Ian James T. Keatley (born 1 April 1987) 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 it ...

player. He plays primarily as a

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

, but can also play as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

or fullback.

Early life

Keatley was born in Dublin, where he was educated at Belvedere College and

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

. He was a member of the Belvedere College team which won the Leinster Senior Schools Cup in 2005, the first time the school had achieved this in 33 years. He also represented Suttonians whilst in Dublin.

Professional career

Connacht

After spending one season as part of Leinster's senior team, during which time he failed to make any appearances for the first team, Keatley joined rival Irish province

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 ...

ahead of the 2008–09 season. Keatley made his first appearance for the side on 5 September 2008, starting in a 2008–09 Celtic League match against the Ospreys. Keatley played in 17 of Connacht's 18 league games for the season, starting in all of the matches he played. Keatley also made his European debut that season on 10 October 2008, starting in the team's

2008–09 European Challenge Cup The 2008–09 European Challenge Cup was the 13th season of the European Challenge Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from six nations in European rugby. It started in October 2008 and ended with the final at the Twi ...

game with French side

Dax Dax or DAX may refer to: Business and organizations * DAX, stock market index of the top 40 German companies ** DAX 100, an expanded index of 100 stocks, superseded by the HDAX ** TecDAX, stock index of the top 30 German technology firms * Dax ...

. Of Connacht's six games in the group stages of the competition, Keatley started five, missing a match against

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

. Keatley also started in Connacht's quarter-final defeat to eventual champions

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", ...

. He scored a total of 185 points for the province during the course of his first season. In the following season, Keatley continued to be a regular player for Connacht. He played in all 18 of Connacht's 2009–10 Celtic League games, 13 of these appearances coming as starts. In the 2009–10 Challenge Cup, Keatley played in all of Connacht's group games, starting in four and coming on as a replacement in the other two. Connacht won all of their group games to enter the knock-out as top seeds. Keatley started in the province's quarter-final win over

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 ...

, kicking two conversions and a penalty. In the semi-final, Connacht faced a

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

side featuring

Jonny Wilkinson Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, CBE (born 25 May 1979) is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and Toulon and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He is particularly known for scoring the w ...

. Keatley kicked all of Connacht's points in the game, as the province were beaten 19–12. Keatley scored a total of 208 points for Connacht over the 2009–10 season. In the 2010–11 season, Keatley's former coach from the Ireland Under-20 team,

Eric Elwood Eric Elwood is a former Irish rugby union player from Galway. He played as a fly-half. He played for Ireland internationally, and provincially for Connacht. He split his club career between hometown club Galwegians and Lansdowne in Dublin, st ...

, took over as Connacht coach. With the expansion of the competition to include 12 teams, Keatley featured in all 22 of Connacht's

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 ...

games, with just two of his appearances coming as a replacement. In the 2010–11 Challenge Cup, Keatley started all six of the team's games as they failed to qualify for the knock-out stages, finishing second in their group to eventual champions Harlequins. He scored a total of 295 points for the province over the course of both competitions. After his three seasons with Connacht Rugby, Keatley was the province's record points scorer, with a total of 688 points. He left Connacht at the end of the 2010–11 season, joining another Irish province, this time going to Munster.

Munster

Keatley joined Munster to replace Paul Warwick, signing a two-year contract. He made his Munster debut against

Dragons A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

in September 2011. He kicked six from six against Cardiff Blues on 23 September 2011 to win the match 18–13 for Munster, earning the Man-of-the-Match award. Keatley made his Heineken Cup debut in Munster's Round 5 26–10 win over

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect of Occitan) is the sole subprefecture of the Tarn department in the Occitanie region in Southern France. It lies in the former province of Languedoc, although not in the former region of Lan ...

. He scored his first points in the Heinken Cup, a conversion, in Munster's Round 6 51–36 win against

on 21 January 2012. He scored 20 points for Munster in their 35–29 win against

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

on 15 April 2012. Keatley was also crucial in Munster's 20–20 draw with

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 ...

on 23 April 2012, kicking 10 points and putting in a superb defensive effort to secure a place in the league play-offs for Munster. He missed Munster's final regular fixture of the 2011–12 season against

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 Kin ...

after picking up a knock in training. Keatley signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in January 2013. He won the Man-of-the-Match award in Munster's opening

2013–14 Pro12 The 2013–14 Pro12 (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th season of the Pro12 rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the fourth with its current 12-team format, and the third with Rab ...

victory against

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

on 7 September 2013. He kicked 14 points in Munster's 19–15 win against

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 ...

on 5 October 2013, a game in which he also won the Man-of-the-Match award. Keatley won another Man-of-the-Match award in Munster's 18–14 away win against

on 29 November 2013, a game in which he kicked all of Munster's points. Keatley was nominated for the 2014 Munster Rugby Senior Player of the Year award on 1 May 2014. Keatley scored 21 points in Munster's 34–23 away win against

on 4 October 2014. He scored the winning drop-goal in Munster's first game in the European Rugby Champions Cup against Sale Sharks on 18 October 2014. He was the

Man-of-the-Match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

in Munster's 38–12 away win against

on 21 November 2014, scoring 13 points. It was announced on 7 January 2015 that Keatley had signed a two-year contract extension with Munster. Keatley scored 15 points, including a try, and won the Man-of-the-Match award in Munster's 35–27 win against Cardiff Blues on 17 October 2015. On 2 January 2016, Keatley scored all of Munster's points in their 9–7 win against

, earning the Man-of-the-Match award. On 1 October 2016, Keatley kicked 6 points in Munster's 49–5 win against

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...

in a

2016–17 Pro12 The 2016–17 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the sixteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, and the seventh with a four-country format. It was the ...

fixture. In doing so, he crossed the 1,000-point mark for the province. On 2 December 2016, Keatley scored the winning drop-goal in Munster's 15–16 away win against

. On 6 May 2017, Keatley made his 150th appearance for Munster during their 50–14 victory against

, in which he scored 15 points off the kicking tee and won the Man-of-the-Match award. On 19 May 2017, it was announced that Keatley had signed a two-year contract extension with Munster. Keatley was Man-of-the-Match in Munster's

2017–18 Pro14 The 2017–18 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventeenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It is the first season to be referred to as the ''Gu ...

Round 5 victory against Cardiff Blues on 30 September 2017. He scored 20 points off the kicking tee in Munster's 25–16 away win against Leicester Tigers in the 2017–18 Champions Cup on 17 December 2017. In Munster's Champions Cup quarter-final against

on 31 March 2017, Keatley converted

Andrew Conway Andrew Joseph Conway (born 11 July 1991) is an Irish rugby union player for Munster in the United Rugby Championship and European Rugby Champions Cup. He plays primarily as a wing, but can also play as a fullback. Blackrock College While atte ...

's 74th minute try to earn Munster a 20–19 win. At the time of his departure from Munster for London Irish in January 2019, Keatley was Munster's second all-time highest points scorer with 1,247 in his 180 appearances for the province. He was also third on the all-time list for points scored in the

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

with 1,428, and fifth on the list for appearances with 196.

London Irish

Keatley joined 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 ...

side

, where former Munster and Ireland head coach

Declan Kidney Declan Kidney (born 20 October 1959) is an Irish rugby union coach. He was the head coach of the Ireland national rugby union team from 2008 to 2013, where he won the 2009 Six Nations with a Grand Slam, winning the 2009 IRB Coach of the Year aw ...

is director of rugby, in January 2019 for the remainder of the 2018–19 season. He debuted for the club on 16 February 2019, starting at

and scoring Irish's opening try and converting it, before going off injured in the 27th minute of their 52–22 win against

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

. Keatley started in Irish's 46–7 away win against

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

on 19 April 2019, a victory that secured the

2018–19 RFU Championship The 2018–19 RFU Championship, known for sponsorship reasons as the Greene King IPA Championship, is the tenth season of the professionalised format of the RFU Championship, the second tier of the English rugby union league system run by the Ru ...

for the Exiles and a return to the Gallagher Premiership.

Benetton and Glasgow Warriors

Keatley joined Italian

side Benetton ahead of the 2019–20 season. He was granted an early release from his contract with Benetton in January 2021. Keatley joined Scottish club

in January 2021 on a contract for the remainder of the 2020–21 season, providing fly-half cover for the injured Adam Hastings and

Peter Horne Peter Horne is a rugby union coach. He is currently a Skills Coach for Glasgow Warriors. He previously was Head Coach of the Ayrshire Bulls. As a player he was a Scotland international rugby union player; and at club level he previously played ...

. Keatley said of the move: "This club is a top-quality outfit and I'm relishing the chance to be able to play alongside some of its top-quality talent.". Keatley replaced

Ross Thompson Ross Thompson may refer to: * Ross Thompson (boxer) * Ross Thompson (rugby union) * Ross Thompson (professor) See also * Ross Thomson, Scottish politician {{hndis, Thompson, Ross ...

in the Warriors' match against

on 6 March 2021, becoming Glasgow Warrior No. 325 and scoring 3 conversions in Glasgow's 31–20 bonus point win over the Italian side. Keatley was released by Glasgow at the end of the 2020–21 season.

Ireland

Keatley made his senior debut for Ireland during their 2009 Summer Tour to North America. He won his first cap 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, scoring 10 points. He won a second cap on 31 May 2009, when Ireland beat

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

27–10, with Keatley scoring 7 points. Keatley was selected in the

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 ...

squad for their game against

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...

in January 2012. He started the game at fly-half. Keatley was drafted into Ireland's training squad for the

2013 Six Nations Championship The 2013 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2013 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 14th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship ...

on 21 January 2013. Keatley played for

in their friendly against

on 25 January 2013. Keatley was named in the

Emerging Ireland Emerging Ireland is an Irish rugby union team that represents Ireland in the World Rugby Nations Cup. History 2013 Tbilisi Cup The team was created to offer Tier 1 level opposition for Tier 2 sides in the IRB Tbilisi Cup, held in Tbilisi, Georgia ...

squad to take part in the

2013 IRB Tbilisi Cup The 2013 IRB Tbilisi Cup was the inaugural edition of this international rugby union tournament, created by the International Rugby Board and was played from 7 to 16 June 2013 at the Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi. The hosts Georgia were joined by Ur ...

on 19 May 2013. He started against

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in Emerging Ireland's first game of the tournament on 7 June 2013, scoring 15 points in his sides 20–15 victory. Keatley also started the 19–8 defeat against South Africa President's XV on 11 June 2013. He scored 22 points against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

in Emerging Ireland's 42–33 victory on 16 June 2013, a win which secured his side a second-place finish at the tournament. In January 2014, Keatley was included in the provisional 44-man squad for the

2014 Six Nations Championship The 2014 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2014 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 15th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. ...

. He came off the bench for

in their friendly against

on 25 January 2014. Keatley was again selected in the

squad when it was announced on 26 May 2014. He started against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

in their first 2014 IRB Nations Cup match on 13 June 2014, scoring a try and four conversions. Keatley came off the bench in their second game against

on 18 June 2014, scoring 3 points. He started in the 31–10 win

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

on 22 June 2014, a win that secured the 2014 IRB Nations Cup for Emerging Ireland. Keatley was named in the Ireland squad for the 2014 autumn internationals on 21 October 2014. He came off the bench in the 49–7 win against

on 16 November 2014. He was named in the Ireland squad for the opening rounds of the

2015 Six Nations Championship The 2015 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2015 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 16th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union tournament. It was contested b ...

on 1 February 2015. He started in the first game 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 ...

on 7 February 2015, scoring 14 points in Ireland's 26–3 win. In January 2017, Keatley was added to the Ireland squad for the

2017 Six Nations Championship The 2017 Six Nations Championship was the 18th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The tournament was also known as the RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by The Roya ...

as injury cover for

Johnny Sexton Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton (born 11 July 1985) is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Leinster Rugby and Ireland, and he also captains both teams. He represented the British & Irish Lions in both 2013 and 2017 and has scored o ...

. Having been selected in the squad for the 2017 Autumn Internationals, Keatley came off the bench against Fiji on 18 November 2017 and scored the winning penalty in Ireland's 23–20 victory.

Honours

London Irish

**Winner (1): 2018–19

Emerging Ireland

* World Rugby Tbilisi Cup **Runner-Up (1):

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

World Rugby Nations Cup The Nations Cup is a rugby union competition that was first held in 2006 at Estádio Universitário in Lisbon with Argentina A, Italy A, Portugal and Russia taking part. The tournament is part of the International Rugby Board's US $50 million S ...

**Winner (1):

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Ireland

* Six Nations Championship: **Winner (1): 2015

References

External links

Leinster ProfileConnacht ProfileMunster ProfileLondon Irish ProfileGlasgow Warriors ProfileIreland ProfileIreland Wolfhounds ProfileIreland U20 ProfilePro14 Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Keatley, Ian 1987 births Living people People educated at Belvedere College Rugby union players from County Dublin Irish rugby union players Leinster Rugby players Connacht Rugby players Young Munster players Munster Rugby players London Irish players Benetton Rugby players Glasgow Warriors players Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Irish expatriate rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union centres Rugby union fullbacks