Donnacha Ryan (born 11 December 1983) 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 and current coach. Ryan spent most of his career representing his native province

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 ...

, spending 13 seasons at the club, before moving to French club

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French professional rugby union club based in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Paris' western inner Banlieue, suburbs that competes in Top 14. The club plays its home matches at the 30,681-capacity Stadium#Types, domed stadium Pa ...

in 2017, where he spent the final four seasons of his playing career before retiring and joining the coaching team at

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

ahead of the 2021–22 season. He played primarily as a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

, but could also play as a flanker.

Early career

Ryan went to school at CBS Nenagh and played all his underage rugby with Nenagh Ormond, representing Munster and Irish Youths, before moving to

St Munchin's College St. Munchin's College is a boys–only Roman Catholic secondary school in Limerick, Ireland. It was founded by The Most Reverend John G. Young (bishop), John Young, Bishop of Limerick in 1796. As of January 2020, a total of 657 boys were enrolle ...

in Limerick, where he was a key member of the side that won the Munster Schools Rugby Senior Cup in 2002. Ryan originally began playing rugby at the age of 17 in order to bulk up and earn selection for the Tipperary Minor Hurling team, but instead ended up pursuing rugby. He joined

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

amateur club Shannon, who play in the All-Ireland League, and won an AIL League medal with the club in the 2005–06 season.

Professional career

Munster

At the age of 20, Ryan made his debut for Munster against Ospreys on 3 September 2004 during a Celtic League fixture. He made his

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

debut against

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...

on 16 December 2007. He played for Munster in their 2007–08 Heineken Cup semi-final against

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

, and was on the bench for the 2008 Heineken Cup Final against

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, which Munster won 16–13. Ryan was part of the Munster squad that won the 2008–09 Celtic League, and he added a second Celtic League winners medal to his collection when Munster beat arch-rivals, and newly crowned Heineken Cup champions,

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

19–9 in the 2011 Celtic League Grand Final. After 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 ...

, he began to regularly partner Paul O'Connell in the Munster pack, particularly during the 2011–12 Heineken Cup, keeping Donncha O'Callaghan on the bench. It was announced on 13 March 2012 that Ryan had signed a contract extension with the IRFU. On 8 April 2012, Ryan won his 100th cap for Munster in the 2011–12 Heineken Cup quarter-final against

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 ...

. He also won the Munster Player of the Year award for the 2011–12 season. Ryan started all of Munster's

2012–13 Heineken Cup The 2012–13 Heineken Cup was the 18th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The tournament began with two pool matches on 12 October 2012 and ended with t ...

pool games and was a crucial player in getting them through to the semi-finals. In December 2013, Ryan signed a new three-year contract with Munster. On 1 October 2016, Ryan earned his 150th cap for Munster during the 2016–17 Pro12 fixture against

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning " Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by t ...

. On 27 May, Ryan made his final appearance for Munster when he started against

in the 2017 Pro12 Grand Final in the

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road (, ) or Dublin Arena (during UEFA competitions), is a List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Racing 92

On 19 May 2017, it was announced that Ryan would be leaving Munster upon the conclusion on the 2016–17 season to join French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

side

. A neck hernia ruled Ryan out until the end of November 2017, though he made his Racing debut on 3 December 2017 and started against his former club Munster on 14 January 2018. Ryan featured as a replacement for Racing 92 in the 2020 European Rugby Champions Cup Final against English club

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

on 17 October, which the Parisian side narrowly lost 31–27. Ryan's final game for Racing 92 was their 19–6 defeat against

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 ...

in the semi-finals of the 2020–21 Top 14 season on 18 June 2021.

Ireland

Ryan represented Ireland at Youth U18 level and at U21. He made his debut for the Irish national team on 22 November 2008 in a test against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

, Dublin. Ryan missed out on selection for the Ireland senior squad for the 2009 Six Nations Championship, and had to wait until the 2009 Summer Tests to play for Ireland again, earning caps against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

and the USA. He was named in the squad for the 2009 November Tests, but did not earn any caps during the series. Named in Ireland's squad for the

2010 Six Nations Championship The 2010 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2010 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 11th series of the Six Nations Championship and the 116th international championship, an annual rugby union competition b ...

, Ryan made his Six Nations debut 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 ...

on 6 February 2010 as a replacement. He made another replacement appearance 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 ...

on 13 February, but did not feature in the rest of the tournament. He missed out on selection for Ireland's 2010 Summer Tour, but was back for Ireland during the 2010 November Tests and made appearances off the bench against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

. Ryan missed out on selection for Ireland's squad for the 2011 Six Nations Championship, but was named in the training squad for the

. He made his first start for Ireland in the World Cup warm-up against

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

on 6 August 2011, as well as playing against France and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He won selection in the final 30-man squad for the tournament in New Zealand, and made three appearances at the tournament, including a start against

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and bench appearances against Italy and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He was selected in Ireland's 24-man squad for the 2012 Six Nations Championship. He came off the bench against Wales, Italy and France, and made his first Six Nations start in the Round 4 game against Scotland, in which he was named man of the match. Ryan started in all of Ireland's tests against New Zealand in June 2012, as part the 2012 Tour of New Zealand, and the tests against South Africa and Argentina in November 2012. Ryan continued to hold down the Ireland number 5 jersey going into the

2013 Six Nations Championship The 2013 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2013 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 14th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship ...

, starting against Wales, England Scotland, France, and Italy. Ryan was added to Ireland's squad for the 2014 Six Nations Championship on 17 February 2014. Ryan was named in the 45-man training 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 ...

on 24 June 2015. He started in the first World Cup warm-up against Wales on 8 August 2015. Ryan came off the bench in the third warm-up game against Wales on 29 August 2015. He was selected in the final 31-man squad for the World Cup when it was announced on 1 September 2015. Ryan came off the bench in the final warm-up game against

on 5 September 2015. He came off the bench in the pool opener against

on 19 September 2015. Ryan started the second pool game 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 ...

on 27 September 2015. He came off the bench for Ireland in the 43-20 quarter-final defeat against

on 18 October 2015. On 20 January 2016, Ryan was named in Ireland's 35-man squad for the 2016 Six Nations. On 7 February 2016, he came off the bench against Wales in Ireland's opening match of the Six Nations. On 13 February 2016, he came off the bench against France in Ireland's second game of the Six Nations. On 12 March 2016, Ryan won the Man-of-the-Match award in Ireland's 58-15 win against

. On 25 May 2016, Ryan was named in the 32-man Ireland squad to tour South Africa in a 3-test series. On 18 June 2016, Ryan came on as a replacement in the second test against

. On 26 October 2016, Ryan was named in Ireland's squad for the 2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals. On 5 November 2016, Ryan started in Ireland's test against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears from the National ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Ireland's 40-29 win was their first ever against New Zealand. On 23 January 2017, Ryan was named in the Ireland squad for the opening two rounds of the

2017 Six Nations Championship The 2017 Six Nations Championship was the 18th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The tournament was also known as the RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by NatWest ...

. Having been dropped for the opening fixture against

, Ryan was restored to Ireland's starting XV for the four remaining fixtures against

and

Coaching career

Upon the conclusion of the 2020–21 season, Ryan, who hadn't been offered a contract extension by

, rejected offers from

Pro D2 The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It ...

clubs to continue his playing career and retired, joining the coaching team at

, where Ryan's former

teammate and Racing 92 coach

was director of rugby. Ryan was part of the coaching setup at La Rochelle that won the 2021–22 European Rugby Champions Cup beating Leinster in the final 24-21. The following year, La Rochelle repeated the achievement by winning 2022–23 European Rugby Champions Cup, this time beating Leinster 27-26 at the Aviva Stadium. In a post-match interview, La Rochelle's Director of Rugby, Ronan O'Gara, commented on Ryan's involvement, saying, 'he's coaching for two years, he has two European Cup medals so he's probably the most performing coach in the world'. Despite only coaching for two years, winning back to back European Champions Cup medals makes Ryan one of the most successful coaches in World Rugby.

Statistics

International analysis by opposition

Correct as of 5 July 2017Donnacha Ryan
''ESPN Scrum'', 5 July 2017

Honours

Munster

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

**Winner (2): 2008–09, 2010–11 **Runner Up (2): 2014–15, 2016–17 * European Rugby Champions Cup **Winner (1): 2007–08

Racing 92

* European Rugby Champions Cup **Runner Up (1): 2017–18

Ireland A

Churchill Cup The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's (and formerly women's) teams from Canada national rugby union team, Canada, England Saxons, England, the United States national rugby union te ...

: **Winner (1):

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

References

External links

Munster ProfileRacing 92 ProfileIreland Profile
*
Pro14 Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Donnacha 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Nenagh People educated at St Munchin's College Alumni of University College Cork Rugby union players from County Tipperary Irish rugby union players Irish rugby union coaches University College Cork RFC players Sundays Well RFC players Shannon RFC players Munster Rugby players Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Racing 92 players Irish expatriate rugby union players in France Rugby union locks Rugby union flankers 2011 Rugby World Cup players 2015 Rugby World Cup players