Tadhg Leader (born 1 March 1992) is an Irish-born

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 and

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

placekicker Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter. Spe ...

. He has also played for American professional rugby union club New England Free Jacks in

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR). Leader was born and raised in Ireland, but after living in the United States for several years, qualified to play for the

United States national rugby union team The United States men's national rugby union team represents the United States in men's international rugby union. Nicknamed the Eagles, it is controlled by USA Rugby, the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United Stat ...

. His primary position is at fly-half, though he has also played at inside center.

Early life

Born in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, Leader grew up in Castlegar, just outside the city. He is a past pupil of

the Bish St. Joseph's Patrician College, often known as "The Bish", is a secondary school in the West Ireland city of Galway. Founded by the Patrician Brothers, a religious order, it has approximately 800 students on roll and, in recent years, has ha ...

, one of the city's secondary schools, and the Cistercian College in Roscrea. Leader is the older brother of current

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 ...

player

Darragh Leader Darragh Leader (born 22 May 1993) is a retired rugby player from Ireland. His primary position is at Fullback (rugby union), fullback, though he has also played on the Wing (rugby union), wing. Leader plays for Connacht Rugby, Connacht in the Pr ...

. Greg, the eldest brother, played for the province at underage level. Their parents were also heavily involved in sport, with their mother, Breda, serving as secretary for

Rowing Ireland Rowing Ireland, formerly the Irish Amateur Rowing Union, is the governing body of rowing for Ireland. It is a cross-border organisation administering the sport in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Rowing Ireland is a member of ...

and their father, Noel, having played for and served as president of the Galwegians rugby club, where Leader first played the sport.

Club career

Connacht

Leader graduated secondary school and signed for the Connacht academy in 2011. Later that year, Leader played an integral role in the Connacht under-20 grand slam winning team. Leader was brought into the Connacht senior squad for the 2012–13 season. Leader made multiple appearances for the

Connacht Eagles Connacht Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Connachta) is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Conn ...

in the

British and Irish Cup The British and Irish Cup was an annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs and the reserves or developing teams from professional clubs from Great Britain and Ireland. It took place for the first time in the 2009 ...

. After multiple injury setbacks Leader left Connacht and signed with Italian club Rugby Badia ASD.

Rugby Badia ASD

Leader arrived in Italy to play with Rugby Badia ASD in Italy's Serie A rugby competition. A few months into his time in Italy a shoulder injury forced him to return to Ireland for surgery.

Lindenwood University

In 2015, whilst recovering from a shoulder reconstruction Leader received a rugby scholarship at Lindenwood University in

St. Charles, Missouri Saint Charles (commonly abbreviated St. Charles) is a city in, and the county seat of, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States. The population was 65,794 at the 2010 census, making St. Charles the ninth-largest city in Missouri. Situated on t ...

to play for the school's college rugby side the

Lindenwood Lions The Lindenwood Lions and Lady Lions are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Lindenwood University, located in St. Charles, Missouri, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the ...

. During his time at Lindenwood, Leader pursued an undergraduate degree in sports management. Leader was selected to play in the Lindenwood team that represented the United States at the Red Bull World Uni 7's in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in England. However, shortly after arriving, Leader was ruled ineligible to represent the university in intercollegiate matches due to his time spent as a professional player in Ireland and Italy.

St. Louis Royals

Leader linked up with local club the St. Louis Royals in 2016, whilst continuing his studies at Lindenwood. As captain-coach Leader led the Royals to a DIII national championship in 2017. Leader was also named player's MVP of the Royals after the 2017 season.

San Diego Legion

In January 2018, Leader signed a two-year contract with the San Diego Legion of

International career

In April 2011, Leader was selected for the Ireland under-19 squad for their game against France. Later that year in December 2011, Leader was selected as part of Mike Ruddock's squad for the Ireland under-20s in preparation for the 2012 under-20 Six Nations tournament. Having lived in the United States since 2015, under the World Rugby three-year residency rule, Leader became eligible in 2018 to play for the United States. Leader was called up to the U.S. squad for the

2019 Americas Rugby Championship The 2019 Americas Rugby Championship is the fourth series of the Americas Rugby Championship, the top level rugby union competition for Americas nations. Participants Table Fixtures The tournament was played in a round-robin format, with ...

Gridiron football

In 2020, Leader attempted to become an

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

. He joined

The Spring League The Spring League was an American football developmental league and scouting event (pro showcase) that played from 2017 to 2021 and was founded by Brian Woods. Aimed at professional athletes but not paying a salary or expenses, the league's go ...

's Aviators for the 2021 season. Following week 6 of the

2021 European League of Football season The 2021 ELF season is the inaugural season of the European League of Football, a newly formed professional American football league based in Europe. It started on June 19, 2021, and ended with a Championship Game in Düsseldorf's Merkur Spiel-Are ...

, Leader signed with the

Wrocław Panthers Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

. On February 23, 2022, Leader signed with the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

. However, he was released before the start of the regular season on June 5, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leader, Tadhg 1992 births Living people Connacht Rugby players Irish rugby union players San Diego Legion players New England Free Jacks players United States international rugby union players New Orleans Gold players People educated at Cistercian College, Roscrea People educated at St Joseph's Patrician College Sportspeople from Galway (city) The Spring League players Lindenwood Lions athletes Irish players of American football Lindenwood Lions rugby American football placekickers Expatriate players of American football Irish expatriate sportspeople in Poland Panthers Wrocław players Rugby union fly-halves Canadian football placekickers Hamilton Tiger-Cats players