Andy Ward (born 8 September 1970) is a New Zealand-born former

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player, who played

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

professionally for

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

and internationally for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Born in

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

, Ward attended

Melville High School Melville High School was a state co-educational secondary school located in Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island ...

, where he first played rugby. He represented

Ōhaupō Ōhaupō is a rural community in the Waipā District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on State Highway 3 (New Zealand), State Highway 3, about halfway between Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton and Te Awamutu. The Ō ...

at under-19 and senior level, and played for

Hautapu Hautapu is a township in the Waipa District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, located just north of Cambridge, New Zealand, Cambridge across State Highway 1 (New Zealand), State Highway 1. The area was identified as the Hautapu ...

for three years. He was selected for

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

at 'B' level in 1991, and 'A' level in 1993.Gavin Mairs, "Thanks for the golden memories, Wardy...", ''Belfast Telegraph'', 19 January 2005"Andy Ward announces retirement"
ESPN, 19 January 2005 before joining Irish club

Ballynahinch RFC Ballynahinch Rugby Club is an Irish rugby union club based in the County Down town of Ballynahinch. Founded in 1954, the club is affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union. The first team plays Senior rugby union in the ...

in 1994. He so enjoyed his initial six-month stint that he returned the following season, as was made club captain. The club was promoted to senior status in his first season as captain, and later to the All-Ireland League. After the required three years' residence, Ward became eligible to play for

, and made his debut for the province in 1997. The residence rule for provincial rugby was removed not long after. He was named Player of the Year and Personality of the Year at the 1998 Ulster Rugby Awards. He was part of the side that won the 1998–99 Heineken Cup. He was named captain in 2001 by coach

Alan Solomons Alan Solomons (born 31 July 1950) is a former rugby union coach. Law career After studying law at the University of Cape Town, Solomons practised law for 20 years where he was a partner at Sonnenberg, Hoffmann & Galombik. Professional rugby coa ...

. He lifted the Celtic Cup in 2004, and was named Supporters' Club Player of the Year in the 2004 Ulster Rugby Awards. He made his 100th appearance against

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

in 2004. Ward made his debut for

in 1998, scoring a try against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He won 28 caps, including playing in the 1999 World Cup, and tours to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, and Argentina, the USA and Canada. He also played for the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

against

in 1999. Ward announced his professional retirement at the end of the 2004-05 season, having made 119 appearances for Ulster. The following season, he joined

Belfast Harlequins Belfast Harlequins is a multi-sports club located off the Malone Road in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. The club name provides the overall umbrella for rugby union, men's and ladies' field hockey, hockey, and Squash (sport), squash. The club i ...

as director of rugby, acting as player-coach until 2008. In 2011, Ward became the strength and conditioning coach of the Antrim Gaelic Football team He later ran a fitness studio in

Dunadry Dunadry () is a hamlet and townland (of 657 acres) 3 miles (5 km) from Antrim in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the civil parish of Grange of Nilteen and the historic barony of Antrim Upper. It is within the Antrim a ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

, Northern Ireland. His son Zac is an Ireland Sevens international, who won the Men's Sevens Players' Player of the Year in the 2024

Rugby Players Ireland The Rugby Players Ireland is the representative body for professional rugby players in Ireland. Founded in October 2001, its aims are to promote and protect the welfare of professional rugby players in Ireland. The Chief Executive Officer is Si ...

Awards, and joined Ulster on a trial basis in 2024."Zac Ward to join Senior Men’s team on trial basis"
Ulster Rugby, 19 August 2024 Another son, Bryn, is an Ireland under-20 international who joined the Ulster academy in 2024."Ulster Rugby Academy confirmed for 2024/25"
Ulster Rugby, 14 June 2024

References

Links

*
Belfast Harlequins

Ballynahinch RFC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ward, Andy Irish rugby union coaches Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Ballynahinch RFC players Ulster Rugby players Belfast Harlequins rugby union players Irish people of New Zealand descent Rugby union players from Whangārei Living people 1970 births 1999 Rugby World Cup players Rugby union flankers