35 - 18

Former Ireland scrum-half O'Leary retires

25 Jul 2017

Former Ireland scrum-half Tomas O’Leary

Former Ireland scrum-half Tomas O’Leary has announced his retirement from rugby at the age of 33.

O’Leary was a member of the Ireland side which won the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2009 and lifted the European Cup twice during the first of his two spells with Munster.

The pivot also enjoyed three years with London Irish before returning to Munster and spent a loan spell with Montpellier last season, but has now called time on his career.

O’Leary, who won 24 caps for his country, said: “I have had an incredible career, from my academy days in Munster to my last game in Montpellier, all of which have been extremely satisfying.

Wishing @Tomas_OLeary all the best in his retirement, a fantastic career, and two European Cups with Munster. What a champ! pic.twitter.com/CjTiGmqm3C
— Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) July 25, 2017

“I have realised my ambition of representing Munster and Ireland. Wearing the red and green jerseys has been a real honour.

“Highlights that stand out are the two Heineken Cup victories with Munster and winning the Grand Slam in 2009 with Ireland. However, the most fulfilling experience is the unique bond and friendships I experienced through rugby.

“This camaraderie is what I will miss the most. For this, I would like to thank all of the team-mates I have had the pleasure of playing with throughout my career.”

Kubota Spears vs Saitama Wild Knights | Japan Rugby League One 2024/25 | Full Match Replay

The gruelling reality behind one of the fastest sports in the world | The Report

Boks Office | Episode 40 | The Steven Kitshoff Special

Perry Baker in the house | HSBC Life on Tour | Los Angeles

O2 Inside Line: All In | Episode 6 | Le Crunch

The Unexpected Journey to USA 7s Glory | Aaron Cummings | Sevens Wonders

USA vs Japan | Full Match Replay

Yokohama Canon Eagles vs Shizuoka BlueRevs | Japan Rugby League One 2024/25 | Full Match Replay

Confidence knocks and finding your people | Flo Williams | Rugby Rising Locker Room

Tackling reasons for drop-out in sport | Zainab Alema | Rugby Rising Locker Room

Jet Lag: The biggest challenge facing international sports? | The Report

Comments

0 Comments

Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Latest Features

LONG READ

'Love him or hate him, Henry Pollock has got the rugby world talking.'

The Northampton and England backrow's confidence, verve and raw ability have raised eyebrows around the globe

LONG READ

‘Rising force’ Proctor gives All Blacks Ioane dilemma

The form of Hurricanes 'facilitator' Billy Proctor could see Scott Robertson break up his established centre pairing.

LONG READ

Brendan Fanning: 'Leinster have the best-resourced squad in these islands but can’t make it pay.'

Leadership and clarity escaped Leinster at a crucial time as their dream of a fifth Champions Cup star went up in smoke, again

Comments on RugbyPass

CV 6 minutes ago

USA team in Super Rugby Pacific is not the answer right now, but this is

Get rid of SR altogether. Saves a bit of much needed cash for the unions. Start the NPC and the Aussie domestic comp in February and let the top teams qualify for the Pacific Cup. That means that NPC teams three things to play for: the title, the Ranfurly Shield and qualification spots in the Pacific Cup.

And don’t forget to add teams from Super Rugby South America too.

10 Go to comments

IkeaBoy 7 minutes ago

Why ‘the curse of the Bambino’ is still stronger than ever at Leinster

Pierre Brousset is supposedly a ‘referee’ :

48 pro games

13 representative games

9 test games

It showed.

168 Go to comments

Sophie Mulller 15 minutes ago

Aussie Super Rugby takes: Suaalii's best position, Tizzano is threatening McReight

It can be difficult to know how to recover lost assets and keep your money safe. Protecting your possessions is more crucial than ever as the value of cryptocurrency continues to rise. Knowing how to recover your cryptocurrency is crucial, regardless of whether you've experienced hardware failure, lost your private keys, or been hacked. To restore your digital assets and avoid further losses, Marie will assist you through the necessary processes. You may reach her at infocyberecoveryinc@gmail com and on Telegram at marie_consultancy.

2 Go to comments

Sophie Mulller 16 minutes ago

Aussie Super Rugby takes: Suaalii's best position, Tizzano is threatening McReight

2 Go to comments

Nik 27 minutes ago

Brendan Fanning: 'Leinster have the best-resourced squad in these islands but can’t make it pay.'

With the clock at 75:15 Jack Conan looks towards the coaches’ box in Lansdowne Road’s West Stand, cups his hands behind his ears, and asks: “What do we want?”

And therein lies the problem, a complete lack of leadership. A lack of confidence in one’s own ability and an over reliance on the coaches. All that talent acting like headless chickens, are they England in disguise?

11 Go to comments

IkeaBoy 34 minutes ago

'Flustered' Prendergast in 'system where decisions are all made for him'

Totally. He’s pegged at 6’ 4/5” so has the frame of most locks. Imagine a stand-off of that size up at around 16 stone.

He’d be terrifying. His attacking game doesn’t really rely on pace either so it’s no drama if he loses a yard of pace in getting glocked.

9 Go to comments

Jacque 35 minutes ago

‘Rising force’ Proctor gives All Blacks Ioane dilemma

RIEKO is passed his prime.

9 Go to comments

IkeaBoy 37 minutes ago

'Flustered' Prendergast in 'system where decisions are all made for him'

Shane Horgan called it. Skip the summer tours and work on his conditioning and tackling.

No point having a frame like that if it can’t be used as an advantage. He should be walking around at 100 kilos minimum.

He still has plenty of gifts and has the makings of a superb athlete.

9 Go to comments

Jacque 37 minutes ago

USA team in Super Rugby Pacific is not the answer right now, but this is

With a loss of NZ$19.5-million????

10 Go to comments

RedWarriors 42 minutes ago

Maro Itoje Lions captaincy all but confirmed

“Itoje became the frontrunner for the role after leading England with distinction during the Six Nations, guiding the team to a runners-up finish in his maiden spell as starting skipper.”

He didn’t become the frontrunner after the six nations. It was in the balance until Doris got his injury. Recall England were pretty well beaten by Ireland then and failed to win the triple crown as Ireland did.

Can the author stop inventing things and rewriting history?

1 Go to comments

IkeaBoy 43 minutes ago

Brendan Fanning: 'Leinster have the best-resourced squad in these islands but can’t make it pay.'

Coaching issues. All on big Leo and co.

79 mins gone, 3 PTS down and a kick at the posts on offer. It shouldn’t even be a decision to make. It shouldn’t be a discussion, it should be inbuilt that you take what’s on offer. Conan hadn’t a clue looking to the side-lines.

Not starting Barrett proves he wasn’t picking on form and I fear he was just being kept warm for the final. Arrogance.

11 Go to comments

fl 44 minutes ago

'It’s sort of contrary to rugby values. That worries me a little bit'

“I am the coach of the team he plays in, but I can’t claim to have coached him for a second. He is a generational talent.”

Well that’s not great.

Compare that to Phil Dowson, who this week said Pollock needed to work on his set piece, his maul defence, and his defensive positioning.

1 Go to comments

RedWarriors 49 minutes ago

Fiji international Josaia Raisuqe dies aged 30

Terrible news for that young mans family, friends and team mates. Rugby is only sport. This is devastating.

1 Go to comments

RedWarriors 51 minutes ago

Why ‘the curse of the Bambino’ is still stronger than ever at Leinster

That is hindsight and nobody thought Ireland would trash Scotland before the match. Were you advocating Ireland rest 5-6 frontline players…be honest?

That was how the match panned out. Ireland scored after 60 seconds. Scotland attacked for 20 mins in the Irish half and Ireland scored again. Then Scotland had to score caution to the wind and Ireland picked them off.

On another day Scotland score first, the ball doesn’t stick for Ireland and its a close match.

Again, Scotland kept SA close deep into their match and bar a terrible error by Darcy they should have been a try up at Half time.

Playing the #5 ranked team demands respect. Ireland having to play Scotland 6-7 days before the Quarter Final is a clear disadvantage. Saying Ireland should have won anyway is disingenuous to NZ who played the best rugby of the knock outs.

Again: If SA have to play Scotland 6-7 days before the France match: do they win?

168 Go to comments

Tommy B. 58 minutes ago

Why former All Black believes the Wallabies will beat the B&I Lions

😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂

Bell ‘demolished England last year?’ What on Earth are you talking about? Seven A’s was rubbish for a long time after his injury, and hardly tearing up trees at international level before.

He now seems to be regaining some form at SRP level, which seems to translate in your mind into ‘global international superstar.’

49 Go to comments

Sophie Mulller 59 minutes ago

Where Edinburgh lost it in semi-final to Bath according to Sean Everitt

1 Go to comments

Tommy B. 1 hour ago