Mossy Lawler (born 5 April 1980) is an Irish former

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 it ...

player who currently works as a coach. He primarily played as a

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

or fullback, but also covered

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– ...

and

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

. Lawler spent most of his playing career with Munster, playing in the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

and Heineken Cup, and also played three games on a trial period for

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

London Wasps Wasps Rugby Football Club is a professional rugby union team. They last played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby until being suspended on 12 October 2022. On 17 October 2022 the club entered administration, resulting in r ...

in 2008. After leaving the professional game, he continued to play at amateur level in Ireland for Shannon and UL Bohemians, before retiring fully in 2015.

Early life

Lawler grew up in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

. His father Pat died while playing rugby when Lawler was just three years old. His father had played for UL Bohemians from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s, and Lawler started out in rugby with the same club. Lawler went to secondary school in Ardscoil Rís in the city, and played rugby for the school team. He was part of the first team from the school to reach the final of the

Munster Schools Senior Cup The Munster Schools Senior Cup or Munster Senior Cup is the under-age rugby union competition for schools affiliated to the Munster Branch of the IRFU. The inaugural Munster Schools Senior Cup took place in 1909 and, since then, Cork city's two ...

, where they were beaten by PBC Cork. After leaving secondary school, Lawler went on to study at

Limerick IT The Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Luimnigh) was an institute of technology, located in Limerick, Ireland. The institute had five campuses that were located in Limerick, Thurles, Clonmel, as well as a ...

, completing a construction studies course.

Playing career

Early career with Shannon

Having played at youth level with UL Bohemians, Lawler moved to cross-city rivals Shannon at the age of 18, having been convinced to move by his cousin, Colm Tucker. He made his debut in the All-Ireland League for the club at that age, and played for them while studying in

. Lawler was given a professional contract with Munster the summer after he finished his college course. Lawler remained associated with Shannon throughout his time with the province, playing for the side occasionally when available.

Munster

Lawler made his competitive debut for Munster on 11 September 2001, in a game against Welsh side Caerphilly. Munster reached the Heineken Cup final in his first season with the side, but he didn't feature in the competition. Lawler did however play the following season, featuring in the "Miracle Match" 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 ...

. Munster needed to win by 27 points, with four clear tries between the sides, to qualify from the pool stages of the

2002–03 Heineken Cup The 2002–03 Heineken Cup was the eighth edition of the Heineken Cup. Competing teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales, England and Scotland, were divided into six pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other. T ...

. Lawler started on the wing and scored a try as Munster won 33–6 in front of a delirious

Thomond Park Thomond Park is a stadium in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and has Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. Limerick FC played home games in Thomond Park fr ...

. Lawler was part of the squad that won the province's first Heineken Cup in 2006. He had played for the team in the pool stages, but missed the quarter-final through injury and never regained his place in the team. In the 2006–07 season Lawler's playing time was limited, as he made ten Celtic League appearances, six of them coming as a replacement, and didn't feature in Europe. He then missed the entirety of the 2007–08 season through injury, as Munster won their second Heineken Cup. Lawler's contract wasn't renewed at the end of the season.

Wasps

Having left Munster at the end of the 2007–08 season, Lawler was without a club. In October 2008,

team

invited him to join the club on a three-month contract. His fellow Munster natives Jeremy Staunton,

Eoin Reddan Eoin Reddan (born Limerick, Ireland, 20 November 1980) is an Irish rugby union player who plays at scrum half. He initially attended the Jesuit boarding school, Clongowes Wood, before moving school to Crescent College Comprehensive where he ...

and

Damien Varley Damien Varley (born 29 October 1983) is a former Irish rugby union player who represented Munster and Ireland. He played as a hooker. Varley was forced to retire from rugby in February 2015, due to a foot injury. Early life Varley was educa ...

were playing with the team at the time. After making two appearances in the Premiership for the side, Lawler tore his groin in a game against Sale Sharks, which brought his time with Wasps to an end.

Return to amateur rugby

After his disappointment with Wasps, Lawler gave up on a professional career, instead rejoining Shannon for the 2009–10 season, and he played for the side for three seasons. At the end of the 2011–12 season, he opted to rejoin UL Bohemians, the club where he had first played in his youth. Again Lawler's cousin Colm Tucker, who had first persuaded him to join Shannon in the 1990s, was key to the switch. Lawler joined Bohemians as a player, but also served as the club's director of rugby, with a focus on developing the club's academy. This added coaching role was key in his decision to move. Lawler retired from playing at the end of the 2014–15 campaign, having played at senior level for 17 seasons.

Coaching

After retiring from playing rugby, Lawler joined the Connacht Academy staff as an elite player development officer, with a focus on developing the backs. He also served as head coach of the province's under-20 side and the second tier team, the Connacht Eagles. Ahead of the 2021–22 season, Lawlor joined Connacht's senior staff as their attack and skills coach. Lawlor will return to Munster as their skills coach from the 2023–24 season.

References

External links

Munster Profile
* 1980 births Living people People educated at Ardscoil Rís, Limerick Alumni of Limerick Institute of Technology Rugby union players from County Limerick Irish rugby union players UL Bohemians R.F.C. players Shannon RFC players Munster Rugby players Wasps RFC players Connacht Rugby non-playing staff Rugby union centres Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union wings {{ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub