Stephen Keogh (born 10 May 1982) is a former 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.

Early life

Keogh was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

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 ...

, and grew up in Dromkeen,

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

. He attended St. Munchin's College before playing in the second-row for Ireland U21s in the World Cup in Johannesburg in June 2002. In the following season, playing number 8, Keogh led the U21s to Six Nations Championship victories over Scotland, Italy, France and England. His side's only defeat that year came against eventual champions Wales, the Irish defeated by the narrowest of margins (20–19) in Ebbw Vale.

Professional career

Keogh made his

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 ...

senior debut in the

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organization, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places pa ...

in October 2003 before we went on to play 54 senior games (45

, 9

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 ...

), scoring 10 points (2 tries), and captained the side on two occasions. He has played twice for the Ireland 'A' side. Keogh moved to

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 ...

during March 2006 and been an integral part of the Leinster pack since then, having played over 30 times. During the months of February and March 2007 having featured prominently in the victories over Edinburgh and Connacht and also shone in the Heineken Cup quarter-final defeat to Wasps at the end of March, was announced as the Bank of Scotland (Ireland) Leinster Player of the Month for February/March.

References

External links

Profile on Leinster RugbyMunster Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keogh, Stephen 1982 births Living people Rugby union number eights Irish rugby union players Leinster Rugby players Munster Rugby players St Mary's College RFC players Shannon RFC players University College Cork RFC players Rugby union players from County Limerick