Jack McGrath (born 11 October 1989) 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 ...

player who played loosehead prop. He played professionally for

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 ...

and

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 ...

and has also played international rugby for

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 The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

. McGrath made his senior debut for Leinster in April 2010 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 ...

,Marcus Ó Buachalla
"Jack McGrath to join Ulster Rugby"
Leinster Rugby, 2 April 2019 and became a regular member of the team in the 2011-12 season.
/ref> He went on to make 142 appearances for the province, scoring 12 tries. During his time there, Leinster won the

European Rugby Champions 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 ...

twice, the

European Rugby Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception ...

once, the

Pro12 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 ...

twice, and the

Pro14 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 ...

once. He trained with the Ireland team ahead of the

2012 Six Nations Championship The 2012 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2012 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 13th series of the Six Nations Championship. The annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship was ...

. He was named in the 34-man Ireland squad for the

2013 end-of-year rugby union tests The 2013 end of year rugby tests, also known as the 2013 Autumn internationals in the Northern Hemisphere, were a series of international rugby union matches predominantly played between European sides - England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland an ...

, and was praised by Ireland captain

Rory Best Rory David Best (born 15 August 1982) is an Irish former rugby union player from Northern Ireland and was the captain of the Ireland national team from 2016 to 2019. He played hooker for Ulster and was registered for Banbridge RFC, having pr ...

for his hard work in the scrum. He started in the first of the tests against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

on 9 November 2013, and was named "Man of the match" for his performance. He went on to earn 56 caps for his country. In 2016 he helped launch the

Irish Rugby Union Players Association The Rugby Players Ireland is the representative body for professional rugby players in Ireland. Founded in October 2001, its aims are to promote and protect the welfare of professional rugby players in Ireland. The Chief Executive Officer is Si ...

's "Tackle Your Feeings" mental health campaign. He was selected for the

2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand The British & Irish Lions toured New Zealand during June and July 2017. The Lions, a rugby union team selected from players eligible to represent England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales, played ten matches: against all five New Zealand Super Rugby fr ...

,Josh Raisey
"The remarkable progress 2017 Lions prop Jack McGrath is enjoying just two days after hip surgery"
Rugby Pass, 27 April 2021 played 186 minutes on the tour, and appeared off the bench in all three tests, impressing with his tackling and scrummaging. He sustained a hip injury during the tour, and underwent minor surgery on his return.Adam McKendry

''Belfast Telegraph'', 26 December 2021 Once seen as the natural successor to

Cian Healy Cian Healy (born 7 October 1987) is an Irish rugby union rugby player. He plays for Leinster, and has also won over 100 caps for the Ireland national team. He was named as part of the Lions squad for the 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Austra ...

, he lost his place in the Leinster and Ireland teams after Healy recovered from a hand injury. He moved to Ulster ahead of the 2019–20 season. He was named in the Ireland squad for the

2020 Six Nations Championship The 2020 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland ...

. By November 2020, after 20 appearances for Ulster, he suffered a recurrence of his hip injury which left him unable to carry out daily activities. He became only the third sportsman, after Seán O'Brien and

Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British professional tennis player from Scotland. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 41 weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2016. Murray h ...

, to undergo

hip resurfacing Hip resurfacing has been developed as a surgical alternative to total hip replacement (THR). The procedure consists of placing a cap (usually made of cobalt-chrome metal), which is hollow and shaped like a mushroom, over the head of the femur whi ...

surgery, and did not return to the Ulster team until December 2021. He signed a contract extension with Ulster in January 2022, but was released at the end of the 2021–22 season. On the 16 February 2023, he announced his retirement from professional rugby.

References

External links

Ulster profileLeinster profileUnited Rugby Championship profile
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{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Jack 1989 births Living people Irish rugby union players Rugby union players from County Dublin St Mary's College RFC players Leinster Rugby players Ulster Rugby players Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Rugby union props People educated at St Mary's College, Dublin