Shane Patrick Horgan (born 18 July 1978) 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 its m ...

player who played

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 centre for

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 ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Early life

He was born on 18 July 1978 in

Bellewstown Bellewstown () is a village located 8 km south of Drogheda, on the Hill of Crockafotha in County Meath in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It takes its name from the Anglo-Irish Bellew family, who were the dominant local landowners from th ...

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

, to an Irish mother, Ursula (née Campbell) from

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

whose parents before her originated from Midfield Co. Mayo and a New Zealand father, John. When Horgan was young he played for

Boyne RFC Boyne RFC is a rugby team in Drogheda, Ireland, playing in Division 1A of the Leinster League The Leinster League is the second tier of rugby in Leinster, behind the Leinster Senior League. It has five divisions. The champions qualify for a r ...

. He also played

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

at Minor (U18) level with the Meath county team. He was educated at a boys' Catholic school
St. Mary's Diocesan School
in

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

, and was active in their rugby team. Horgan joined

Lansdowne Lansdowne or Lansdown may refer to: People * Lansdown Guilding (1797–1831), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines naturalist and engraver *Fenwick Lansdowne (1937–2008), Canadian wildlife artist * George Granville, 1st Baron Lansdowne (1666–1735) ...

on leaving school in 1997.

Club career

Horgan made his debut for Leinster in 1998. He played for Leinster 87 times in the

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 ...

, ranking fifth in career Heineken Cup appearances. He scored 27 tries during his Heineken Cup career, ranking him fourth on the list of most career tries scored in Heineken Cup competition. His most prolific Heineken Cup season was 2004–05, when Horgan was the leading try scorer with 8 tries. He was a member of a Leinster backline which included

Brian O'Driscoll Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the ...

Gordon D'Arcy Gordon William D'Arcy (born 10 February 1980, in Ferns, County Wexford) is a retired Irish rugby player who played most of his career at inside centre. He played for Irish provincial side Leinster for his entire professional career and is secon ...

Denis Hickie Denis Anthony Hickie (Irish name: ''Donnacadh Antoin Ó hIceadh''; born 13 February 1976), is a retired professional rugby union player formerly employed by the Irish Rugby Football Union. He played his club rugby for Leinster. His primary pos ...

Felipe Contepomi Felipe Contepomi (born 20 August 1977) is an Argentine rugby coach who is currently the backs coach at Leinster Rugby. He was a rugby union footballer who played fly-half or centre; his last club was Club Newman, in the first division of the U ...

Isa Nacewa Isakeli "Isa" Nacewa (born 22 July 1982) is a former rugby union player and coach. Born in New Zealand of Fijian descent, he represented the Fiji national team, winning one cap in 2003. Nacewa was a utility back who played for the Blues in t ...

Rob Kearney Robert Kearney (born 26 March 1986) is an Irish rugby union former player. He played for 15 years for Leinster followed by a 6 month stint in Australia, playing for Perth based side Western Force. He also played over a decade for the Ireland na ...

and

Johnny Sexton Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton (born 11 July 1985) is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Leinster Rugby and Ireland, and he also captains both teams. He represented the British & Irish Lions in both 2013 and 2017 and has scored o ...

International career

Horgan made his debut for the Ireland senior side against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

in the 2000 Six Nations Championship, scoring a try in the process. In the following game against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

he scored 2 tries and added another one against

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 ...

during the tournament. He was selected for the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. He was used as a substitute during all three tests. After scoring the winning try against England at Twickenham in the

2006 Six Nations Championship The 2006 Six Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this ...

to secure the Triple Crown for the second time in three years, he became a new national hero. Horgan added to his following in 2007 when he scored a try against England in

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

by executing a

style catch from a

Ronan O'Gara Ronan John Ross O'Gara ( ga, Rónán Ó Gadhra; born 7 March 1977) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland's second most-capped player and highest ever points scorer. He is currently ...

crossfield kick. Horgan is known by the Irish media and rugby fans as "Shaggy". Horgan showed a return to something near the levels of performance of his earlier career in early 2011 but injury towards the end of the club season forced him to miss out on the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

. On 28 March 2012, Horgan announced his retirement with immediate effect having failed to regain full fitness following surgery on a long-term knee injury.

Honours

;Individual *Leinster all time leading try scorer: (69) *Leinster Supporter's Player Player of the Year (1): 2010–11 ;Leinster *

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 ...

(2): 2001–02, 2007–08 *

(2): 2008–09, 2010–11 ;Ireland * Six Nations (1):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Personal life

Horgan has three older sisters Maria,

Sharon Sharon ( he, שָׁרוֹן ''Šārôn'' "plain") is a given name as well as an Israeli surname. In English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name. However, historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In I ...

and Lorraine and one younger brother, Mark. He is a second cousin of Jockey

Leighton Aspell Leighton Aspell (born 12 June 1976) is a retired Irish jockey, whose wins include the Champion Four Year Old Hurdle riding United, two runnings of the Welsh National, the 2014 Grand National riding Pineau de Re and the 2015 Grand National riding ...

and his brother Paddy. Horgan studied law at Portobello College and is completing a master's degree at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

. He currently works as

trainee solicitor In the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, Ireland, and certain other English common law jurisdictions, a trainee solicitor is a prospective lawyer undergoing professional training at a law firm or an in-house legal team to qualify as a full-fl ...

at Lee & Thompsonhttp://www.leeandthompson.com/our-people/#Shane Horgan in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, as well as regularly appearing on

RTÉ Sport RTÉ Sport is a department of Irish public broadcaster RTÉ. The department provides sporting coverage through a number of platforms including RTÉ Radio, RTÉ Television, RTÉ.ie, RTÉ Player Sport and RTÉ Mobile. RTÉ holds the television ...

as an analyst in their rugby coverage. Since leaving RTE Sport Shane has joined TV3 for the station’s Six Nations coverage presented by Joe Molloy

References

External links

Leinster profileIreland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horgan, Shane 1978 births Living people Irish people of English descent Irish people of New Zealand descent Rugby union players from County Meath Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Lansdowne Football Club players Leinster Rugby players Rugby union wings Gaelic footballers who switched code Meath Gaelic footballers British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland