John Joseph Hanrahan (born 27 July 1992) is an Irish

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 who plays for Munster in the

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 ...

. He plays primarily as a

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16� ...

, but can also play as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

or fullback.

Early years

Hanrahan began playing rugby with

Castleisland Castleisland () is a town and commercial centre in County Kerry in south west Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is known for the width of its main street. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Castleisland had a population of 2,5 ...

RFC in

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

at the age of 7. He attended

Rockwell College Rockwell College (), founded in 1864, is a voluntary day and boarding Catholic secondary school near Cashel, County Tipperary in Ireland. The school has a rugby tradition and has won the Munster Schools Senior Cup 26 times and the Munster ...

, moving there after being spotted playing for Castleisland in a Munster Under-16 final, and he scored a winning drop-goal for Rockwell in their 2010 semi-final, before losing the 2010 Munster Schools Rugby Senior Cup Final to

Presentation Brothers College, Cork Presentation Brothers College (PBC Cork) (; colloquially known as Pres) is a Catholic, boys, private fee-paying secondary school in Cork (city), Cork, Ireland. As of 2020, Presentation Brothers College was ranked as the top boys secondary sc ...

Club career

Munster

Hanrahan made his first senior appearance for Munster against

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 ...

in a non-capped pre-season friendly on 12 August 2011. He was part of the Munster A team that won the 2012

British and Irish Cup The British and Irish Cup was an annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs and the reserves or developing teams from professional clubs from Great Britain and Ireland. It took place for the first time in the 2009� ...

. He was promoted to a professional contract by Munster for the 2012–13 season. He made his full debut for Munster on 22 September 2012, in a

Pro12 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 ...

fixture against

Dragons A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...

. Hanrahan 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 on 21 October 2012, coming on as a replacement in Munster's second round fixture against

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Thomond Park Thomond Park is a stadium in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Munster Rugby and has Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. Limerick FC played home games in Thomond Park from 2013 to 2015 in the Le ...

. He made his start for Munster on 26 October 2012, in a

game 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 ...

, scoring two tries and winning the Man-of-the-Match award. Hanrahan signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in January 2013. In his first start of the 2013–14 season, against

on 13 September 2013, Hanrahan scored 21 points in a Man-of-the-match-winning performance. Hanrahan came off the bench against

in Round 1 of the

2013–14 Heineken Cup The 2013–14 Heineken Cup was the 19th and final season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The pool stage began on 11 October 2013 and ran through to 17� ...

on 12 October 2013. He came off the bench against

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 ...

in Round 2 on 19 October 2013. On 25 October 2013, Hanrahan scored all of Munster's points 6–13 win against

Glasgow Warriors The Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and beca ...

in another Man-of-the-Match performance. Hanrahan scored the winning try in Munster's 17–18 win against

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

in Round 4 of the

on 14 December 2013. He was named Man-of-the-Match in Munster's 16–10 win 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 21 December 2013, scoring 11 points and setting up Ronan O'Mahony's match-winning try with a crucial cross-field kick in injury time. He scored all of Munster's points in their 22–16 win against

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

on 27 December 2013. Hanrahan scored 24-points in Munster's 54–13 win against

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...

on 8 February 2014. He came on 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 ...

in Munster's 47–23 Heineken Cup quarter-final win on 5 April 2014. He suffered a groin injury in Munster's game against

on 12 April 2013, which ruled him out the inter-provincial derby against

on 19 April 2014. Hanrahan's match-winning try against

in Round 4 of the Heineken Cup was nominated for the IRUPA Try of the Year 2014 award on 23 April 2014. He came off the bench in Munster's 24–16 semi-final defeat to

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

on 27 April 2014. Hanrahan won the Munster Young Player of the Year Award on 8 May 2014. Hanrahan also won the

2013–14 Pro12 The 2013–14 Pro12 (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 13th season of the Pro12 rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the fourth with its current 12-team format, and the third with ...

Golden Boot Award for his 88.71% place kick conversion rate. Hanrahan scored 21 points against

on 1 November 2014. He started at fullback against

on 21 November 2014. He scored 18 points and won the Man-of-the-Match award in Munster's 33–16 win against

on 14 February 2015. Hanrahan scored a late try to help Munster secure a 25–25 draw with

on 21 February 2015. Hanrahan made his final appearance for Munster on 30 May 2015, coming off the bench in their 31–13 2015 Pro12 Grand Final defeat against

Northampton Saints

On 7 January 2015, it was confirmed that Hanrahan would leave Munster at the end of the 2014–15 season to join English Premiership side

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

. Hanrahan made his debut for Northampton on 24 October 2015, coming off the bench to replace the injured

George Pisi George Pisi (born 29 June 1986 in Apia, Samoa) is a rugby union player for Samoa who will leave his current club Northampton Saints in the Aviva Premiership at the conclusion of the 2016/17 season. Pisi was born in Samoa but moved to Auckland in ...

in Saints' 42–16 win against

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

. He started for Northampton in their opening

2015–16 European Rugby Champions Cup The 2015–16 European Rugby Champions Cup was the second European Rugby Champions Cup championship (21st overall), the annual rugby union club competition for teams from the top six nations in European rugby. The European Rugby Champions Cup rep ...

pool game against

on 14 November 2015, scoring 5 points in his team's 15–11 win. Hanrahan's Saints career was plagued with injury however, and he only made 31 appearances for the side in the two seasons he was at the club.

Return to Munster

On 24 January 2017, it was announced that, after two seasons with Northampton, Hanrahan would be returning to Munster on a two-year contract, beginning at the conclusion of the 2016–17 season. He made his competitive return for Munster on 30 September 2017, coming off the bench against

in Round 5 of the

2017–18 Pro14 The 2017–18 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventeenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Pro14, Celtic League. It is the first season to be referred to as t ...

and scoring two tries in the provinces 39–16 win. Hanrahan converted all 7 tries and won the Man-of-the-Match award in Munster's 49–6 win against

on 3 November 2017. Hanrahan started at fly-half in Munster's

2018–19 Pro14 The 2018–19 Pro14 (also known as the '' Guinness Pro14'' for sponsorship reasons) is the eighteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the second season to be referred to as the '' ...

opening win against South African side

Cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...

on 1 September 2018, scoring one try and four conversions in the provinces 38–0 victory. He signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in December 2018, a deal that will see him remain with the province until at least June 2021. Hanrahan scored 20 points, including one try, three conversions and three penalties, and earned the Man-of-the-Match award in Munster's 30–5 Champions Cup pool two win against French side

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (adminis ...

on 9 December 2018, having been a late call-up to the starting XV after Joey Carbery reported a tight hamstring before the game. Hanrahan won his 100th cap for Munster in their fixture against Italian side Benetton on 12 April 2019, scoring 17 points, including four conversions and three penalties, and winning the Man-of-the-Match award in the provinces 37–28 away win. Hanrahan scored the match-winning penalty in the 76th minute to secure a 15–13 victory against Benetton in their league quarter-final on 4 May 2019. Hanrahan won the

2019–20 Pro14 The 2019–20 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the nineteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the third season to be referred to as the ''PR ...

Golden Boot award for the best kicker in the competition, ending the regular season with a 90.91% success rate. This was the second time he had won the accolade, having previously won it in the 2013–14 season. In round two of the 2020–21 Champions Cup on 19 December 2020, Hanrahan scored 24 points off the kicking tee for Munster in their 39–31 away win against French side Clermont. At one point during the first-half, Clermont had been 28–9 ahead, but penalties from Hanrahan kept Munster ticking over on the scoreboard before their comeback win in France. In Munster's rescheduled

2020–21 Pro14 The 2020–21 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the twentieth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the fourth season to be referred to as the ''P ...

round 5 fixture away to Italian side Benetton on 30 January 2021, Hanrahan came off the bench to replace Ben Healy and scored an 81st minute drop-goal to earn an 18–16 win for Munster. Hanrahan's try in Munster's 38–27 win against

in round 3 of the 2020–21 Pro14 on 26 October 2020 won the ''Try of the Season'' award with both

Eir Sport Eir Sport (stylised as eir Sport; formerly Setanta Sports) was a group of Irish television sports channels operated by Eircom Sport Limited, a subsidiary of Eir. In December 2015, Eir purchased original Setanta Sports operations in the Republi ...

and Rugby Players Ireland.

Clermont Auvergne

Hanrahan joined 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 ...

club Clermont on a one-year contract, with the option of a second year, ahead of the 2021–22 season. He made his competitive debut for the club in their opening fixture of the 2021–22 Top 14 season away to

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

on 5 September 2021, starting at fly-half and scoring a try in Clermont's 28–19 defeat.

Dragons

Hanrahan moved to

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 ...

to join Newport-based club

on a three-year contract from the 2022–23 season, and made his senior competitive debut for the club in their 44–6 defeat against

in round one of the

2022–23 United Rugby Championship The 2022–23 United Rugby Championship was the 22nd season of the professional rugby union competition United Rugby Championship. It began on 16 September 2022 and ended on 27 May 2023. For sponsorship reasons it was known in South Africa as Vod ...

on 17 September 2022, starting and scoring all of Dragons' points from two penalties. Hanrahan scored 18 points off the kicking tee in the Dragons' 23–17 home win against his former club

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 ...

in round two of the URC on 25 September 2022, helping his new club to their first win against the province in seven years.

Connacht

Hanrahan was released early from his contract with the Dragons and returned to Ireland to join

ahead of the 2023–24 season.

Second Return to Munster

In March 2025 it was confirmed that Hanrahan would rejoin Munster Rugby for a third spell, with a two-year deal from July 2025 to June 2027.

Ireland

Under-20s

Hanrahan made his debut for Ireland Under-20 on 11 February 2011 against France Under-20, during the 2011 Under-20 Six Nations Championship. He played at the 2011 Junior World Championship. In June 2012, he was fly-half for Ireland Under-20 in a famous win at the

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

U-20 IRB Junior World Championship against hosts South Africa Under-20. Hanrahan again played a crucial role at fly-half in Ireland Under-20s victories against England Under-20s and France Under-20s, wins that saw Ireland Under-20 finish 5th at the 2012 competition, their best ever finish at the time. For his performances at the Junior World Championship, and throughout 2012, Hanrahan was nominated for the IRB Junior Player of the Year Award 2012.

Emerging Ireland

Hanrahan was selected in the

Emerging Ireland Emerging Ireland is an Irish international rugby union team that represents Irish Rugby Football Union, Ireland in selected matches, tours and competitions. Composed of Ireland qualified players only, mostly uncapped or at the beginning of their c ...

squad on 26 May 2014. He came off the bench 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 ...

in their first

2014 IRB Nations Cup The 2014 IRB Nations Cup was the ninth edition of the international rugby union tournament, a competition created by the International Rugby Board. For the eighth time in a row, it was held in Bucharest, Romania. It was played between 13 and 22 Ju ...

match on 13 June 2014, scoring 6 points. He started in their second game against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

on 18 June 2014, scoring 13 points. Hanrahan came off the bench in the 31–10 win

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 22 June 2014, a win that secured the

for Emerging Ireland. Hanrahan was named in the

squad for the 2015 World Rugby Tbilisi Cup on 19 May 2015. He scored 5 points in Emerging Ireland's opening 25–0 win against Emerging Italy on 13 June 2015. He also started and scored 15 points off the tee in the 45–12 win against

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 ...

on 21 June 2015, a win which secured the tournament for Emerging Ireland.

Honours

Munster

**Runner Up (2): 2014–15, 2020–21

Munster A

**Winner (1): 2011–12

Emerging Ireland

World Rugby Nations Cup The Nations Cup is a rugby union competition that was first held in 2006 at Estádio Universitário in Lisbon with Argentina A, Italy A, Portugal and Russia taking part. The tournament is part of the International Rugby Board's US $50 million St ...

**Winner (1):

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

* World Rugby Tbilisi Cup **Winner (1):

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

References

External links

Munster Profile
*
Pro14 ProfileU20 Six Nations ProfileClermont Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanrahan, JJ 1992 births Living people Rugby union players from County Kerry People educated at Rockwell College Irish rugby union players Munster Rugby players Northampton Saints players ASM Clermont Auvergne players Dragons RFC players Connacht Rugby players Irish expatriate rugby union players in Wales Rugby union fly-halves Rugby union centres Rugby union fullbacks Irish expatriate rugby union players in France