Ian Dowling (born 5 October 1982) is an Irish former

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

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

player. He played underage and junior club rugby with

Kilkenny RFC Kilkenny RFC is an Irish rugby team based in Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, playing in Division 1A of the Leinster League. The club colours are black and white. Honours * Leinster Junior Challenge Cup: 1920 * Leinster Towns Cup: 1955, 1959, 1986, ...

. He won an All-Ireland League medal with

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 ...

before joining

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

, with whom he has won two

European Rugby Cup European Rugby Cup Ltd (or ERC) was the governing body and organiser of the two major European rugby union club tournaments; the Heineken Cup and the Amlin Challenge Cup. It was replaced by the European Professional Club Rugby governing body in 2 ...

s both in

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 ...

in May 2006 and May 2008. He also has played for the

Ireland national rugby league team The Ireland men's national rugby league team, known as the Wolfhounds, is organised by Rugby League Ireland and represents Ireland in international rugby league. The representative team is composed largely of players of Irish descent who compete ...

and Ireland A level. Caretaker Ireland coach Michael Bradley named him in the

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 ...

squad for the summer 2008 tour to New Zealand and Australia. Dowling played 27 times in the Heineken Cup for Munster, scoring 5 tries. Dowling won his first cap with the Irish International Rugby Union Team on their 2009 summer tour of North America when he lined out against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

on 23 May 2009. Dowling announced in April 2011 that he was retiring from rugby, due to a hip injury, after medical consultation. "It's been a fabulous experience. I've made some great friends and take with me really great memories, the two Heineken Cup wins obviously the highlights. But besides that, I've had wonderful times with Munster," said Dowling. Dowling is a qualified physiotherapist by trade and currently works with the Tipperary Senior Football team.

References

External links

Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.orgMunster profileIreland profileIreland Wolfhounds profile
*
Ian Dowling In Action for Munster Pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowling, Ian 1982 births Living people Ireland international rugby union players Ireland national rugby league team players Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Irish rugby league players Irish rugby union players Munster Rugby players Rugby league players from County Kilkenny Rugby union players from County Kilkenny Shannon RFC players Rugby union wings