Miller
Eric Miller is a former Irish rugby union player who represented the national side and played at club level.
Eric Miller
Eric Miller is a former rugby union number 8 and current coach who represented Ireland at international level and played at amateur and club level. After his retirement from the game, he also switched codes and played Gaelic football for a number of seasons for the Dublin county team.
Born in Dublin in September 1975, Eric Miller was involved from an early age in a variety of sports. During his education he played rugby union and cricket, as well as semi-professional football for Esker Celtic. As a youth he also played Gaelic football for Ballyboden St Enda’s before eventually choosing rugby union as his main sport in 1994.
Eric Miller’s first clubs were amateur side Old Wesley and Leinster – the latter of which he first represented at senior level in the 1995-96 season. The following year he joined Leicester Tigers and played for the side in the Heineken Cup. This was alongside his studies at Loughborough University where he also played for the student first team.
Eric Miller returned to Ireland in 1998, signing for Ulster, but after only a short while he eventually joined back up with Leinster where he would see out the rest of his club career before hanging up his boots in 2006. During this time, he made over 150 appearances for the side and was instrumental in helping them win the 2001-02 Celtic League title.
At international level, Eric Miller won his first senior cap in 1997 following some impressive form for then club Leicester. He had previously played for Ireland as a schoolboy and at U21 level where he won the Triple Crown in 1996. In total, Eric Miller made 48 appearances for Ireland and earned 30 points. Notable career highlights for him included playing in the 1999 and 2003 World Cups. Miller’s abilities and prowess as a number 8 also saw him selected for the British & Irish Lions in the 1997 tour of South Africa. In addition, he played for the Barbarians several times between 1998 and 2005.
Following his professional playing career – and in addition to playing Gaelic football – Eric Miller has had a series of successful spells as a rugby union coach. Most recently he has coached a number of amateur Irish clubs as well as the Catholic University School in Dublin.
