David Humphreys MBE (born 10 September 1971) is an Irish former

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. He played 72 times for

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 ...

, scoring 560 points, including 6 tries, and at the time of his international retirement was Ireland's most capped out-half. He played his club rugby for

London Irish London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...

and

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 ...

, winning the 1998-99 Heineken Cup, the 2004 Celtic Cup and the

2005–06 Celtic League The 2005–06 Celtic League was the fifth Celtic League season, and the third following the introduction of regional rugby in Wales. Eleven teams, from three countries participated. The final table was dominated by the Irish, with the top thre ...

with the latter. Since retiring as a player he has served as director of rugby for Ulster and

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, as a performance consultant with the

Georgian Rugby Union The Georgian Rugby Union (GRU) ( ka, საქართველოს რაგბის კავშირი) is the governing body for the sport of rugby union in the nation of Georgia. History Founded in 1964, it was part of the Rugby Uni ...

, and Director of Performance Operations with the

England and Wales Cricket Board The England and Wales Cricket Board, aka ECB, is the Sports governing body, national governing body of cricket in England and Wales. It was formed on 1 January 1997 as a single governing body to combine the roles formerly fulfilled by the Test ...

. Since June 2024 he has been Performance Director of the IRFU.

Playing career

Early career

Humphreys started playing rugby while at

Ballymena Academy Ballymena Academy is a mixed gender, voluntary Grammar schools in the United Kingdom, grammar school in the market town of Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1828 as a small provincial school for children in the tow ...

,Jonathan Bradley, ''The Last Amateurs: The Incredible Story of Ulster Rugby's 1999 European Champions'', The Blackstaff Press, 2018 and represented Ireland Schools, captaining them to the Triple Crown in 1990. In the amateur era, he played for Queen's University RFC, with whom he won the Dudley Cup in 1994, Ballymena R.F.C., and

Oxford University RFC The Oxford University Rugby Football Club (Oxford University RFC or OURFC) is the rugby union club of the University of Oxford. The club contests The Varsity Match every year against Cambridge University at Twickenham. History Men's team ...

, for whom he scored all 19 points in a losing effort in the 1995

Varsity Match A varsity match in Britain and Ireland is a fixture, especially of a sporting event or team, between university teams, usually the highest-level team, or varsity team, in that sport. The University Match in cricket between Oxford University an ...

. He also played provincial representative rugby for

, making his senior debut in an away victory over

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

in 1992, and his Interprovincial debut against

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

the same year, and was selected for Ireland under-21, 'A' and development teams.

London Irish

After rugby union was declared open to professionalism in 1995, Humphreys was approached by

Clive Woodward Sir Clive Ronald Woodward (born 6 January 1956) is an English former rugby union player and coach (sport), coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He also coached the 2005 Britis ...

to sign for

, then in Division Two of the Courage League. He made his debut for the club in January 1996, with Ireland coach

Murray Kidd Murray Kidd (born 1953 in Te Kūiti) is a New Zealand former rugby union representative player and coach. Playing career Kidd first came to prominence as a 17-year-old, being picked to play for Taranaki against the 1971 British Lions in their ...

in attendance. They were promoted to Division One the following season, but after poor results in the top flight, Woodward was replaced as coach by Willie Anderson, who helped them avoid relegation, with Humphreys described as the "catalyst" for their "Houdini-like escape", scoring 18 points in the relegation play-off victory over

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

. The following season, London Irish struggled again. Anderson was sacked in mid-season, replaced by Dick Best, and they again avoided relegation in a playoff against

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

Ulster

Humphreys continued to be selected for Ulster while at London Irish, starring in a win against

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

in February 1996, in which he scored 17 points - a try, three conversions, a drop goal and a penalty. He appeared for Ulster in the

1996–97 Heineken Cup The 1996–97 Heineken Cup was the second edition of the Heineken Cup, an international competition for the top European rugby union clubs. Competing teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales and, for the first time, England and Scotland, were divi ...

, defying London Irish to do so,Bill Leith
"Rugby Union: Topping grabs spoils"
''The Independent'', 13 October 1996 but was unavailable for the province the following season, after the English clubs declared that they no longer considered the Irish provinces to be representative sides.

Warren Gatland Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand former rugby union player and the former head coach of the Wales national rugby union team, Wales national team. As a player, he was a Hooker (rugby union), hooker and was one of ...

, the new

coach, led a drive by the IRFU to bring Irish players who had signed contracts with English clubs back to Ireland for the 1998–99 season, Humphreys being one of them. He joined

Dungannon RFC Dungannon RFC (Dungannon Football Club) is a rugby union club from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, playing in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League. History The 5th Earl of Ranfurly, who was President of Dungannon Football Club for 24 years an ...

, making him available for selection for Ulster, and agreed a contract with the IRFU. After

Mark McCall Mark Conn McCall (born 29 November 1967) is an Irish professional rugby union coach and former player, who is the current director of rugby of Premiership Rugby club Saracens. Arriving as an assistant in 2009 and taking charge of the first-team ...

sustained a serious neck injury, Humphreys was named Ulster's captain, and led them to win the 1998–99 Heineken Cup. He won the All-Ireland League with Dungannon in 2001, and was man of the match in the final, scoring five penalties, four conversions and a drop goal, 26 points in all, against Cork Constitution. For Ulster, he was the leading scorer in the inaugural Celtic League in 2001–02 with 122 points, and the league's leading marksman with 39 successful goal kicks. He set a Heineken Cup record for the most points scored in a single game, with 37 in Ulster's 42–16 win against

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

in 2002. With Ulster, he won the Celtic Cup in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, scoring 17 points in the final, and the Celtic League in

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 ...

, scoring a last-minute 40-metre drop goal in the final game to clinch the title. He won Ulster's player of the year and supporters' club player of the year awards in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, and the team's personality of the year award in 1999, 2000 and 2008. He won a supporters' poll for Ulster's all-time favourite player in 2008. He retired in 2008 as Ulster's most capped player with 163 appearances,Richard Mulligan, "New Role in Ulster for Humphreys", ''News Letter'', 5 June 2008 having scored 27 tries, 179 conversions, 326 penalties and 38 drop goals, 1,585 points in all. At the time of his retirement he was the Celtic League's top scorer with 786 points, and the Heineken Cup's fourth top scorerRichard Mulligan, "Fans poll punts 'Humph' heads above the rest", ''News Letter'', 7 May 2008 with 583 points.

International career

Humphreys made his senior debut for

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 ...

in the 1996 Five Nations Championship. For several years he vied with

Ronan O'Gara Ronan John Ross O'Gara (born 7 March 1977) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland's third most-capped player and second highest points scorer. He i ...

for the out-half position on the Ireland team, with O'Gara ultimately making the position his own. Nevertheless, Humphreys won 72 caps for Ireland, captaining the side five times. He retired from the international game in 2006 as Ireland's most-capped out-half"David Humphreys: Most capped Irish outhalf and European cup winner"
, Culture Northern Ireland, 10 April 2006, archived 8 April 2015 and second highest points scorer, having scored six tries, 110 penalties, 88 conversions and eight drop-goals, 560 points in all.Gavin Mairs, "Thanks for the memories David", ''Belfast Telegraph'', 9 May 2008 He also represented Ireland at the

1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens The 1997 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament and the first to be held in Hong Kong. It was the last major sporting event to be held in the then British dependency before the transfer of soverei ...

, and played six times for the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

between 2003 and 2005, once as captain, and scored 33 points.

Post-playing career

On retiring as a player, he was appointed to the new role of Operations Director of Ulster, with responsibility for contract negotiations. The following season, he became the team's Director of Rugby, overseeing the senior team, the 'A' team, the under-20s and the academy. His role included player recruitment, and he is credited with signing South African stars Ruan Pienaar, Johann Muller and

John Afoa Ioane Fitu "John" Afoa (born 16 September 1983) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player. His position of choice is at prop. Afoa currently plays for the Crusaders in Super Rugby. Personal life Afoa was a student at Auckland's Papakura ...

, and persuading

Tommy Bowe Thomas John Bowe (born 22 February 1984) is an Irish television presenter and former rugby union player from County Monaghan, Ireland. He played on the wing for Ulster, Ospreys, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions. After his playing career ...

and Roger Wilson to return to Ulster. In 2014 he became Director of Rugby at

. He left this role at the end of the 2019–20 season. He had a high performance consulting role with

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

at the 2020

Autumn Nations Cup The Autumn Nations Cup was a rugby union competition held in November and December 2020 in place of the usual Autumn rugby union internationals, Autumn internationals series typically held in the same period each year, as many teams were avoidin ...

. In 2021 he launched a sports recruitment company, SportsWork. He was also in involved in cricket in Ireland and England, serving on the high performance committee of

Cricket Ireland Cricket Ireland (formerly the Irish Cricket Union) is the national Sport governing body, governing body for cricket on the island of Ireland (both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland), and oversees the national Ireland cricket team, men' ...

before becoming director of cricket operations for the

in February 2023. In November 2023 it was announced that he would join the

Irish Rugby Football Union The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) () is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where a ...

as Performance Director Designate in March 2024, before succeeding David Nucifora as Performance Director in June.

Personal life

His sister Karen is a former international

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

player, and his younger brother Ian was a professional rugby player, who played out-half for

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

and

. His son James is an Ireland under-20 international, and a development player for

. He studied law at

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 ...

, He trained as a solicitor with Belfast law firm Tughans, under former Ulster and Ireland rugby international Mike Gibson. He received an Honorary Doctorate from the

University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

in December 2003 for Services to Sport and an MBE in the Queens New Year's Honours List in January 2004. He was inducted into the IRUPA Hall of Fame in 2008."Humphreys set to join IRUPA Hall of Fame"
ESPN, 1r April 2008

References

External links

*
Ulster profile
archived 26 February 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Humphreys, David 1971 births Living people Irish rugby union coaches Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Ireland national rugby union team captains Ulster Rugby players Ballymena R.F.C. players Queen's University RFC players Dungannon RFC players London Irish players Oxford University RFC players Barbarian F.C. players Rugby union fly-halves Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Members of the Order of the British Empire Rugby union players from Belfast 20th-century sportsmen from Northern Ireland 21st-century sportsmen from Northern Ireland Solicitors from Northern Ireland Alumni of St Cross College, Oxford People educated at Ballymena Academy Ireland international rugby sevens players Ulster Rugby non-playing staff 1999 Rugby World Cup players 2003 Rugby World Cup players Irish rugby union administrators