The Most Famous

RUGBY PLAYERS from Ireland

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This page contains a list of the greatest Irish Rugby Players. The pantheon dataset contains 35 Rugby Players, 3 of which were born in Ireland. This makes Ireland the birth place of the 4th most number of Rugby Players behind France, and South Africa.

Top 8

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Irish Rugby Players of all time. This list of famous Irish Rugby Players is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

Photo of Jonathan Sexton

1. Jonathan Sexton (b. 1985)

With an HPI of 36.30, Jonathan Sexton is the most famous Irish Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages on wikipedia.

Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton (born 11 July 1985) is an Irish former professional rugby union player who played as a fly-half and captained the Ireland national team from 2019 until 2023. He also played club rugby for Leinster and French side Racing 92. He also represented the British & Irish Lions on their 2013 and 2017 tours, and has scored over 1,100 points in his international career, making him one of the highest points-scorers in rugby union history. He has been described by players and coaches as the world's best fly-half during his career and as Ireland's best ever player. Sexton was the winner of World Rugby Player of the Year in 2018, having previously been a nominee for the award in 2014 and then again in 2022. He was the second Irish player in history to win the award, after inaugural winner Keith Wood, in 2001. Sexton became the 106th player to captain Ireland when he led the team out at their 2019 World Cup 3rd Pool A group match at the Kobe Misaki Stadium in Japan on 3 October 2019. He was officially named captain for the 2020 Six Nations Championship, a role he retained through the 2023 World Cup. He is the all-time record points scorer for Ireland.

Photo of Keith Wood

2. Keith Wood (b. 1972)

With an HPI of 33.28, Keith Wood is the 2nd most famous Irish Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Keith Wood (born 27 January 1972) is an Irish former rugby union player who played as a hooker at international level for Ireland, and the British & Irish Lions. He also played at club level for Garryowen, Harlequins and Munster. He was nicknamed 'The Raging Potato' because of his bald head, and as 'Uncle Fester' due to his resemblance to the character in The Addams Family. Wood is considered by many to have been the best hooker in rugby union during his era, winning the inaugural World Rugby Player of the Year award, and to be among the best hookers in the history of the game.

Photo of Brian O'Driscoll

3. Brian O'Driscoll (b. 1979)

With an HPI of 31.60, Brian O'Driscoll is the 3rd most famous Irish Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the British & Irish Lions for their 2005 tour of New Zealand. He is regarded by critics as one of the greatest rugby players of all time. O'Driscoll is the fourth most-capped player in rugby union history, having played 141 test matches: 133 for Ireland (83 as captain), and 8 for the Lions. He scored 46 tries for Ireland and 1 try for the Lions in 2001, making him the highest try scorer of all time in Irish Rugby. He is the 8th-highest try scorer in international rugby union history, and the highest scoring centre of all time. O'Driscoll holds the Six Nations record for most tries scored with 26. He has scored the most Heineken Cup tries (30) by an Irishman. O'Driscoll was chosen as Player of the Tournament in the 2006, 2007 and 2009 Six Nations Championships. He was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame on 17 November 2016 at the opening ceremony for the Hall's first location in Rugby, Warwickshire. O'Driscoll was involved in Irish Rugby's unsuccessful bid to host the 2023 World Cup. He now works as a rugby analyst for BT Sport and ITV Sport in the United Kingdom. He is also involved in a number of business ventures including the Ultimate Rugby mobile app and Zipp, an Irish e-scooter start-up.

Photo of Jordan Conroy

4. Jordan Conroy (b. 1994)

With an HPI of 0.00, Jordan Conroy is the 4th most famous Irish Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Jordan Conroy (born 10 March 1994) is an Irish rugby union player. He is a specialist sevens player who plays for the Ireland national rugby sevens team, and has represented Ireland in the 2020 Summer Olympics and plays his XV's club rugby with the Buccaneers RFC as a wing.

Photo of Adam Leavy

5. Adam Leavy (b. 1995)

With an HPI of 0.00, Adam Leavy is the 5th most famous Irish Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Adam Leavy (born 21 September 1995) is a rugby union player. He plays for the Ireland national rugby sevens team as a forward. Leavy debuted for the Ireland sevens team at the Exeter leg of the 2017 Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series. Leavy represented Ireland at the 2018 Paris Sevens, helping Ireland notch wins against core teams Australia and Spain to finish in seventh place. Leavy played for Ireland at the 2019 Hong Kong Sevens qualifier, helping Ireland win the qualifying tournament and gain a place as a core team for the 2019-20 World Rugby Sevens Series. Leavy also played at the 2019 London Sevens, helping Ireland secure wins against core teams England, Scotland, and Canada to finish in sixth. Leavy has also played rugby fifteens. As a schoolboy, Leavy played rugby for St Michael's College, Dublin. Playing as a wing, Leavy was a member of the Connacht Rugby academy and also played for Lansdowne in the All-Ireland League. Leavy was a member of the Ireland national rugby sevens team that qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Adam is a brother of Leinster flanker, Dan Leavy.

Photo of Foster Horan

6. Foster Horan (b. 1992)

With an HPI of 0.00, Foster Horan is the 6th most famous Irish Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Foster Horan (born 3 November 1992) is an Irish rugby union player who played as a forward for the Ireland national rugby sevens team. He debuted for the Ireland national sevens team at the 2018 London Sevens. Horan played youth rugby with the Gorey Rugby Club up to the under-12 level, before going to Kilkenny College. Horan played outside centre for the Ireland national under-20 rugby union team at the 2012 IRB Junior World Championship in South Africa, where Ireland finished fifth after wins against South Africa, England, and France.

Photo of Max McFarland

7. Max McFarland (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 0.00, Max McFarland is the 7th most famous Irish Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Max McFarland (born 13 July 1993) is a Scottish rugby union player who has excelled at both 15s and 7s levels. Known for his versatility, McFarland has played in a variety of positions, including back three and scrum-half. McFarland was born in London, and qualified to play for Scotland through his Glaswegian grandfather Tom Laidlaw.

Photo of Gavin Mullin

8. Gavin Mullin (b. 1997)

With an HPI of 0.00, Gavin Mullin is the 8th most famous Irish Rugby Player.  His biography has been translated into different languages.

Gavin Mullin (born 29 November 1997) is an Irish rugby union player. He plays as a centre and represents UCD in the All-Ireland League. His father is former Ireland international Brendan Mullin.

People

Pantheon has 8 people classified as Irish rugby players born between 1972 and 1997. Of these 8, 8 (100.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Irish rugby players include Jonathan Sexton, Keith Wood, and Brian O'Driscoll. As of April 2024, 5 new Irish rugby players have been added to Pantheon including Jordan Conroy, Adam Leavy, and Foster Horan.

Living Irish Rugby Players

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Newly Added Irish Rugby Players (2024)

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