Andrew Trimble (born 20 October 1984) is a former Irish

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who played for

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

and represented

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

at international level.

Club career

He attended

Coleraine Academical Institution Coleraine Academical Institution (CAI and styled locally as Coleraine Inst) was a voluntary grammar school for boys in Coleraine, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Coleraine Academical Institution occupied a site on the Castlerock Road, ...

, where he competed in the Ulster Schools Cup. He played at

outside centre In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16� ...

or on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

for

Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the Irish regional pool of the United Rugby Championship and in the European Rugby Champions Cup, each of which they have won ...

. In April 2006 he signed a new three-year deal with Ulster. Trimble also played club rugby for

Ballymena RFC Ballymena Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in the town of Ballymena, Northern Ireland, playing in 2024–25 All-Ireland League (rugby union)#Division 2A, Division 2A of the All-Ireland League (rugby union), All-Ireland League. It is ...

in the

AIB League The All-Ireland League (AIL), known for sponsorship reasons as the Energia All-Ireland League, is the national league system for the 50 senior rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The league w ...

and has represented Ireland Schools and the Ireland U21 team. Due to a pre-season groin injury, however, he required surgery and missed part of the 2007–08 season. He later underwent a

hernia A hernia (: hernias or herniae, from Latin, meaning 'rupture') is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. The term is also used for the normal Devel ...

operation. On 30 April 2009, Trimble underwent surgery on his right knee to remove a piece of chipped bone. In May 2018, Trimble announced that he would be retiring from rugby at the end of the 2017–18 season. He does however, on occasion, still partake in amateur level competition with his local Coleraine rugby club.

International career

Trimble, replacing the injured

Brian O'Driscoll Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside Centre (rugby union), centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster Rugby, Leinster and for Ireland national rugby union te ...

, made his debut for the

Ireland national rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Champio ...

during the 2005 IRB Autumn Internationals, against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. He started again the following week against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, securing victory for the Irish with two tries. Building on his earlier success, Trimble made the 22-man squad for Ireland's

2006 Six Nations Championship The 2006 Six Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy national rugby union team, Italy. Including the previous incarnations as the Ho ...

opener against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. He came on as a second-half replacement to score his third try against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the following week. Trimble was a member of the Ireland team for the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

, and played both on the wing and in the centre. Due to injuries, he missed both Ireland's 2008 and 2009 summer tours. Trimble scored a try at the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

, in Ireland's 62-12 victory over Russia, before starting all 5 matches in the

2012 Six Nations Championship The 2012 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2012 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 13th series of the Six Nations Championship. The annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship was ...

at left wing, scoring in home matches against Italy and Scotland. Trimble featured in the

2014 Six Nations Championship The 2014 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2014 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 15th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship ...

, scoring three tries in total, with a crucial one coming in the final Irish game of the championship against France in Paris which sealed the title. In September 2015, Trimble was left out of the Ireland squad for the

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

Career statistics

International analysis by opposition

Honours

Individual

*Ulster Rugby Player of the Year (4): 2006, 2010, 2013, 2014 *BT Irish Rugby Union Players Association's newcomer of the year *Pro14 Team of the Year (1): 2013-14 * IRUPA Players' Player of the Year (1): 2014 *The Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland Player of the Year (1): 2014 *Ulster Rugby Writers’ Player of the Year (1): 2014 *Ulster Rugby Supporters Club Player of the Year (2): 2013, 2014

Ulster

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organization, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places pa ...

(1): 2005-06

Ireland

* Six Nations (1):

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

* Triple Crown (2):

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Personal life

Trimble attended

. After graduating, he attended

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

to study

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

. After a year however, he dropped out, and decided to study

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at Belfast Bible College instead. He supports

Liverpool F.C. Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...

Trimble married his wife, Anna, in March 2009. Trimble is a devout

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

who reads

Psalm 84 Psalm 84 is the 84th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in the English of the King James Version: "How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!". The Book of Psalms forms part of the ''Ketuvim'' section of the Hebrew Bible and part of ...

to prepare before every match. Trimble holds both British and Irish passports.

References

External links

Ulster profileIRFU profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trimble, Andrew 1984 births Living people Ballymena R.F.C. players Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players People educated at Coleraine Academical Institution Sportspeople from Coleraine, County Londonderry Rugby union centres Ulster Rugby players Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Virgin Media Television (Ireland) presenters Broadcasters from County Londonderry 2007 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players