Tom Farrell (born 1 October 1993) is a rugby union player from Ireland. He primarily 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 eccentricity ...

. Farrell currently plays for Irish provincial side

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 ...

in the

Pro14 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 has previously played for English 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 ...

in the

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 ...

as well as the

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

'A' team, and came through the

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 ...

academy.

Club career

Early career

Farrell joined the

academy ahead of the 2013–14 season. During his time in the academy, Farrell featured for the province's second tier side,

Leinster A Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby ...

, 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 ...

. He made a total of seven appearances for the side and scored a try against Carmarthen Quins. Farrell also played senior rugby for All-Ireland League club

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) ...

, and was named the league's "Rising Star of the Month" for March 2015. Farrell moved to

in 2016 and was part of the club's A-League squad for the end of the 2015–16 season.

Bedford

In May 2016 Farrell signed with

English Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

club

, joining them ahead of the 2016–17 season. He made his debut for the side against

Jersey Reds Jersey Reds is a rugby club based in Jersey, Channel Islands that currently competes at the RFU Championship, which is the second tier of English professional rugby. Until season 2022/23, the professional arm of Jersey Reds was part of Jers ...

on 11 September 2016. Farrell made 12 appearances for the Blues, with his final appearance coming against

, before departing the club mid-season to return to Ireland.

Connacht

In January 2017, Farrell returned to Ireland after signing for the reigning

Pro12 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 ...

champions

. Due to an injury crisis at centre, he immediately was added to the team's squad for the European Champions Cup.

International career

Farrell has represented Ireland internationally at under-age level. He was part of the Ireland under-20 squad for the 2013 Junior World Championship. He played in two of the team's three pool matches, starting in the victory over

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 ...

and scoring a try in the defeat to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Ireland finished second in their pool and Farrell started in the side's two knockout games 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 Australia, with Ireland ultimately finishing eighth overall. Farrell was named in the squad for the opening rounds of the

2019 Six Nations The 2019 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Tom 1993 births Living people Bedford Blues players Connacht Rugby players Leinster Rugby players Rugby union centres Irish rugby union players