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The top 15 Irish rugby entrepreneurs

Below is an Irish 15 with a difference. All play(ed) international rugby and all are in business. What is it about rugby players and entrepreneurship?

What is it about rugby players and entrepreneurship? Perhaps it’s the cut and thrust of being in business that drives them? Maybe it’s inbuilt ambition and the desire to keep winning? Below are the top 15 Irish rugby stars* who took their battle-hardened heads into the competitive world of business.

(*If you have your own thoughts, why not join the debate on our Facebook page?)

Wearing the No. 1 jersey: (digital media)

Having represented both Leinster and Ireland as a player, and gone on to be the scrum coach with Leinster, Reggie Corrigan is now head of commercial with Sportdec, a ‘fan-centric sports app'.

Previously, Corrigan was the sports relationship manager with Bean Bag Sports and a director at School Fuel Ltd.

Honorable mention

1 / 9 . As well as being a TV pundit for TG4 and head of player development with , the former winner also worked in the property sector.

Wearing the No. 2 jersey: (hospitality and media)

With 41 appearances for Ireland and 99 appearances for Munster and Connaught combined, Flannery is the current scrum coach for Munster and the former strength and conditioning coach with Arsenal FC.

Flannery is also involved in the hospitality and media sectors. He is the driving force behind Jerry Flannery's Bar in and one of the original investors in, and currently a director with, Maximum Media which operates the lifestyle websites for men and women - JOE.ie, Her.ie, SportsJOE.ie, and HerFamily.ie.

Honorable mentions

Rory Best. Best is an Irish centurion with a record-holding 179 appearance for . The Best family runs a 900-acre farm in Co. Down where Rory spends his spare time away from the pitch.

Keith Wood. One of the greatest players ever to don the green jersey, the 58 caps hooker now, with his brother, runs The Wood Brother’s Café in Clarisford Park, Killaloe. Woods is also a non- executive director of the commercial board of Munster Rugby.

2 / 9 Wearing the No. 3 jersey: (farming)

Affectionately known as ‘The Bull’, the 105 caps tight head now spends his time on a 140-acre farm in the townland of Dromsallagh, in the parish of Cappamore, Co Limerick.

Honorable mention

Peter Clohessy (hospitality). The notorious former Munster and Ireland player formerly owned a pub and adjoining nightclub in Limerick called 'Clohessy's' and 'The Sin Bin' respectively. The tighthead now runs Crokers Bar & Restaurant in Murroe, East Limerick.

Wearing the No. 4 jersey: Paul O'Connell

O’Connell has teamed up with JP McManus and is to head up a digital interactive visitor centre dedicated to rugby worldwide. It is set to open in Limerick in September 2019. O’Connell also works with Munster Rugby’s development team.

Honourable mention

Malcolm O’Kelly (product specialist). Since retiring from rugby, the gentle giant, who won three Heineken Cups, a Grand Slam and toured twice with the Lions, O’Kelly has gone on to work as a product specialist for Tekno Surgical, an orthopaedics firm.

3 / 9 Wearing the No. 5 jersey: Trevor Brennan (hospitality)

If you Google Trevor Brennan you’ll probably find him on the ‘longest rugby bans’ lists. However, the former Leinster, Toulouse and Irish international hardman, is also a successful businessman. Running De Danu and Rugby Travel Ireland (formally Trevor Brennan Tours) as well as being the forwards coach to the Toulouse under 20s team (where his son now plays), the Leixlip legend has plenty on his plate since retirement.

Honourable mention

Bob Casey (CEO, Irish). The former Leinster, and Ireland player is now CEO of London Irish having been a member of the board and its operations director. Casey has also been a senior development manager for Powerday and a pundit for Sky.

Wearing the No. 6 jersey: (media)

Forced to retire at 28, Stephen Ferris won 35 caps for Ireland and made 106 appearances for Ulster. The Ulsterman was a born leader on the field of play and had a gift for dismantling forwards and halfbacks to help his team drive forward. The 'man mountain' now works in media, has written an autobiography and is also the CEO of Ferrosity Limited, his holding company.

Honourable mention

Kevin McLoughlin who is now the VP of operations for Kitman Labs.

4 / 9 Wearing the No. 7 jersey: Sean O’Brien (farming and hospitality)

As well as working on the family farm, and being heavily involved in Tullow RFC, the Tullow Tank has a number of investments in the business world. O’Brien is the performance director with The Hub Controller, a heat control app for households, and part-owner of pubs The Bridge and Lemon & Duke.

Honourable mention

David Wallace. Forced to retire before the 2012 World Cup, Wallace is now an ambassador for STATSports, a leading wearable sports brand. In 2012 he also opened a Mr Simms' Olde Sweet Shoppe franchise in Limerick.

Wearing the No. 8 jersey: (hospitality, media and industry)

Where to start? We’ve previously featured Heaslip, but for now, we’ll just say he has investments in Kitman Labs, The Bridge, Lemon & Duke, Bear Restaurant, Jo-Burger, Trackbed Restaurant,

5 / 9 Skinflint, Lovin’ Dublin, UrbanVolt, Pointy and Coco5. There, I think we got them all.

Honourable mention

Victor Costello. From controlling the back of the scrum to controlling the front of a Boeing 737, Costello, who has also represented Ireland in the Shot Put at the Olympics, spent the last seven years as a pilot for Ryanair based out of Stansted Airport.

Wearing the No. 9 jersey: (hospitality)

If Peter’s business investments last for as long as his rugby career, then they’ll be just fine. The evergreen scrum half is a director or Overlay Events, an events company based in the UK.

Honourable mention

Eoin Reddan. Since retiring, Reddan is now a business analyst for aviation firm Avolon.

Keep in touch and engage with Irish business leaders, sign up for our monthly bulletin. Wearing the No. 10 jersey:

One of the greatest No 10s to wear an Irish shirt, Ward was part of the Munster team that beat the All Blacks and went on to work as a rugby journalist and co-commentator on RTÉ. Ward also works as the head of fundraising for the charity Fighting Blindness.

6 / 9 Wearing the No. 11 jersey: Tony O'Reilly

Sir Anthony O’Reilly towers above the field of Irish sportspeople who succeeded in the world of business. As a rugby player, O’Reilly made his debut for the Irish international team aged just 18 in 1955. He went on to win 29 caps for Ireland as a winger including a surprise final appearance against in 1970 after a six-year absence from international rugby. He also featured on two British and Irish Lions tours in 1955 and 1959 and, with a total of six tries, remains the record highest Lions Test try scorer to this day.

Outside of rugby, O’Reilly stormed into the world of business and media and can lay claim to being Ireland’s first billionaire.

Wearing the No. 12 jersey: Gordon Darcy (wealth management, fitness and hospitality)

In addition to being a pundit and guest speaker, Darcy also works in the investment and wealth management department of Investec. The former centre also runs Form School, a fitness business, with his wife, Aoife. He is also co-owner of The Exchequer Pub in Dublin.

7 / 9 Wearing the No. 13 jersey: Brian O’Driscoll (various sectors)

As usual the first name on the team sheet. Do we have to do an intro? Since retiring in 2014, BOD has been busy in the business world. As well as being a pundit for BT Sport and Newstalk, he has been an ambassador for HSBC. He co-owns Ultimate Rugby App and is an investor in Glendalough Whiskey. Ireland’s most capped try scorer is also a senior advisor with Teneo Holdings.

Honourable mention

Eoin O’Malley. Forced to retire at the age of 25, O’Malley now has investments in The Bath Pub, Sam’s Bar and The Jar Pub.

Wearing the No. 14 jersey: (clothing)

One of his more famous investments is with Buddha Brand or, as his sub-brand is better known, The'XV Kings. Tommy Bowe Designs or the Tommy Bowe Collection made a handsome profit last year.

8 / 9 Wearing the No. 15 jersey: Hugo McNeil (consultancy, Ireland World Cup 2020)

A bit of a toss up over who to choose to start here. But from a business point of view, McNeil is the former head of Boston Consultancy Group Ireland, Goldman Sachs Ireland and is currently the head of Ireland World Cup 2020.

Honourable mention

Rob Kearney (retail and hospitality). Like many rugby players with a multitude of investments, Kearney has a holding company. The Leinster and Ireland fullback has a number of investments in businesses such as Oslo Beauty (with O’Driscoll’s wife Amy Huberman), The Bridge Pub, Lemon & Duke, Mason Alexander, Industry Design as well as being the chairman of the Irish Players Association.

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Article by Barry Walsh. Photos courtesy of Inpho.ie.

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