Niyi Adeolokun

Niyi Adeolokun
Full name Adeniyi Adeolokun
Date of birth (1990-11-03) 3 November 1990
Place of birth Ibadan, Nigeria
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight 89 kilograms (14 st 0 lb)
School De La Salle College
University Trinity College
Rugby union career
Current status
Position(s) Wing
Current team Connacht
Playing career
Position Wing
Amateur clubs
Years Club / team
2009–2014
2014–
Dublin University
Galway Corinthians
Provincial/State sides
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2014– Connacht 28 (45; 9 tries)
correct as of 18 April 2016.

Niyi Adeolokun (born 3 November 1990) is a Nigerian-born Irish rugby union player. He primarily plays as a winger. Adeolokun currently plays for Irish provincial side Connacht in the Pro12. Adeolokun joined Connacht in 2014 from Trinity College. During his time with Dublin University, Adeolokun also played rugby sevens for the club.

Early life

Born in Ibadan, Nigeria, Adeolokun came to Ireland with his family in 2001. Adeolokun played a variety of sports as a child, including Gaelic football with Templeogue Synge Street and soccer. He did not play rugby union until he attended De La Salle College in Churchtown.[1]

Career

Youth and amateur level

Adolokun was tied with Leinster as a teenager, but after being dropped from their under-19 development squad, Adeolokun played for De La Salle senior school's cup team. In 2009, he was invited All-Ireland League side Dublin University by Director of Rugby, Tony Smeeth. Adeolokun played for the team for four seasons. During his time with the squad also played for the Dublin University Sevens team that won back-to-back All-Ireland Championships in 2011 and 2012.[1]

Connacht

In June 2014, it was announced that Adeolokun had signed for Irish provincial team, Connacht on a one-year deal. Connacht's academy coach Nigel Carolan had recommended him to the province, with Adeolokun having had a trial with the second tier side Connacht Eagles, in April 2014.[2]

Adeolokun made his debut for Connacht on 6 September 2014, starting against Newport Gwent Dragons on the opening weekend of the 2014–15 Pro12, providing an assist to teammate Eoin McKeon for Connacht's first try of the new season. He scored his first try for the province against La Rochelle in the 2014–15 Rugby Challenge Cup. Adeolokun played a total of nine games in the league and four in the Challenge Cup in his first season, scoring a try in each.[3][4] In November 2014, it was announced that Adeolokun had signed a new contract with Connacht to keep him with the team until the end of 2016–17 season.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "From AIL to PRO12 for speedy Adeolokun". Connacht Rugby. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  2. "Connacht bring in Adeolokun". Setanta Sports. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  3. "Connacht Squad Index: Niyi Adeolokun". Pro12. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  4. "Player Archive: Niyi Adeolokun". EPC Rugby. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
  5. "Connacht extend Niyi Adeolokun contract". RTÉ Sport. 26 November 2014.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, April 18, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.