Jonny Murphy (born 6 February 1992) is a former professional

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 from

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, who played hooker for

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 ...

(2015-17),

Rotherham Titans Rotherham Rugby Union Football Club, or Rotherham Titans is a professional rugby union team from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, currently playing in the fourth tier of the English rugby union league system, following their relegation from the Nat ...

(2017-18) and

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 Delbhn ...

(2018-22).

Early life

Murphy was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

in 1992. He attended

Banbridge High School Banbridge High School is a controlled secondary school located in Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the Southern Education and Library Board area. The school was opened in 1958 with an initial enrolment of 4200 pupils. A ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, and played rugby with

Banbridge RFC Banbridge RFC (Banbridge Rugby Football Club) is a rugby union club based in Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland, in the province of Ulster. It currently plays in Division 1B of the Energia All-Ireland League after gaining promotion in 201 ...

. Murphy played with Banbridge until 2013, when he joined Division 1A side

Ballynahinch Ballynahinch may refer to: Northern Ireland * Ballynahinch, County Armagh, a townland *Ballynahinch, County Down, a town Republic of Ireland *Ballynahinch (barony), in County Galway *Ballynahinch, County Galway, a townland in County Galway * Bally ...

, another Ulster club.

Rugby career

Ulster

Murphy was involved with

at under-age level. He was identified at the age of 16 and added to a Regional Development Squad. In 2010, Murphy was selected as part of a combined team with

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 ...

for a challenge match against a combined

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 ...

side, the first ever game at the newly built

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium (also known as Lansdowne Road) is a sports stadium located in Dublin, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,700 spectators (all seated). It is built on the site of the former Lansdowne Road Stadium, which was demolished in 2007, and r ...

. Murphy signed to an Ulster academy contract for the 2011–12 season. During his time in the academy he played for the province's second tier side, the Ulster Ravens, playing twice in the

2013–14 British and Irish Cup The 2013–14 British and Irish Cup was the fifth season of the annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs from Britain and Ireland. Leinster A were the defending champions having won the 2012–13 Final with a 78th ...

. He spent four years in the academy, before signing a senior development contract ahead of the 2015–16 season. Murphy made his senior debut for Ulster against

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 ...

in 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 ...

on 21 February 2016. He did not play again for the senior side in that season, but made five appearances for the Ravens in the 2015–16 British and Irish Cup. In 2017–18, Murphy continued to play primarily in the British and Irish Cup, playing six times in the competition. He made his final Ulster appearance on 10 February 2017, when he played against

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

. He left the side at the end of the 2016–17 season, joining

English Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

side

Rotherham Titans

In May 2018, it was announced that Murphy had joined

for the 2017–18 season. He made his debut for the side on 9 September 2017, when he came on as a replacement against

Doncaster Knights Doncaster Rugby Football Club are a rugby union club representing the town of Doncaster, England. The first XV are known as the "Doncaster Knights", and play in the RFU Championship. Being the most promoted side in English history has led to ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. Murphy made a total of 12 appearances in the competition. He also played five times in the

2017–18 British and Irish Cup The 2017–18 British and Irish Cup is the ninth and final season of the annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs from Britain and Ireland. Munster A are the defending champions having won the 2016–17 final aga ...

, scoring two tries. Murphy made his final appearance for the Titans on 10 March 2018, when he played against

Ealing Trailfinders Ealing Trailfinders Rugby Club is an English professional rugby union club based in West London. The club's first team are the current champions of the RFU Championship but will remain in that league due to ineligibility for promotion to Premi ...

. He left Rotherham at the end of the season, returning to Ireland to join

Connacht

It was announced in May 2018 that Murphy had signed for

. He joined the side ahead of the 2018–19 season. He played four seasons in Galway, before being released before the 2022-23 season.

International

Murphy has represented Ireland internationally at under-age level. He was part of the Irish under-18 club side in 2009 and 2010. He also played for the under-19 side. In May 2011, Murphy was named in

Mike Ruddock Mike Ruddock, OBE (born 5 September 1959) is a Welsh rugby union coach who is currently an interim consultant for Ospreys, having previously coached Lansdowne FC . Ruddock was the Director of Rugby at the Worcester Warriors until his resignatio ...

's Ireland under-20 squad for the upcoming Junior World Cup. He made his sole appearance for the side on 26 June 2011, when he came on as a replacement against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

References

External links

ItsRugby profileStatBunker profileUlster profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Jonny 1992 births Living people Ballynahinch RFC players Connacht Rugby players Irish rugby union players Rotherham Titans players Ulster Rugby players Rugby union hookers