Neil Cronin (born 6 December 1992) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player for

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following th ...

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. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

. He plays as a scrum-half and represents Garryowen in the All-Ireland League.

Garryowen

During the 2017–18 season, Cronin captained Garryowen to a 39th Munster Senior Challenge Cup and, for his efforts, was named the

AIL Ail or AIL may refer to: * Illness, a state of poor health * Ail (''Sailor Moon''), a character in the ''Sailor Moon'' anime series * Acceptance in lieu, an arrangement in the UK for accepting works of art etc. in lieu of tax * Agilus, a Frankis ...

Munster Player of the Year and Division 1A Player of the Year.

Munster

Cronin made his Munster debut on 26 December 2014, featuring off the bench in the provinces 28–13 win against

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 ...

Thomond Park Thomond Park is a stadium in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and has Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. Limerick FC played home games in Thomond Park ...

. He went on to make three more appearances as a substitute for Munster during the 2014–15 season. Following his performances for Garryowen, Cronin was awarded a one-year contract with Munster for the 2018–19 season. Cronin made his 'second' debut for Munster on 1 September 2018, starting at scrum-half in their opening

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 ''Pr ...

fixture against South African side

Cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

. Cronin made his Champions Cup debut on 13 October 2018, featuring off the bench in Munster's opening 2018–19 pool 2 fixture against English side

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played its home m ...

, which ended in a 10–10 draw in

Sandy Park Sandy Park is a rugby union stadium and conference and banqueting centre in Exeter, England. It is the home ground of Exeter Chiefs, who from the 2010–11 season have been playing in the Gallagher Premiership, the top flight of the English rugb ...

. Cronin signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in October 2018. Cronin scored his first try for Munster in their 43–0 win against South African side

Southern Kings The Southern Kings were a South African professional rugby union team that competed in Super Rugby and Pro14. They were based in Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape province and played their home matches at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. They wer ...

on 15 February 2019. He suffered an

ACL injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

during training with Munster in October 2020, which is expected to rule Cronin out for at least six months. He signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in March 2021, a deal that will see him remain with the province until at least June 2023. Cronin featured off the bench in Munster's historic 28–14 win against a South Africa XV in

Páirc Uí Chaoimh Páirc Uí Chaoimh ( ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Cork, Ireland. It is the home of Cork GAA. The venue, often referred to simply as The Park, is located in Ballintemple and is built near to the site of the original Cork Athletic Grounds. The s ...

on 10 November 2022.

Ireland

Cronin has made eight appearances for the Ireland Club XV, most recently in February and March 2018 when he captained the side in two fixtures against

Scotland Club XV The Scotland national Club XV rugby union team is one of several national rugby union teams behind the Scottish national side. The national Club XV takes the best players from club rugby in Scotland to form a side that regularly competes with a ...

Life outside rugby

After Cronin's first brief stint with Munster came to an end, he qualified as a secondary school teacher, before going on to earn a teaching degree and a position at

St Munchin's College St. Munchin's College is a second-level education college located in Corbally, Limerick, Ireland. The school was founded in 1796. It is a Diocesan CollegeDiocese of Limerick > Education > Post Primary or minor seminary. College Crest The colle ...

References

External links

Munster ProfileURC Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cronin, Neil 1992 births Living people Rugby union players from County Limerick Irish rugby union players Garryowen Football Club players Munster Rugby players Rugby union scrum-halves