Stuart Olding (born 11 March 1993) is a

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 ...

rugby player. He plays at

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 eccentricit ...

and fullback. Olding played for

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

from 2011 until 2018 when his contract was revoked. At international level, he has played for the Ireland U-20 and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

teams. In 2018 Olding signed for

CA Brive Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive () or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze department. They compete in the first-tier Top 14 competition. Bri ...

in the

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 French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

Ulster

A versatile back, who can play at out-half, full-back or in the centre, Stuart Olding has represented Ireland at both Under 18 and Under 20 level. He made his debut for Ulster as a substitute against Leinster in December 2011, but just over a year later he established himself as a valued member of the senior squad. He scored his first try for Ulster against Glasgow in February 2013 and scored four in quick succession. Man-of-the-match awards against the Dragons and Connacht soon followed.

CA Brive

In May 2018 Olding signed for French club

. Olding and

Paddy Jackson David Patrick Lindsay James "Paddy" Jackson (born 5 January 1992) is a professional rugby union player from Northern Ireland who plays for Gallagher Premiership side London Irish. He primarily plays at fly-half and previously played for Irish ...

had been lined with a move to

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the ...

but the deal fell through after the club raised concerns about the duo's image. In the 2018/19 season Olding was voted player of the season after being instrumental in helping them get promoted to the Top 14.

Rape and sexual assault case

On 25 July 2017, Olding and fellow Ulster Rugby player Paddy Jackson were accused of rape. They were both acquitted. Two other men faced charges of intent to pervert the course of justice and exposure with all four men charged together. The case, which was scheduled to last for five weeks, was heard before Judge Patricia Smyth. Initially a jury of nine men and three women were sworn in, subsequently reduced to eleven as one male jury member was discharged on the grounds of ill-health. The trial started in January 2018, with prosecution and defence concluding their cases in late March. On 28 March 2018, after less than 4 hours of deliberation, the jury delivered a unanimous verdict of not guilty. Olding's and Jackson's contracts were revoked by Ulster Rugby and the IRFU on 14 April 2018, following a review. A statement from the IRFU stated "In arriving at this decision, the Irish Rugby Football Union and Ulster Rugby acknowledge our responsibility and commitment to the core values of the game: Respect, Inclusivity and Integrity. It has been agreed, as part of this commitment, to conduct an in-depth review of existing structures and educational programmes, within the game in Ireland, to ensure the importance of these core values is clearly understood, supported and practised at every level of the game."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olding, Stuart Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Ulster Rugby players CA Brive players Living people 1993 births Rugby union players from Belfast Rugby union centres