Seán Cronin (born 6 May 1986) is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a hooker 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 ...

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 ...

. He also played for the

Ireland national rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Champi ...

Youth

Cronin was educated at Ardscoil Rís in Limerick. He previously played with Shannon and

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

, where he had progressed through their academy to a development contract. Cronin's rugby career began to take off while playing in the All-Ireland League for Shannon. Before becoming a professional rugby player, Cronin played minor

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 ...

with

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

in 2004. He also won a

Limerick Senior Football Championship The Limerick Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by the top Limerick GAA clubs. The champions qualify to represent Limerick in the Munster Senior Club Football Championship, the winners of which progr ...

medal with Monaleen in 2005.

Professional

Outings for Ireland A and two

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 ...

appearances for his home province of Munster saw Cronin attract the attention of

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 ...

who offered him a full contract in the summer of 2008. In January 2011 it was announced that Cronin would join

on a 2-year contract for the 2011–12 season, after 3 seasons at Connacht. Cronin retired at the end of the 2021–22 season.

Ireland

Cronin represented Ireland in rugby at Ireland Schools, U19, U21, and A (

Ireland Wolfhounds The Ireland Wolfhounds (formerly Ireland A and Ireland B) are the second national rugby union team of Ireland, behind the Ireland national team. They previously competed in the Churchill Cup together with the England Saxons, the national teams ...

) levels. Cronin earned his first cap against Fiji in November 2009. His second cap came as a replacement for

Rory Best Rory David Best (born 15 August 1982) is an Irish former rugby union player from Northern Ireland and was the captain of the Ireland national team from 2016 to 2019. He played hooker for Ulster and was registered for Banbridge RFC, having pr ...

during the Ireland v Wales Six Nations game in March 2010. He won his first start against New Zealand in the 2010 summer tests and also started against Australia. On 10 March 2018 Cronin scored a try in Ireland's 28–8 win over

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 ...

. The win clinched the 2018 Six Nations title for Ireland. While a mainstay of the Irish team for several years, Cronin started in only 10 of his 72 tests for Ireland. He made his first 6 Nations start in 2019 against Italy, his 32 previous 6 Nations appearances having come as a substitute.

References

External links

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Leinster profileIreland profilePro14 profile
* * 1986 births Living people People educated at Ardscoil Rís, Limerick Alumni of Griffith College Limerick inter-county Gaelic footballers Monaleen Gaelic footballers Rugby union players from County Limerick Shannon RFC players Munster Rugby players Connacht Rugby players Leinster Rugby players Ireland international rugby union players Rugby union hookers {{Ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub