Rodney Ah You (born 27 October 1988) is a New Zealand born 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 ...

player. Ah You's primary position is as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

, and he can play at both tighthead and loosehead. He currently plays for French side

Rugby Club Vannes RC Vannes (french: Rugby Club Vannes) is a French rugby union club based in Vannes currently competing in Pro D2. Founded in , they play in the Stade de la Rabine and traditionally wear blue and white jerseys. The team usually competed in the th ...

in the

Rugby Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...

. Ah You has represented Ireland at full international level. After qualifying for Ireland in October 2013 through residency, he made his debut on 7 June 2014 against .

Career

Club

Early career

At a young age Ah You's primary sporting interest was boxing, only taking up rugby at the age of 16. He started out playing as a back row forward, but credits former

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

player Dave Hewett with his move to the front row. Ah You progressed quickly in the sport, being capped by the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

senior team before he had turned 20, and playing at under-age level for New Zealand. Ah You did not make the step up to

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

level, however, and had not been called up for the Crusaders team by the time he left Canterbury for Connacht.

Connacht

Ah You joined

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 ...

on an 18-month deal in October 2010. He was brought in to replace the injured former

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 ...

international, Robbie Morris in the squad. Ah You made his debut for Connacht in the 2010–11 European Challenge Cup against Harlequins on 12 December 2010, coming on as a replacement. He made his league debut for the side on 1 January 2011 against

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 total, Ah You played 11

2010–11 Celtic League The 2010–11 Magners League was the tenth Celtic League season and the fifth with Magners as title sponsor. The regular season began on 3 September 2010 and finished on the weekend of 6–8 May 2011. During these stages, each team played every ot ...

games and three games in the Challenge Cup in his first season, with all of his appearances coming as a replacement. Ah You's second season with Connacht saw him play more regularly, and he made his first league start for Connacht in the opening game of

2011–12 Pro12 The 2011–12 Pro12 League (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th season of the rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the second with its current 12-team format, and also the first w ...

, the Celtic League having been renamed. In that game against Benetton Treviso, Ah You scored his first try for the province and it proved decisive as Connacht won by just two points. Over the course of the season he featured in 13 games, seven of them being starts. The season also saw Ah You play in four of Connacht's six games in their first ever

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

campaign, starting against Harlequins and

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, and coming from the bench in both games 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 2012–13 season once again saw Ah You make all of his appearances from the bench. He played in 13

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 ...

matches, and played in Connacht's away game to

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 ...

in the

2012–13 Heineken Cup The 2012–13 Heineken Cup was the 18th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The tournament began with two pool matches on 12 October 2012 and ended with t ...

. In February 2013, Ah You signed an extension to his contract to keep him with Connacht until the end of the 2013–14 season. In the 2013–14 season, Ah You played more regularly. He made his first Connacht start of the season on 4 October against Treviso in the 2013–14 Pro12, having come on as a replacement in four games before that. Ah You played in all 6 of Connacht's games in the

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 ...

, starting at home to

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

and Toulouse, and away to Zebre. In the league he featured in all 22 of Connacht's games, starting in 12 of them. Ah You agreed to another contract extension with Connacht in December 2013, which will keep him with the province until 2016.

Ulster

In January 2016, it was announced that Ah You would join fellow Irish province

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 King ...

on a two-year deal from the start of the 2016–17 season.

Newcastle Falcons

Rodney joined

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

in mid-November 2018 but suffered from an injury during training. He made his Premiership debut against

on April 5 after returning to full fitness and has remained a key asset in Falcons' 2018-19 campaign.

RC Vannes

In Summer 2021 Rodney departed

signing for

in the French

International

In his early career, Ah You was an under-age international player for his country. He was capped for both the New Zealand Under-19 and Under-20 teams. In January 2014, Ah You was one of seven uncapped players named in Ireland's extended 44-man squad for the upcoming Six Nations by head coach Joe Schmidt. He had become eligible to play for Ireland in October 2013, qualifying through residency. In May 2014, Ah You was called up to the initial

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 IRB Nations Cup, but in June, following injury to Martin Moore, Ah You was called up to the full Ireland squad for the end of season tour to face . Ah You was named on the substitutes bench for the first test of the series in Resistencia and came on as a second-half replacement for Mike Ross as Ireland came out 29–17 winners.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ah You, Rodney 1988 births New Zealand rugby union players New Zealand people of Chinese descent New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Connacht Rugby players Ulster Rugby players Rugby union props Living people Ireland international rugby union players Rugby union players from Wellington City People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Ireland New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Northern Ireland New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in England New Zealand expatriate rugby union players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in France Rugby Club Vannes players Newcastle Falcons players Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in France Expatriate rugby union players in Ireland Expatriate rugby union players in Northern Ireland Naturalised citizens of Ireland