Fionn McLoughlin (born 6 September 1982) is an Irish rugby union player. He has represented both Ireland and Wales at youth level. He plays centre, winger and fly half. He is the son of former

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 ...

and British Lions prop

Gerry McLoughlin Gerard Anthony Joseph McLoughlin (born 11 June 1952) in Limerick is a former international rugby union player. Rugby career McLoughlin played club rugby for Shannon and Munster. He was part of the Munster team that beat the All Blacks 12 to ...

Early life

Born in

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 ...

, Ireland on 6 September 1982, McLoughlin grew up in Wales where his father was a teacher. In 1999, he played for Cardinal Newman Roman Catholic School in

Rhydyfelin Rhydyfelin () is a large village (originally known as Rhydfelen) and part of the community of Pontypridd Town, about to its south east of Pontypridd, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf. It is on the eastern bank of the River Taff, close ...

in the Welsh Schools Under-18 Cup Final at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

Career

McLoughlin started his career at

Shannon RFC Shannon Rugby Football Club is the most successful club in the All Ireland League, having won the competition nine times. They hail from Limerick near the banks of the Shannon river. Shannon RFC is a member of the '' Irish Rugby Football Union ...

where he played for Irish region

Munster Rugby Munster Rugby () is one of the professional provincial rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union, ...

He also played for

Galwegians RFC Galwegians Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club in Galway, Ireland. Galwegians field over 16 teams including Men's and Women's Senior (Firsts), Junior (Seconds) and Men's Thirds as well as underage sides at all levels from U20 to U7. The ...

and

Connacht Rugby Connacht Rugby is one of the four professional provincial men's rugby union, 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 Connacht B ...

in 2001. In 2002, McLoughlin moved to Welsh club

Caerphilly RFC Caerphilly Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union team founded in 1887. Their home ground is The Mollex stadium in Caerphilly and their nickname is ''The Cheesemen''. Caerphilly RFC currently play in the WRU Division One East Central and ...

where he took part in their 2002-03 European Shield campaign. In 2007, McLoughlin moved to

Pontypridd RFC Pontypridd Rugby Football Club () is a rugby union team from Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It competes in the Admiral Premiership and the WRU Premiership Cup, a trophy which they won for the 7th time in 2025. Their last league title ...

on a dual-registration with

Llanharan RFC Llanharan Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in Llanharan, South Wales. Llanharan RFC was formally established in 1891-92 when Llanharan was little more than an agricultural hamlet. The earliest photograph on the clubhouse wall is dat ...

. In 2008, McLoughlin joined

Bedwas RFC Bedwas RFC () is a rugby union club located in the Wales, Welsh village of Bedwas. Bedwas has two senior teams, their 1st XV competing in the Welsh Championship and their development side, the Bedwas Barbarians. The club is a member of the Welsh R ...

owing to limited opportunities at Pontypridd. In 2009, McLoughlin returned to Ireland to rejoin Shannon where he helped them win the All-Ireland League. During the orthern Hemispheresummer, he played in Australia for the

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

RUFC. Later that year, he had a trial with English

RFU Championship The RFU Championship is an English rugby union competition comprising twelve clubs. It is the second level of men's English rugby and is played by both professional and semi-professional players. The competition has existed since 1987, when Eng ...

team Plymouth Albion R.F.C., where he was signed permanently. In 2015, McLoughlin was signed by

National League 2 South National League 2 South (known before September 2009 as National Division Three South) was a level four league in the English rugby union system until the end of season 2021–22. It was one of two leagues at this level, with its counterpart, N ...

Old Elthamians Old Elthamians Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Chislehurst in SE London. Due to financial difficulties they withdrew from National League One, the third tier of English club rugby, in August, 2021. Upon returning ...

. In 2017, McLoughlin joined

Tunbridge Wells RFC Tunbridge Wells RFC is an English Rugby union club that plays in Regional 1 South Central from Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. History Tunbridge Wells RFC was officially formed as Old Skinners RFC in 1931 as a rugby union club for forme ...

, where he played a part in them achieving a second successive promotion.

International career

McLoughlin has represented both the Wales national under-18 rugby union team and the Ireland national under-19 rugby union team at international level. He was also called up for the Ireland Club XV against

England Counties XV England Counties XV is a representative rugby union team, formed in 2002, open to English players who play in the County Championship and the third tier (and below) of the English rugby union system. Players from the Premiership and RFU Champi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLoughlin, Fionn 1982 births Living people Caerphilly RFC players Connacht Rugby players Galwegians RFC players Irish rugby union players Llanharan RFC players Munster Rugby players Plymouth Albion R.F.C. players Rugby union players from Limerick (city) Shannon RFC players Rugby union centres Welsh rugby union players Welsh expatriate rugby union players Welsh expatriate sportspeople in Australia Irish expatriate rugby union players in Australia