Simon Patrick Geoghegan (born 1 September 1968 in

Knebworth Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden an ...

, Hertfordshire) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player who played at wing in England for

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While ...

and

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and in the Irish Inter-provincial Championships for

Connacht Rugby Connacht Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Connachta) is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Co ...

and the

Irish Exiles Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

. He finished his rugby career at

Bath Rugby Bath Rugby is a professional rugby union club in Bath, Somerset, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Founded in 1865 as Bath Football Club, since 1894 the club has played at the Recreation Ground in th ...

where a debilitating toe injury limited his appearances and finally ended his playing career. Geoghegan is perhaps best known for his try in the 1994 Five Nations match against England at

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the borou ...

, that was instrumental in a famous 13–12 win. Another key contribution during the match was a kick, chase and tackle on England fly-half

Rob Andrew Christopher Robert Andrew (born 18 February 1963) is a former English Rugby Union player and was, until April 2016, Professional Rugby Director at the RFU. He was formerly the Director of Rugby of Newcastle Falcons and has been Chief Executiv ...

which led to a crucial kickable penalty to Ireland. An adept side stepper, he was once described by the commentator

Bill McLaren William Pollock McLaren (16 October 1923 – 19 January 2010) was a Scottish rugby union commentator, teacher, journalist and one time rugby player. Known as 'the voice of rugby', he retired from commentating in 2002. Renowned throughout th ...

as being "Like a mad trout up a burn". Geoghegan was controversially left out of the 1993

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

tour to New Zealand when England's Ian Hunter and

Tony Underwood Tony Underwood (born 17 February 1969 in Ipoh, Malaysia) is a former English rugby union footballer who played as a wing three-quarter back. He is of Malaysian- English parentage. Rugby career His rugby talent was first nurtured at Barnard ...

were taken ahead of him. Former New Zealand hooker and Geoghegan's then London Irish coach

Hika Reid Hikatarewa Rockcliffe "Hika" Reid (born 8 April 1958) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A hooker, Reid represented Bay of Plenty and Wellington at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Black ...

was quoted at the time as being surprised as he felt the conditions would have suited him. In 1997 the Lions management apparently held a place open for him until the last possible minute, even though he had played little rugby that year due to the toe problems that cut short his career. As an amateur player Geoghegan had a career outside rugby as a solicitor. He is currently a real estate and finance partner in London at Rosling King LLP Geoghegan qualified for Ireland through his

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...

born father. His grandfather played in the 1929

All-Ireland Hurling Final The All-Ireland Hurling Final (''Cluiche Ceannais Iomána na hÉireann'') is the ultimate match played in the annual All-Ireland Hurling Championships (senior, minor and under-21 levels). The All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final was li ...

References

External links

sporting-heroes.net profilestatistics from scrum.comLondon Irish profile
Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players London Irish players Connacht Rugby players Bath Rugby players 1968 births Living people People educated at St Edmund's College, Ware British solicitors Irish Exiles rugby union players Rugby union wings Rugby union players from Hertfordshire {{Ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub