Eoghan Masterson

Eoghan Masterson
Date of birth (1993-04-05) 5 April 1993
Place of birth Portlaoise, Ireland
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 111 kilograms (17 st 7 lb)
School St. Mary's CBS
Rugby union career
Current status
Position(s) Back row
Current team Connacht
Playing career
Position Number 8, Flanker
Amateur clubs
Years Club / team
–2013
2013–		 Portlaoise
Galway Corinthians
Provincial/State sides
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2015– Connacht 22 (15)
correct as of 2 November 2015.
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2013
2013
2015–		 Ireland U20
Scotland U20
Emerging Ireland		 1
5
3		 (0)
(5)
(5)
correct as of 27 May 2015.

Eoghan Masterson (born 5 April 1993) is a professional rugby union player from Ireland. He primarily plays in the back row, though he has played as a lock at under-age level. Masterson currently plays for Irish provincial side Connacht in the Pro12, after being promoted from the academy ahead of the 2015–16 season.

Early life

Masterson is originally from Laois, and attended St. Mary's the Christian Brothers school in Portlaoise. St Mary's had no rugby, but in his youth Masterson played rugby with Portlaoise.[1] He also played GAA with Park/Ratheniska.[2] As a teenager, Masterson was part of Irish midlands representative teams and involved in the under-age set up of his native province, Leinster.[3]

Rugby career

Connacht

After representing Scotland at the 2013 Junior World Cup, Masterson approached Connacht for a trial. After impressing head coach Pat Lam and academy director Nigel Carolan in an internal game, Masterson was invited to join the Connacht academy.[1] With the move to Connacht, Masterson also joined All-Ireland League club Galway Corinthians.[4]

After playing for the province's second tier side, the Connacht Eagles, Masterson made his debut for the senior team on 23 November 2013. Just months after joining and while still part of the academy, he started in his preferred position at number 8 against Scarlets in the 2013–14 Pro12.[5] He didn't feature again until 23 February 2014, when he started against Zebre in a 19–27 win, playing as an openside flanker following to injuries to senior players Jake Heenan and Willie Faloon.[6] Masterson then started the following four games for the team, during which Connacht recorded a four-game winning streak, their best in 11 years.[7] He finished the season with a total of six senior appearances, all of them coming as starts.[8]

Ahead of the 2014–15 season, Masterson was made captain of the Eagles and started all six of Connacht's matches in the 2014–15 British and Irish Cup.[9] As in the previous season, injuries to first team players meant Masterson featured for the senior team in the league.[10][11] He made nine appearances, seven of them starts, and scored his first try for the first team against Newport Gwent Dragons on 22 February 2015, adding two more during the campaign.[8][12] On 3 April 2015 Masterson made his European debut, starting against Gloucester in the 2014–15 Challenge Cup quarter-final.[13] Masterson also appeared in Connacht's final game of the season, also against Gloucester, in a play-off to qualify for the following season's Champions Cup, the top tier rugby competition in Europe. Connacht were beaten after extra time, by a score of 40–32.[14] During the course of the season, Masterson signed his first senior contract with the province, a deal that lasts until summer 2017.[15]

International

Having impressed for the Irish midlands team, Masterson was called up for the Irish under-18 club team a year early in 2010.[2] He captained the side a year later. Despite his record with the under-18 side, injury impeded Masterson when the time came to step up to the Irish under-20 team.[1] Masterson made one appearance in the 2013 Under-20 Six Nations, playing against Scotland, but after being left out of the Irish squad for the 2013 Junior World Cup he changed allegiance to Scotland, who he qualified to play for through his father, and was added to their squad.[5][16] He featured in all five of Scotland's games at the tournament, starting in two of them, and scoring a try from the bench against Wales, as Scotland finished 10th overall.[3][17][18][19][20]

In 2015, Masterson was named in the Emerging Ireland squad for the 2015 Tbilisi Cup.[21] He was used as a replacement for captain Rhys Ruddock in the opening match against Emerging Italy, before starting the matches against Uruguay and Georgia, at number 8 and blindside flanker respectively. Masterson scored a try against Georgia in a win that secured a first-ever title in the tournament for the team.[22][23]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Attitude of Laois’ young Connacht star Masterson ensures he won’t be left behind". The42. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Masterson makes the cut". Park Ratheniska GAA. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Young Scots start with tough defeat". Scottish Rugby Union. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Ten changes for Emerging Ireland". RTÉ Sport. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015. Eoghan Masterson (Corinthians/Connacht)
  5. 1 2 "Masterson Set For Connacht Debut". Irish Rugby. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "Pro12: Zebre 19-27 Connacht". BBC Sport. 23 February 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  7. ↑ "Connacht slay Dragons at Rodney Parade for bonus point win". The42. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Connacht Squad Index: Eoghan Masterson". Pro12. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Back-row battle in the offing as competition heats up". Irish Independent. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Huge blow for Connacht as Heenan out for most of season". Irish Independent. 16 September 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Injury-hit Connacht head into defining period". Connacht Tribune. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015. Jake Heenan sustained a rotator cuff tear in his right shoulder and that is set to keep him out for the rest of the campaign [...] Willie Faloon is also out for the remainder of the season after dislocating his shoulder again.
  12. ↑ "Landman sees red as Connacht snatch victory". Pro12. 22 February 2015. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "Player Archive: Eoghan Masterson". European Professional Club Rugby. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  14. ↑ "Champions Cup play-off: Gloucester 40-32 Connacht". BBC Sport. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  15. ↑ "Connacht have handed new contracts to three of their best back rows". The42. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  16. ↑ "Lam predicts a big future for wonder kid Masterson". Irish Independent. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  17. ↑ "Young Scots heartbroken in Welsh defeat". Scottish Rugby Union. 9 June 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  18. ↑ "Scots defeat Samoa but edged out of 5/8 play-offs". Scottish Rugby Union. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  19. ↑ "Young Scots beat USA to secure place at JWC 2014". Scottish Rugby Union. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  20. ↑ "Young Scots edged in Samoan finale". Scottish Rugby Union. 23 June 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  21. ↑ "Emerging Ireland squad named for Tbilisi Cup". Irish Independent. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  22. ↑ "Emerging Ireland claim Tbilisi Cup after win over hosts Georgia". The42. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  23. ↑ "Emerging Ireland ease past Georgia to lift Tbilisi Cup". RTÉ Sport. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
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