Johnny O'Connor (born 9 February 1980) 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 its m ...

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 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 ...

, 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. O'Connor spent most of his career with Irish provincial side

, making over 100 appearances across two stints with the team. He also spent four seasons with

English Premiership The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. T ...

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 South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He made 12 appearances for Ireland, and was part of the 2006 team that won the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

. 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 Setanta College is a distance learning college, with a focus on sports courses. It offers internationally accredited qualifications, ranging from Higher Certificate to Master's degree level. The college is primarily web-based but also offers camp ...

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