Jamie O'Callaghan (born 21 September 1990) is a former Ireland international

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 11 ...

footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He was generally a full-time player for the London Broncos, where he played from 2008 to 2014 and he also signed permanently for both London Skolars and Hemel Stags. He had played for both previously on loan or dual registration but offered little service; having left Skolars to return to Broncos without playing and less than 10 games at Hemel.

Background

Jamie O'Callaghan was born in Hammersmith,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England, he has

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

ancestors, and eligible to play 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 ...

due to the

grandparent rule The grandfather rule, in sports which usually only permit participants to play for the team of their country of birth, is an exception which gives participants the option to play for the country of any of their ancestors up to the grandparents. ...

. As a teenager he was based in Whitton, Twickenham and was introduced to rugby league at Feltham College and played for West London Sharks. He represented London & South region for three consecutive years and signed for Harlequins RL. He was primarily a winger. The Super League licensing system of the late 2000's required 9 club trained players to be in the top 25 of each squad and under this system, the London club suddenly introduced a host of youngsters. In June 2008, O'Callaghan became the youngest player to represent the club in Super League when he played against Wigan at the JJB Stadium, aged just 17. He also played a handful of games in the 2009 season. In 2010 he became a first team regular in 2010, scoring 5 tries in 23 appearances and winning the Young Player of the Year award, securing himself a 3 year contract. He was named in the

squad for the

2010 European Cup The 2010 European Cup, known as the Alitalia European Cup for sponsorship purposes, is a rugby league football tournament. Three of the competing teams participated in the 2009 European Cup, with France also being included in the tournament after ...

http://www.sportinglife.com/rugbyleague/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=rleague/10/09/12/RUGBYL_Ireland.html O'Callaghan had plenty of opportunities in London, playing over 100 games, but he was not awarded a new contract after the three years were up and Tony Rea released him, with O'Callaghan joining the part-time London Skolars on a permanent contract. However after a short period Joey Grima brought O'Callaghan back to the club for 2014 in a surprise move. O'Callaghan continued to struggle in a bottom of the table team and was released once again. He also played a handful of times at

Hemel Stags Hemel Stags are an amateur rugby league club based in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. They were semi-professional and played in Betfred League 1 from 2013 until 2018. They withdrew from the professional system when their licence was purchased ...

in Kingstone Press League 1.

References

External links

Harlequins profile
1990 births Living people English people of Irish descent English rugby league players Hemel Stags players London Broncos players London Skolars players Ireland national rugby league team players Irish rugby league players People from Hammersmith Sportspeople from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league centres Rugby league wingers Rugby league players from London {{England-rugbyleague-bio-stub