Michael Milne (born 5 February 1999) 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 came through the

Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby () is one of the four professional provincial club rugby union teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Leinster Branch, one of t ...

academy and became a member of the Leinster Senior Squad on 15 April 2021. He moved to provincial rivals

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 April 2025. He normally plays as a loosehead

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

Early life

Milne was born and raised in Crinkill, Birr, County

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

and first began playing rugby aged five or six for

Birr RFC Birr RFC is an Irish rugby team based in Birr, County Offaly, playing in Division 2B of the Leinster League The Leinster League is the second tier of Rugby union, rugby in Leinster Rugby, Leinster, behind the Leinster Senior League (rugby), ...

. He attended Cistercian College and helped the school to their first ever

Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup The Leinster Schools Senior Challenge Cup is the premier rugby union competition for secondary schools affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), and was first held in 1887. Attendances are high for a schoolboy ...

in 2015.

Leinster

Milne made his senior competitive debut for Leinster in their opening fixture of 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 ...

season away to Italian side Benetton on 28 September 2019, which the province won 32–27.

Munster

Michael Milne joined Munster rugby on a short term loan along with fellow Leinster player Lee Barron ahead of their permanent move to Munster the following season. Milne made his debut for Munster in their 2024-25 URC Round 16 fixture against Welsh side Cardiff on 25 April 2025, which the province lost 21-26 He subsequently scored his first try for Munster in the province's URC Round 17 victory against provincial rivals Ulster, helping the province to a 38-20 victory in

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 then went on to start for Munster, in the final game of the regular season, in their URC Round 18 victory over Italian side Benetton. Milne started in Munster's 2024/25 quarter final draw away to

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

, which was decided in the first ever

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

in the URC, with Munster losing five successful kicks to six.

Ireland

Milne was part of the Ireland under-20s squad that won a

grand slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

during the

2019 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2019 Six Nations Under 20s Championship was the 12th series of the Six Nations Under 20s Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. France were the defending champions. Ireland won the tournament and a Grand Slam, a ...

. Milne was named 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 that travelled to South Africa in September 2022 and featured against both the Pumas and Cheetahs. On the 7th November 2022 Milne was called up to train with the Ireland squad for the Bank of Ireland Nations Series On the 6th February 2023, Milne was called up to train with the Ireland squad for the 2023 Six Nations following the continuing injury to Cian Healy.

Honours

Cistercian College

: **Winner (1): 2015

Ireland Under-20s

Six Nations Under 20s Championship The Six Nations Under 20s Championship is an international rugby union tournament. It is the under-20s equivalent of the Six Nations Championship. Originally the tournament was in an under-21 format but changed to under-20s in 2008. England ...

: ** Winner (1):

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Grand Slam Grand Slam or Grand slam may refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category terminology originating in contract bridge and other whist card games Athletics * Grand Slam Track, professional track and field league Auto racing * ...

: ** Winner (1):

* Triple Crown: ** Winner (1):

References

External links

*
Leinster Academy Profile

Ireland U20 Profile

Pro14 Profile

1999 births Living people People educated at Cistercian College, Roscrea Rugby union players from County Offaly Irish rugby union players Leinster Rugby players Rugby union props Sportspeople from Birr, County Offaly {{Ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub