Shane Delahunt
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Shane Delahunt (born 2 February 1994) is a professional
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 from
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 ...
. He primarily plays as a hooker. Delahunt currently plays for Irish provincial side
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 ...
in the
Pro14 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 ...
. A product of the province's academy, Delahunt signed his first full contract with the side in December 2015, becoming a member of the senior squad in the 2016–17 season.


Early life

Delahunt was born and raised in Birr,
County Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...
. A graduate of
Kilkenny College Kilkenny College is a Church of Ireland co-educational day and boarding secondary school located in Kilkenny, in the South-East of Ireland. It is the largest co-educational boarding school in Ireland. In 2013 it transferred to the state/public se ...
, Delahunt captained the college team in the Leinster Senior Cup in 2012. Delahunt also played
GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...
in his youth, playing primarily at
full forward Full-forward is a position in Australian rules football and Gaelic football with a key focus on kicking goals. The Coleman Medal is awarded to the player, often a full-forward, who has kicked the most goals in an Australian Football League seaso ...
for club and county up to under-14 level.


Rugby career


Early career

Playing
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 ...
in his teenage years, Delahunt was part of the
Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
under-age set up, captaining the province's under-19 side. At under-20 level, Delahunt was advised to change position to hooker due to competition in the prop positions and his own lack of size. During this adjustment Delahunt's progression stalled and he was primarily used as a replacement on the province's under-20 team. During his time in the Leinster youth set up, he was registered with
University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...
team. Having been in the Leinster sub-academy for two years however, Delahunt did not progress to the academy. After this setback back Delahunt, still aiming to become a professional player, began playing for the Lansdowne under-20s, before contacting
Nigel Carolan Nigel Carolan (born 27 December 1974) is a rugby union coach from Ireland. He is currently the Assistant coach to Scottish United Rugby Championship side Glasgow Warriors. He was previously a Backs coach at Connacht. Before becoming a coach Caro ...
, academy coach at rival province
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 ...
and seeking a trial.


Connacht

Delahunt joined Connacht on an initial three-month trial in the summer of 2014. He trained with the team and played in a preseason friendly against
Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French professional rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two t ...
. Despite only being a trial player, Delahunt featured for the senior team early in the 2014–15 season. With both Seán Henry and
Jason Harris-Wright Jason Harris-Wright (born 19 September 1988) is a rugby union player from Ireland. He primarily plays as a hooker. Harris-Wright last played professionally for Bristol in the Greene King IPA Championship. Early life Harris-Wright grew up in Ki ...
injured, Delahunt was an unused replacement for a
2014–15 Pro12 The 2014–15 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 14th season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, and the fifth with its current four-country format. It was ...
game against
Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...
and the following week, on 24 September, he made his debut from the bench 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 October 2014, Delahunt signed an academy contract with the side and later that week made his first start in a league game against Benetton Treviso. With the move to Connacht he also joined
Buccaneers Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors, and pirates particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 unti ...
, an All-Ireland League side in the province. Delahunt made his European debut later that year, featuring as a replacement against
Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...
in the 2014–15 Challenge Cup on 13 December 2014. Including this European appearance, Delahunt made a total of nine appearances for the senior team over the course of the season. In his second year in the academy, Delahunt again featured for the senior team. He started for Connacht on 28 November 2015 in their win over Munster, the province's first 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 ...
since 1986. It was announced in December 2016 that Delahunt had signed a senior contract with the province which sees him become a full member of the first team squad in the 2016–17 season.


International

Delahunt has represented Ireland at under-age level. While playing prop as part of the Leinster under-age set up, he played for the Irish under-18 schools team and the Irish under-19s. Delahunt was part of 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
2014 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2014 Six Nations Under 20s Championship was a rugby union competition held in January, February and March 2014. France won the tournament and the Grand Slam while England won a Triple Crown. Final table Results Round 1 Round 2 Ro ...
. He made his only appearance for the team as a substitute in the game against
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
on 31 January.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delahunt, Shane 1994 births Living people Connacht Rugby players Irish rugby union players Rugby union hookers Sportspeople from Birr, County Offaly Rugby union players from County Offaly People educated at Kilkenny College University College Dublin R.F.C. players