Kevin O'Byrne

Kevin O'Byrne (born 16 April 1991) is an Irish rugby union player for English club Ealing Trailfinders in the RFU Championship. He plays as a hooker.

Kevin O'Byrne

Date of birth	(1991-04-16) 16 April 1991 (age 34)
Place of birth	Cork, Ireland
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	105 kg (16.5 st; 231 lb)
School	Presentation Brothers College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) UCC () Highfield () UL Bohemians () Cork Constitution () Senior career Years Team Apps (Points) 2014–2022 Munster 90 (40) 2022– Ealing 2 (0) Correct as of 11 February 2023

Early life

He captained the Munster under-18s club side during the 2008–09 inter-provincials and was part of Highfield under-18s All-Ireland winning squad in 2009.^[1]

Career

Munster

O'Byrne made his Munster debut on 5 September 2014, starting against Edinburgh in the first game of the 2014–15 Pro12 season.^[2] He signed a one-year development contract with Munster in March 2015.^[3] On 3 September 2016, O'Byrne went off injured in Munster's 2016–17 Pro12 fixture against Scarlets. He was subsequently ruled out for 3 months with an elbow injury.^[4]

O'Byrne made his European Rugby Champions Cup debut for Munster on 21 October 2017, doing so when he came on as a replacement for Rhys Marshall in the round 2 fixture against Racing 92.^[5][6] He scored his first try for Munster on 3 November 2017, having come on as a replacement in the 2017–18 Pro14 fixture against Welsh side Dragons, which Munster won 49–6.^[7]

He signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in January 2018.^[8] He earned the Man-of-the-Match award in Munster's 30–26 away win against South African side Cheetahs during the 2018–19 Pro14 on 4 November 2018.^[9] O'Byrne won his 50th cap for Munster in their opening 2019–20 Pro14 fixture against Welsh side Dragons on 28 September 2019, a match Munster won 39–9.^[10]

He signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in March 2020, a deal that will see O'Byrne remain with the province until at least June 2022.^[11] O'Byrne was rewarded for a series of strong performances by being named in the 2020–21 Pro14 Dream Team.^[12] O'Byrne departed Munster at the end of the 2021–22 season.^[13]

Ealing Trailfinders

O'Byrne joined English RFU Championship side Ealing Trailfinders from the 2022–23 season.^[13]

Marlow

O’Byrne was appointed Director of Coaching at Marlow RUFC, Buckinghamshire in Summer 2024.

Honours

Individual

• United Rugby Championship Dream Team: 2020–21^[12]