Nathan Doak (born 17 December 2001) 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 it ...

player who plays scrum-half 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 Kin ...

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 ...

and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The son of the former Ulster scrum-half and head coach Neil Doak, he was a mascot and a ball-boy at Ravenhill as a child. He started playing rugby at Wallace High School, and was part of the team that shared the

Ulster Schools' Cup The Ulster Schools' Challenge Cup is an annual competition involving schools affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union. The Schools' Cup has the distinction of being the world's second-oldest rugby competition, having be ...

with

The Royal School, Armagh The Royal School, Armagh is a co-educational voluntary grammar school, founded in the 17th century, in the city of Armagh in Northern Ireland. It has a boarding department with an international intake. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Hea ...

after the final was called off due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. He won the Ulster Boys' Schools Player of the Year award in 2020. He represented Ireland at U18 and U19 level, and played for Ulster A in the 2019–20 Celtic Cup, before joining the Ulster academy for the 2020–21 season. He made his Ulster debut in Round 10 of the 2020–21 Pro14 against . He was selected for the

Ireland national under-20 rugby union team The Ireland national under-20 rugby team was formed in 2006, having previously been known as the under-21 team. They have won the Grand Slam three times and the Six Nations Championship four times: 2007, 2010, 2019 and 2022. Current squad Head c ...

for the 2021 Six Nations Under 20s Championship. He played in the victory against Wales, scoring three penalties, three conversions and a 50-metre try; in the defeat to England, scoring a penalty and a conversion; and in the win over Italy, scoring two penalties and two conversions. He signed a development contract with Ulster ahead of the 2021-22 season. He impressed in the absence of John Cooney with injury, scoring 48 points in nine appearances, and was awarded a senior contract in December. He made his first Champions Cup start against

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", ...

in January 2022, scoring a try in a 24-20 victory. He finished the season with 23 appearances and 134 points, and was nominated for Young Men's Player of the Year in the 2022 Ulster Rugby Awards. He was selected for the

Emerging Ireland Emerging Ireland is an Irish rugby union team that represents Ireland in the World Rugby Nations Cup. History 2013 Tbilisi Cup The team was created to offer Tier 1 level opposition for Tier 2 sides in the IRB Tbilisi Cup, held in Tbilisi, Georgia ...

squad for the Toyota Challenge in South Africa in September 2022."Emerging Ireland Squad Named For Toyota Challenge In Bloemfontein"
Irish Rugby, 14 September 2022

References

External links

Ulster Rugby profileUnited Rugby Championship profile
* 2001 births Living people Irish rugby union players Ulster Rugby players Rugby union scrum-halves {{Ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub