James John Ryan (born 24 July 1996) is an Irish professional

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 plays as a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

for

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. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

club

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 ...

and the Ireland national team.

Early life

Ryan was captain of the Ireland U20 team throughout the 2015–16 season, leading them to their best ever finish at the

2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship The 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the ninth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in England by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations took part in the tourname ...

, where they beat New Zealand U20 for the first time ever, eventually finishing as runners-up to

England U20 England national under-20 football team, also known as England Under-20s or England U20(s) or England Men's Elite Squad, represents England in association football at an under-20 age level and is controlled by the Football Association, the gov ...

Professional career

Ryan was granted a place in

's academy for the 2016–17 season, but injury meant his season was badly disrupted. Nonetheless, he was given a full senior contract ahead of the 2017–18 season, despite having completed only one of the normal three academy years. Ryan lined out for a

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

development side against the Ireland U20 team in Thomond Park on his way back from a hamstring injury to gain valuable game time ahead of

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 ...

's summer tour to Japan. Ryan made his competitive debut for Leinster on 2 September 2017, coming off the bench in the provinces opening

2017–18 Pro14 The 2017–18 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventeenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Pro14, Celtic League. It is the first season to be referred to as t ...

win against

Dragons A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...

and playing for 21 minutes. In November 2023 Ryan was named Leinster club co-captain alongside Garry Ringrose following the retirement of Johnny Sexton. During his time as co-captain, Ryan experienced some difficulties such as referees refusing to interact with him due to excessive communication. After holding this role for a season, they were replaced by

Caelan Doris Caelan Doris (born 2 April 1998) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a number eight for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team. Early life Doris was born in Lacken, County Mayo. Doris's f ...

for the 2024 season.

International career

Ryan played for

before making his competitive debut for

in September 2017. Joe Schmidt called Ryan up to the senior

squad for the first time ahead of the 2017 Summer Tour to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. On 10 June, in the one-off test against the

, Ryan made his debut for Ireland, coming off the bench and scoring a try. In making his debut, Ryan became the first Irish player since

Michael Bent Michael Bent (born 25 April 1986 in Hāwera, New Zealand) is a New Zealand born rugby union player who can play as a tight or loosehead prop. He played for Leinster in the Pro14 and represented Ireland at international level. He has also repr ...

in 2012 to make his senior Ireland debut before making his provincial debut. He captained Ireland for the first time in their loss to England in the 2020

Autumn Nations Cup The Autumn Nations Cup was a rugby union competition held in November and December 2020 in place of the usual Autumn rugby union internationals, Autumn internationals series typically held in the same period each year, as many teams were avoidin ...

Career statistics

Guinness Sei Nazioni 2023- Italia vs Irlanda-114

International analysis by opposition

Honours

; Individual * 1× IRUPA Players' Player of the Year: 2019 ; Leinster * 1×

European Rugby Champions Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec 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 pr ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

* 4×

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

; Ireland * 3×

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

* 2×

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

* 3× Triple Crown:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

Personal life

He is the great-grandson of Irish politician and

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

revolutionary James Ryan.

References

External links

*
Leinster Profile

Ireland Profile

Pro14 Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, James 1996 births Living people People educated at St Michael's College, Dublin Rugby union players from County Dublin Irish rugby union players University College Dublin R.F.C. players Leinster Rugby players Ireland international rugby union players Rugby union locks People from Blackrock, Dublin Sportspeople from Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown 2019 Rugby World Cup players 2023 Rugby World Cup players