compete in the Under 18 Six Nations Festival and a separate under 18's four nation tournament. ...

and the Ireland national under-19 rugby union team at international level. He was also called up for the Ireland Club XV against

England Counties XV England Counties XV is a representative rugby union team, formed in 2002, open to English players who play in the County Championship and the third tier (and below) of the English rugby union system. Players from the Premiership and RFU Champi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLoughlin, Fionn 1982 births Living people Caerphilly RFC players Connacht Rugby players Galwegians RFC players Irish expatriate rugby union players Irish rugby union players Llanharan RFC players Munster Rugby players Plymouth Albion R.F.C. players Rugby union players from County Limerick Shannon RFC players Rugby union centres