Tomás O'Leary (born 22 October 1983) is an Irish 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 as a scrum-half. O'Leary played most of his career in the

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 ...

with

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 ...

, where he was part of the team that won the

Heineken 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 pre ...

in 2006 and again in 2008. He also played in the English Premiership with

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

, and the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

with

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

. Internationally, he represented

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 ...

, where he was a member of the team that won the 2009 Six Nations Championship and Grand Slam. Also in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, he was selected for the

British & Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

, though injury prevented him from touring with the squad. O'Leary retired from professional rugby in July 2017.

Early years

O'Leary was born in Cork, Ireland. The son of

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

hurler,

Seánie O'Leary Seán O'Leary (25 February 1952 – 1 December 2021) was an Irish Hurling, hurler who played as a left corner-forward at senior level for the Cork county hurling team, Cork county team. Career Born in Youghal, County Cork, Munster, O'Leary fir ...

, O'Leary attended Saint Patrick's School on Gardiner's Hill before going to Christian Brothers College (CBC) for his second-level education. CBC has a rugby tradition and this is where O'Leary first started playing. He was recognised as a talent and played Munster Schools Senior Cup for the school. During this time he continued to play hurling and won minor Munster and

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

titles with Cork in 2000 and 2001.

Club career

Munster

After he completed school, O'Leary continued with his rugby career instead of playing within the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

. He was a member of the Irish U-21 side that reached the final of the 2004 Under 21 Rugby World Cup. Munster announced that O'Leary would be a member of the squad for the following year in August 2005. An injury to Peter Stringer early in the 2005/2006 season meant O'Leary had a chance to play, making his

debut against

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as ...

in October 2005. He played his club rugby in Ireland with a Munster club, Dolphin. O'Leary played a prominent role in Munster's Heineken Cup winning campaigns in 2005/06 and 2007/08, especially in the knockout stages of the 2007–08 tournament.

London Irish

It was reported that O'Leary had signed for

USA Perpignan Union Sportive Arlequins Perpignanais, also referred to as USA Perpignan or Perpignan, is a French professional rugby union club founded in 1933 and based in Perpignan, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. They compete in the Top 14, France' ...

on 17 February 2012, but a spokesman for O'Leary said the player hadn't signed anything yet and would be making a decision shortly. It emerged that the deal with Perpignan collapsed and, having rejected a deal from Munster, O'Leary was in a state of limbo. However,

Aviva Premiership Premiership Rugby, officially known as Gallagher Premiership Rugby, or the Gallagher Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is an English professional rugby union competition, consisting of 10 clubs, and is the top division of the English rugby u ...

side

stepped in to secure O'Leary's services on a three-year contract, with O'Leary joining the English side for the start of the 2012–13 season. O'Leary made his full debut for London Irish on 1 September 2012, in their opening league fixture against Saracens. O'Leary was ruled out of the rest of the 2012–13 season, after having surgery on a back injury in December 2012 which kept him out for the rest of the season. O'Leary returned from the injury at the beginning of the 2013–14 season.

Return to Munster

On 21 January 2015, it was announced that O'Leary would return to Munster on a two-year contract. O'Leary made his first appearance of his second spell with Munster on 17 October 2015, coming off the bench during the 35–17 win against

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...

. O'Leary came off the bench in Munster's opening pool game of the

2015–16 European Rugby Champions Cup The 2015–16 European Rugby Champions Cup was the second European Rugby Champions Cup championship (21st overall), the annual rugby union club competition for teams from the top six nations in European rugby. The European Rugby Champions Cup rep ...

against

Treviso Treviso ( ; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 87.322 inhabitants (as of December 2024). Some 3,000 live within the Venetian wall ...

on 14 November 2015. On 24 January 2017, it was announced that O'Leary would not be returning to Munster after the completion of his short-term contract with Montpellier.

Montpellier

In October 2016, O'Leary joined French

side

Montpellier Hérault Rugby Montpellier Hérault Rugby (MHR) (; ) is a French professional rugby union club, based in Montpellier, Occitanie and named after the Hérault department. The club competes in the top level of the French league system, the Top 14. They original ...

as a medical joker replacement for the injured Benoît Paillaugue.

Ireland

O'Leary was named in the Irish squad to tour Argentina in the summer of 2007 where he earned his first cap as a sub on 26 May. He made his first test start for Ireland on 15 November 2008 against New Zealand. O'Leary was a member of the victorious Ireland team that won the

2009 Six Nations Championship The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 10th Six Nations Championship, and the 115th international championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major European national ...

and Grand Slam, starting four of Ireland's five matches in that tournament. O'Leary scored his first try for

in the 29–11

2010 Six Nations Championship The 2010 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2010 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 11th series of the Six Nations Championship and the 116th international championship, an annual rugby union competition b ...

opener against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. O'Leary was awarded Man of the Match for his outstanding performance during Ireland's 27–12 win over Wales at

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

on 13 March 2010. He broke his thumb 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 October 2010 and was ruled out for 6–8 weeks. O'Leary recovered to fitness and featured against Italy and France during the 2011 Six Nations, but a troublesome back and a freak eye injury sustained during training ruled him out of the remainder of the tournament. Injury and the form of Conor Murray kept him out of the Munster team for the rest of the 2010/11 season, but O'Leary was selected in Ireland's training squad for the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

warm-ups in August. However, O'Leary did not make the final 30-man squad for the World Cup in New Zealand. O'Leary was named in the

Ireland Wolfhounds The Ireland Wolfhounds (also known as Ireland A and Ireland B) are the second national rugby union team of Ireland, behind the Ireland national team. History The Wolfounds previously competed in the Churchill Cup together with the England Sax ...

squad for their games against Scotland A and

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emerg ...

in January and February 2012, missing out on selection for the 24-man squad for the

2012 Six Nations Championship The 2012 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2012 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 13th series of the Six Nations Championship. The annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship was ...

. However, a knee injury suffered by

Conor Murray Gerard Conor Murray (born 20 April 1989) is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for United Rugby Championship club Munster. He is set to leave at the end of the season. Early life Murray was born in Limerick, where he atten ...

meant that O'Leary was called into the Ireland squad for the remaining 2012 Six Nations games against Scotland and England.

British & Irish Lions

O'Leary was named to take part in the

2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa The 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa was an international rugby union tour which took place in South Africa from May to July 2009. The British & Irish Lions played a three-match Test series against South Africa, with matches in ...

. On 24 April, however, during a Munster match against

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 in European Professional Club Rugby c ...

, O'Leary broke his ankle, which ruled him out of the tour of South Africa.

Statistics

International analysis by opposition

Correct as of 5 July 2017Tomás O'Leary
''ESPN Scrum'', 5 July 2017

References

External links

Munster ProfileLondon Irish ProfileIRFU ProfileIreland Wolfhounds Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:OLeary, Tomás 1983 births Living people People educated at Christian Brothers College, Cork Cork inter-county hurlers Erin's Own (Cork) hurlers Dual players Gaelic footballers who switched code Rugby union players from Cork (city) Irish rugby union players Dolphin RFC players Munster Rugby players London Irish players Montpellier Hérault Rugby players Ireland international rugby union players Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Ireland international rugby sevens players Rugby union scrum-halves Irish expatriate rugby union players in France 21st-century Irish sportsmen