Stephen Ferris (born 2 August 1985) is a retired

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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 for

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 ...

and represented

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 ...

internationally. Ferris played club rugby with

Dungannon Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in the ...

. He is from

Maghaberry Maghaberry or Magaberry (pronounced , ) is a village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is west of Lisburn and north of Moira. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 4,716 people. It is one of the biggest villages within ...

and attended

Friends' School Lisburn Friends' School, Lisburn is a Quaker voluntary grammar school in the city of Lisburn, Northern Ireland, founded in 1774. History Friends’ School Lisburn was founded – as The Ulster Provincial School – on the basis of a bequest in 1764 of ...

. He played for Ulster and Ireland in all three backrow positions. Ferris retired for rugby in June 2014 after a long-standing ankle injury ended his career.

Ulster

Ferris graduated from the Ulster Academy and joined Ulster Rugby on a development contract at the start of the 2005–06 season. He was named in the Ireland Under-20 Rugby World Cup Squad in 2005. He made his Ulster debut against

Border Reivers Border reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border ...

in October 2005. Going into the 2011–12 season, Ulster and Ferris shone on the European stage with the Irish side putting in a memorable 41–7 win over Leicester at Ravenhill during 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 ...

group stages. Despite injury, Ferris performed valiantly earning man of the match honours during Ulster's Heineken cup quarter final victory over

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

. Due to his strong performances Ferris was nominated for the ERC European Player of the Year 2012. Ulster ended up losing to

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

2012 Heineken Cup Final The 2012 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2011–12 Heineken Cup, the 17th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 19 May 2012 at Twickenham Stadium in London, England. The final was between Ulster ...

, 42–14. Ferris last played against Edinburgh in November 2012, due to an ankle injury he sustained. This injury prevented a potentially lucrative move to Japan. He remained at Ulster on a short term contract as he underwent rehabilitation, before returning against the

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup (which ...

on the 14 March 2014 where he came off the bench to a standing ovation after a 15-month absence. Ulster went on to win the Scarlets match 26–13. Unfortunately, the injury recurred forcing Ferris's retirement in June 2014, aged 28.

Ireland

Ferris made his full Ireland debut against

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in November 2006. Ferris was selected for the Ireland

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

squad in 2007 but was an unused reserve at the tournament. Injury ruled Ferris out of the 2008 Six Nations, but good early season form for Ulster saw him rewarded with three further caps during Ireland's end of year campaign. He earned his fifth Irish cap against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in June 2008. He retained his place for the following year's Six Nations and was an ever-present as Declan Kidney's side clinched the Grand Slam. Following the 2009 Lions tour Ferris made his international return for Ireland in the autumn series later the same year and featured strongly in the hard-fought draw with Australia and the impressive victory over South Africa, 15–10. Ferris played in four of Ireland's 2010 Six Nations matches, but missed the 2010 Summer Tour through injury. However, he made his international comeback during the 2010 November Tests, scoring his first international try against New Zealand at the new Landsdowne Road, and scoring his second against Argentina. He missed the 2011 Six Nations, and the latter half of the 2010/2011 season through injury, but returned for Ireland against France on 20 August during a 2011 Rugby World Cup warm-up test, having been included in Ireland's training squad for the 2011 World Cup. During the campaign, Ferris shone in their win over Australia in the group stages. He adopted the now famous 'wrap around' tackle to prevent the Wallabies from getting quick ball as Declan Kidney's men ran out 15–6 winners. Ireland eventually bowed out to Wales in the quarter-finals, but Ferris was one of the standout players in the tournament.

British & Irish Lions

Ferris was selected as part of the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa. He scored his first Lions try on 3 June, against the

Golden Lions The Golden Lions (currently known as the Sigma Golden Lions for sponsorship reasons) is a South African professional rugby union team based in Johannesburg who compete in the annual Currie Cup and Rugby Challenge. The team is governed by the ...

but was forced to withdraw from the squad on Tuesday 9 June after he tore the

medial collateral ligament The medial collateral ligament (MCL), or tibial collateral ligament (TCL), is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial (inner) side of the knee joint in humans and other primates. Its primary function is to resist out ...

in his right knee during a training session. He was replaced by Wales captain

Ryan Jones Ryan Paul Jones (born 13 March 1981) is a Wales former international rugby union player who played at number eight, blindside flanker or second row. He was involved in three Grand Slam wins, in 2005, as captain in 2008, and 2012. He is one o ...

Honours

Ulster

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 ...

(1): 2005–06

Ireland

* Six Nations (1):

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References

External links

Ulster profileIRFU profileLions profileStephen Ferris Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferris, Stephen Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Ulster Rugby players Rugby union number eights 1985 births Living people People educated at Friends' School, Lisburn People from County Antrim Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Dungannon RFC players