Ian Dowling (born 5 October 1982) is an Irish

physiotherapist Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is a healthcare profession, as well as the care provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through patient education, physical intervention, disease preventio ...

and 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 ...

and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

player.

Playing career

He played underage and junior club rugby with

Kilkenny RFC Kilkenny RFC is an Irish rugby team based in Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, playing in Division 1B of the Leinster League The Leinster League is the second tier of Rugby union, rugby in Leinster Rugby, Leinster, behind the Leinster Senior League ...

. He won an All-Ireland League medal with

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 ...

before joining

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 ...

, with whom he has won two

European Rugby Cup European Rugby Cup Ltd (or ERC) was the governing body and organiser of the two major European rugby union club tournaments: the Heineken Cup and the Amlin Challenge Cup. It was replaced by the European Professional Club Rugby governing body in 2 ...

s both in

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 ...

in May 2006 and May 2008. He also has played for the

Ireland national rugby league team The Ireland men's national rugby league team, known as the Wolfhounds, is organised by Rugby League Ireland and represents the entire isle of Ireland in international rugby league. The representative team is composed largely of players of Irish ...

and Ireland A level. Caretaker Ireland coach Michael Bradley named him in the

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 ...

squad for the summer 2008 tour to New Zealand and Australia. Dowling played 27 times in the Heineken Cup for Munster, scoring 5 tries. Dowling won his first cap with the Irish International Rugby Union Team on their 2009 summer tour of North America when he lined out 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 ...

on 23 May 2009. Dowling announced in April 2011 that he was retiring from rugby, due to a hip injury, after medical consultation. "It's been a fabulous experience. I've made some great friends and take with me really great memories, the two Heineken Cup wins obviously the highlights. But besides that, I've had wonderful times with Munster," said Dowling.

Personal life

Dowling is a qualified physiotherapist by trade. He has worked with the Tipperary senior county footballers. He is married to the niece of Irish comedian, singer and actress

June Rodgers June Rodgers (born 24 June 1959) is an Irish comedian, singer and actor. Much of her repertoire consists of multiple character skits, mainly focusing on working-class Dublin themes, including the characters of 'Jacinta O'Brien' and 'Oliver Bond' ...

References

External links

Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.orgMunster profileIreland profileIreland Wolfhounds profile
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Ian Dowling In Action for Munster Pictures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dowling, Ian 1982 births Living people 21st-century Irish sportsmen Ireland international rugby union players Ireland national rugby league team players Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Irish physiotherapists Irish rugby league players Irish rugby union players Munster Rugby players Rugby league players from County Kilkenny Rugby union players from County Kilkenny Shannon RFC players Rugby union wings Tipperary county football team non-playing personnel