Johnny O'Connor (born 9 February 1980) is an Irish rugby union coach and former player. He is currently a

strength and conditioning coach A strength and conditioning coach (also known as an S&C coach) is a physical performance professional who uses exercise prescription to improve the performance of competitive athletes or athletic teams. This is achieved through the combination of ...

at his former club Connacht, having previously performed that role at

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

clubs

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

and

Galway United Galway United Football Club (Irish language, Irish: ''Cumann Peile Ghaillimh Aontaithe'') is an List of association football clubs in the Republic of Ireland, Irish association football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland Fi ...

. During his playing career he was primarily a

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

. O'Connor spent most of his career with Irish provincial side Connacht, making over 100 appearances across two stints with the team. He also spent four seasons with English Premiership side Wasps in between. He also played amateur club rugby for Galwegians and Galway Corinthians. O'Connor played for at full international level. He made his debut for in 2004 against South Africa. He made 12 appearances for Ireland, and was part of the 2006 team that won the Triple Crown. O'Connor was named 2005 Irish Rugby Union Players' Association player of the year. O'Connor received his secondary education from

Garbally College St. Joseph's College, Garbally Park (Irish: ''Coláiste Sheosaimh Naofa'') is an Irish voluntary Catholic secondary school situated in Garbally Park, the former seat of the Earl of Clancarty, near Ballinasloe in County Galway. It is a single-s ...

and is also a graduate of Setanta College.

References

External links

Connacht ProfilePro 12 ProfileERC ProfileWasps profileIreland profileRBS 6 Nations profileSporting Heroes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnor, Johnny 1980 births Living people Connacht Rugby players Connacht Rugby non-playing staff Galwegians RFC players Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players People from Galway (city) Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from County Galway Rugby union strength and conditioning coaches Wasps RFC players People educated at Garbally College