Seán French (born 14 August 1999) 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 its m ...

player for English

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men’s English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when ...

club

Bedford Blues Bedford Blues are a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The Blues are a semi-pro ...

. He plays as a

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 ...

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 expres ...

or fullback.

Early life

Born in

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, French won the

Munster Schools Rugby 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 ...

in 2017 with Presentation Brothers College, alongside former Munster teammates Jonathan Wren and Jack O'Sullivan, with French scoring all of PBC's points in their 11–3 victory. He was subsequently named in the top XV for the tournament that year. French also represented Munster at under-18 and under-19 level, as well as Ireland at under-18 and under-19 level.

Career

Cork Constitution

French was part of the Cork Con team that won the Munster Senior Cup during the 2018–19 season. He also scored a try in Con's 23–3 win against

Dublin University The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

on 28 April 2019, a victory that ensured Con progressed to the final of the 2018–19 All-Ireland League against Clontarf, and went on to start in the final, which Con won 28–13. French scored nine points in Con's 24–17 win against

Young Munster Young Munster is a rugby union club based in Limerick, Ireland, playing in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. It was founded in 1895 and plays its games at Tom Clifford Park in Rosbrien, Limerick. Club honours have included nine wins in th ...

in the final of the 2019–20 Munster Senior Cup on 20 December 2019.

Munster

French joined the Munster academy ahead of the 2018–19 season, and made his first appearance for

Munster A Munster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Mumhan) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Iris ...

in their 24–16 win against Connacht Eagles in round 1 of the 2018–19 Celtic Cup on 7 September 2018, before going on to feature in all Munster A's fixtures in the tournament. French made his senior competitive debut for Munster against Italian side

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 round 8 of the 2020–21 Pro14 on 30 November 2020, coming on in the 21st minute as a replacement for injured fullback Matt Gallagher and scoring a try in the province's 52–3 win. He joined the Munster senior squad on a one-year contract for the 2021–22 season, and made his first start for Munster in their 18–13 home win against provincial rivals

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 ...

in round 10 of the 2021–22 United Rugby Championship on 8 January 2022. French left Munster at the end of the 2021–22 season.

Bedford Blues

French joined English

club

ahead of the 2022–23 season.

Ireland

French was selected in the Ireland under-20's squad for the 2019 Six Nations Under 20s Championship, featuring off the bench in the opening 35–27 win against

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 ...

and starting in the wins against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, the latter of which secured Ireland's first

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

since 2007. He was retained in the under-20s squad for the 2019 World Rugby Under 20 Championship, and featured off the bench in the opening fixture against

, preventing English

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 ...

Joel Kpoku Joel Awanka S. Kpoku (born 22 June 1999) is an English-born Congolese rugby union lock for Lyon in the French Top 14 Kpoku began playing rugby at school and joined rugby league side London Skolars at 12 years old. He then joined Saracens Amate ...

from scoring a try and helping to set up John Hodnett's try to seal Ireland's 46–26 win. However, French sustained a facial injury during the game which ruled him out of the remainder of the tournament.

Honours

Presentation Brothers College

: **Winner (1): 2017

Cork Constitution

* All-Ireland League Division 1A: **Winner (1): 2018–19 * Munster Senior Cup: **Winner (2): 2018–19, 2019–20

Ireland under-20s

* Six Nations Under 20s Championship: **Winner (1): 2019 *

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

: **Winner (1): 2019 *

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

: ** Winner (1): 2019

References

External links

Munster Senior ProfileU20 Six Nations ProfileURC Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:French, Seán 1999 births Living people People educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork Rugby union players from Cork (city) Irish rugby union players Cork Constitution players Munster Rugby players Bedford Blues players Irish expatriate rugby union players in England Rugby union centres Rugby union wings Rugby union fullbacks