Nick Kennedy (born 19 August 1982) is a retired English
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 and former Director of Rugby at
London Irish
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...
. He played
Lock
Lock(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lock ...
for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
London Irish
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...
,
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
and
Harlequins.
His uncle Duncan Kennedy is a BBC news correspondent.
Kennedy represented
England Saxons
England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...
at the
2006 Churchill Cup
The 2006 Churchill Cup was a rugby union competition played between the second teams of various top tier international rugby nations and the first teams of traditionally less prominent teams, such as Canada and the United States. The 2006 tournamen ...
and
2007 Churchill Cup
The 2007 Churchill Cup was held from May 18 to June 2, 2007. It was the fifth year of the Churchill Cup. Six rugby union teams took part: Canada, England Saxons, Ireland A, New Zealand Māori, Scotland A, and the USA.
Format
The teams were s ...
.
He was called into the
England Saxons
England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...
side that defeated
Ireland A on 1 February 2008.
Kennedy was selected for the
2008 summer tour of New Zealand.
He was later picked for Martin Johnson's Elite Player Squad on 1 June 2008 ahead of
Ben Kay
Benedict James Kay MBE (born 14 December 1975) is a retired English international rugby union footballer who played Second row forward for Leicester Tigers and .
Background
Kay was born in Liverpool, the only son of Lord Justice of Appeal Si ...
.
He started his first game against the
Pacific Islanders
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...
in which he scored a try.
Kennedy participated in every game of the
2009 Six Nations
The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 10th Six Nations Championship, and the 115th international championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major European national ...
.
In 2012 Kennedy was signed for
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
for the upcoming 2012/13 season
In May 2013 he started as
Toulon
Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
won the
2013 Heineken Cup Final
The 2013 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2012–13 Heineken Cup, the 18th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 18 May 2013 in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, kicking off at 5 pm (16: ...
by 16–15 against
Clermont Auvergne
Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French ...
. Following his request to be released from Toulon, he returned to England to sign for
Harlequins for 2013/14 season.
After just one season at Harlequins, Kennedy announced his retirement from playing in May 2014 in order to pursue a coaching career after he was appointed academy director at former club London Irish. On 1 July 2016 he was announced as the new Director of Rugby in a new coaching setup following the departure of Tom Coventry. He left his role on 22 March, 2018 shortly after the appointment of
Declan Kidney
Declan Kidney (born 20 October 1959) is an Irish rugby union coach. He was the head coach of the Ireland national rugby union team from 2008 to 2013, where he won the 2009 Six Nations with a Grand Slam, winning the 2009 IRB Coach of the Year aw ...
as technical consultant and
Les Kiss
Les Kiss (born 9 December 1964) is an Australian professional rugby union coach who is the head coach of London Irish in the Gallagher Premiership. He is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the Brisbane Rugby League and ...
as head coach.
References
External links
London Irish profileEngland profileLondon Irish confirm Nick Kennedy exit for Toulon
1981 births
Living people
England international rugby union players
English rugby union coaches
English rugby union players
Harlequin F.C. players
London Irish players
Rugby union locks
English people of Irish descent
Alumni of the University of Portsmouth
People educated at Claires Court School
RC Toulonnais players
Rugby union players from Southampton
{{England-rugbyunion-bio-stub