Jack Carty (born 31 August 1992) is a

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

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 ...

. His primary position is at

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

. Having started out with his hometown club,

Buccaneers Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 until about 1688, ...

, Carty currently plays for the team of his native province of

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 ...

in the

United Rugby Championship 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 ...

, having come through the team's academy. He is Connacht's record points scorer in the Pro14, having overtaken

Ian Keatley Ian James T. Keatley (born 1 April 1987) is an Irish rugby union player. He plays primarily as a fly-half, but can also play as a centre or fullback. Early life Keatley was born in Dublin, where he was educated at Belvedere College and Unive ...

in March 2019. Carty is an international, having made his debut for the side against in 2019.

Early life

Carty received his secondary education at

Marist College, Athlone Marist College is a secondary school for boys in Athlone, County Westmeath, Ireland. The school was founded in 1884 by the Marist Brothers, a French Order, and the first principal was Brother Mungo. The original school was based in Glesson Stre ...

. He attended university at

NUI Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

. Before becoming a professional rugby player, Carty played a number of other sports. He represented

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who built ...

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

at minor level and also played

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, representing the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

internationally as far as under-15 level. He was offered a trial with English football club

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

but turned it down in favour of a trial at

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

Rugby career

Connacht

In his early career with Connacht, Carty primarily featured for the province's secondary team the Connacht Eagles, playing in the

British and Irish Cup The British and Irish Cup was an annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs and the reserves or developing teams from professional clubs from Great Britain and Ireland. It took place for the first time in the 2009 ...

. Despite still being in the Connacht academy, Carty made his first appearance for the senior Connacht team on 21 September 2012, in a match against the

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 ...

in the

2012–13 Pro12 The 2012–13 Pro12 League (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 12th season of the rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the third with its current 12-team format, and the second with Ra ...

. He was a replacement at fullback for

Gavin Duffy Gavin Duffy (born Liam Duffy; 29 April 1960) Kildare, Ireland is an Irish entrepreneur and businessman who was a former part owner of the HRM Group of Companies, one of Ireland's largest recruitment companies. Duffy is a regular conference spea ...

, coming on after 28 minutes. In the 2013–14 season, Carty regularly served as the team's captain. His next game for came on 4 October 2013 when he made a substitute appearance against Italian team Benetton Treviso. On 27 December that year, he made his third appearance for the team, against inter-provincial rivals

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 ...

. Carty made his first start for Connacht on 4 January 2014, when he played at fly-half against the reigning Pro12 and Amlin Cup champions

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 ...

, in another derby. On 11 January, he played his first European match for the province, starting in their

2013–14 Heineken Cup The 2013–14 Heineken Cup was the 19th and final season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The pool stage began on 11 October 2013 and ran through to 17–19 ...

match with

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning "Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by the ...

, kicking two penalties and two conversions. In February that year, Carty signed his first professional contract with Connacht. Following the retirement of

Dan Parks Daniel Arthur Parks (born 26 May 1978) is an Australian-born former international rugby union player and now coach. His primary playing position was at fly-half. Parks played professionally for Pro12 sides Glasgow Warriors, Cardiff Blues an ...

, Carty became Connacht's first choice at fly-half for the 2014–15 season. He made 21 appearances 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 ...

, with 16 of these coming as starts. Carty played in five of the team's six 2014–15 Challenge Cup games, starting all but one of these. He also started the team's final game of the season, a

play-off The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

against

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. The following season saw Carty continue to be first choice through to February 2016, when he injured himself on a water slide in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

and to have his spleen removed. He returned to first team action that April, but couldn't dislodge

AJ MacGinty Alan "AJ" MacGinty is an Irish-born professional rugby player, who represents the United States in international competition. He primarily plays as a fly-half. MacGinty plays club rugby for Premiership Rugby team Bristol Bears. Early life A gra ...

and Shane O'Leary and missed out on a place in the Pro12 Final on 28 May. Carty appeared in 12

and five

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

games in the 2015–16 season before his accident, and only two Pro12 games afterwards. The departure of MacGinty to

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the n ...

and injuries to new signing

Marnitz Boshoff Marnitz Louis Boshoff (born 11 January 1989) is a South African rugby union player who usually plays as a fly-half or fullback. He plays for the in Super Rugby, the in the Currie Cup and the in the Rugby Challenge, having previously played ...

saw Carty return to first choice for the 2016–17 season. He started 18 games in the

, featuring as a replacement in three more, and started five of the side's six games in the Champions Cup, missing the home game with Zebre through injury. Carty also started the team's Champions Cup play-off with

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

at the end of the season. Following a strong season in the 2020–21 Championship, Carty was named to his second Pro14 Dream Team.

International

Carty has represented Ireland at various under-age levels internationally. He was named in the Ireland under-20s team and represented them at the

2012 IRB Junior World Championship The 2012 IRB Junior World Championship was the fifth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. This competition replaced the now defunct Under 19 and Under 21 world championships. The event was organised in South A ...

. Carty was named in the senior squad for the opening rounds of the

2019 Six Nations The 2019 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland ...

. He made his debut on 24 February 2019, when he came on as a replacement in the 26–16 win against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in the

Stadio Olimpico The Stadio Olimpico (English: ''Olympic Stadium'') is the largest sports facility in Rome, Italy, seating over 70,000 spectators. It is located within the Foro Italico sports complex, north of the city. The structure is owned by the Italian Na ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carty, Jack 1992 births Living people Alumni of the University of Galway Buccaneers RFC players Connacht Rugby players Gaelic footballers who switched code Irish rugby union players People from Athlone Republic of Ireland youth international footballers Roscommon Gaelic footballers Association footballers not categorized by position Rugby union players from County Roscommon Ireland international rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves Association football players not categorized by nationality