Rónan Kelleher (born 24 January 1998) is an Irish professional
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...
player who plays as a
hooker
Hooker may refer to:
People
* Hooker (surname)
Places Antarctica
* Mount Hooker (Antarctica)
* Cape Hooker (Antarctica)
* Cape Hooker (South Shetland Islands)
New Zealand
* Hooker River
* Mount Hooker (New Zealand) in the Southern Alps
* Hoo ...
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. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...
club
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 ...
and the
Ireland national team.
Early life
Kelleher was initially an outside back and then a back-row for much of his underage years. He then transitioned to prop, before finally settling on hooker. He attended
St. Michael's College, Dublin where his father was principal. His older brother
Cian Kelleher
Cian Kelleher (born 7 August 1994) is an Irish professional rugby union player. He primarily plays on the wing or at fullback. Kelleher currently plays for Ealing Trailfinders in the RFU Championship. After initially coming through Leinster ...
is a fellow professional rugby union player.
Club career
Kelleher came up through the Leinster Academy.
He scored both tries as
Leinster A beat 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 ...
Premiership Select side 15–8 to win the final of the inaugural
Celtic Cup in 2018. He made his senior
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 ...
debut in February 2019 against
Southern Kings
The Southern Kings were a South African professional rugby union team that competed in Super Rugby and Pro14. They were based in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province and played their home matches at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. They wer ...
.
International career
Ireland
Kelleher represented the
Ireland under-20s at both the
2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship
The 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship was the tenth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in Georgia by rugby's governing body, World Rugby. Twelve nations played in the tournament, ...
and the
2018 Six Nations Under 20s Championship
The 2018 Six Nations Under 20s Championship, was the 11th series of the Six Nations Under 20s Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. England were the defending champions.
Participants
Table
Fixtures Round 1
...
, playing 11 games and scoring two tries.
Kelleher received his first call up to the senior
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 ...
squad on 15 January 2020 for the
2020 Six Nations Championship
The 2020 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, ...
. He made his debut as a replacement against
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...
on 1 February 2020. Kelleher scored his first international try versus France on 14 February 2021 during the
2021 Six Nations
The 2021 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, ...
.
Kelleher tied the record for most tries scored by an Irish player in a test match, by scoring four tries for Ireland in a 71–10 victory over the United States on 10 July 2021.
British & Irish Lions
Kelleher joined the 2021
British & Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...
pre tour training camp in
Jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
, as informal cover for hooker due to the unavailability of touring hookers
Jamie George
Jamie Edward George (born 20 October 1990) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a hooker for Premiership Rugby club Saracens and the England national team.
Early life
George played for local team Hertford Rugby Footbal ...
and
Luke Cowan-Dickie
Luke Anthony Cowan-Dickie (born 20 June 1993) is an English professional rugby union player for Exeter Chiefs in the English Premiership. He plays primarily as a hooker but can also play prop.
Club career
Cowan-Dickie has previously been dual- ...
. Kelleher was not added to the touring party at the time,
but was called up to the Lions squad in South Africa on 15 July.
References
External links
*
Leinster ProfilePro14 Profile*
Ireland Profile
1998 births
Living people
People educated at St Michael's College, Dublin
Rugby union players from Dublin (city)
Irish rugby union players
Lansdowne Football Club players
Leinster Rugby players
Ireland international rugby union players
Rugby union hookers
British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland
{{Ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub