Isaac Boss (born 9 April 1980, in

Tokoroa Tokoroa ( mi, Te Kaokaoroa o Pātetere) is the fifth-largest town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and largest settlement in the South Waikato District. Located 30 km southwest of Rotorua, close to the foot of the ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

) is a New Zealand–born

Irish rugby union The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) ( ga, Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann) 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 ...

former player. His grandmother was born in

Glenarm Glenarm () is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies on the North Channel coast north of the town of Larne and the village of Ballygalley, and south of the village of Carnlough. It is situated in the civil parish of Tickmacreva ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

, thereby qualifying him to play for Ireland. He played scrum-half or fullback and has played for

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

and the Ireland national team. He weighs 88 kg and is 1.78 m tall. He is the only player to play over 100 games for two different Irish provinces. Boss retired from professional rugby after the 2016

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

season with

, returning home to New Zealand.

Club career

Boss played in New Zealand for the Hautapu Rugby Club in Cambridge and for the

Waikato Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, t ...

in the

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, ...

. He also played for the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm, storm system characterized by a Low-pressure area, low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, Beaufort scale, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms tha ...

and the Chiefs in the

Super 12 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

, where he was halfback for the Chiefs before the arrival of

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

Byron Kelleher Byron Terence Kelleher (born 3 December 1976 in Dunedin, New Zealand) is a former rugby union scrum-half who played for Stade Toulouse in the French Top 14 and has played 57 tests for the All Blacks. He was a very aggressive player, who special ...

Ulster Rugby

Boss arrived in Ireland joining Ulster at the beginning of the 2005/06 season. He was a key part of the 2005/06 Pro12 winners team. He played 16 matches for Ulster in 2005/06 scoring 3 tries. The next season, he played 16 matches scoring 2 tries. He played 15 matches in 2007/08 scoring 3 tries. He scored 3 more tries for Ulster in the next two seasons. A hugely popular player throughout his time at Ravenhill, he amassed over 100 Ulster caps.

Leinster Rugby

Boss transferred to Leinster ahead of the start of the 2010–11 season. He signed for Leinster Rugby on a four-year deal and had a good first season playing 20 matches scoring 3 tries. In 2011/12 he played 15 matches scoring 2 tries.

Ireland Rugby

Boss was part of the Under-19 New Zealand Rugby World Cup team in 1999. Boss's Irish ancestry meant that he was qualified to play rugby for Ireland through his maternal grandmother who was from Glenarm Co. Antrim. Boss's consistency with Ulster in his debut season, the 2005/06 campaign, saw him rewarded with a first Ireland call-up. He made his full international debut for Ireland on their summer tour to New Zealand in June 2006. He made three substitute appearances for Ireland on the 2006 Southern Hemisphere Tour and started against Australia in the Autumn internationals. Isaac was selected for the Irish senior squad for the 2006/07 Autumn Internationals against South Africa and Australia, based on his performances he was included in that seasons Six Nations squad. During one of his most memorable performances, Isaac scored an historic try against England in the famous Croke Park victory in February 2007. He returned to his native New Zealand as part of the Ireland squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, scoring a try in Ireland's one-sided win over Russia. Ireland were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Wales. Boss made just one appearance in the tournament, with Conor Murray and Eoin Reddan as Ireland’s first-choice scrum-halves. His earned 23 Ireland caps and 13 Ireland Wolfhounds caps, 3 of which he gained in the 2009 Churchill Cup. Isaac captained the Ireland 'A' side in their opening game against Canada, going on to play in all three games and ultimately win the Cup for the first time.

Post playing career

Boss worked with the Smart Waikato Trust as the Education and Employment Manager for the South Waikato and

King Country The King Country (Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of ...

, working towards reducing youth unemployment in the area by offering free specialist support to businesses keen to develop entry-level work opportunities for young people, as well as coordinating the trust's Secondary School Employer Partnerships programme. As well as working as a Commentator for Sky Sport, Boss also took part in a study on contact sports and long-term brain health, examining aspects of brain health, from mental wellness to cognitive functioning at Trinity College in 2019.

Coaching career

After retiring from professional rugby in 2016, Boss returned to New Zealand and began his coaching career in

at Southern United Rugby Football Club as a Head Coach in 2018, becoming President of the club in 2019. On 31 January 2020, it was announced that Boss would be appointed Head Coach of the King Country Rams in the Mitre 10 Heartland Championship for a two-year term.

References

External links

Ulster profileLeinster profileIreland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boss, Isaac 1980 births Living people Irish rugby union players New Zealand rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Ballymena R.F.C. players Ulster Rugby players Leinster Rugby players Rugby union players from Tokoroa Rugby union scrum-halves Waikato rugby union players Chiefs (rugby union) players Hurricanes (rugby union) players Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players People educated at Forest View High School, Tokoroa