Craig Ronaldson

Craig Ronaldson (born 8 February 1990) is a rugby union player from Ireland. His primary position is at fly half , though he also plays as a centre. Ronaldson most recently played professionally for Irish provincial side Connacht in the Pro14, where he spent six seasons from 2013 to 2019.

Craig Ronaldson
Date of birth (1990-02-08) 8 February 1990
Place of birthKildare, Ireland
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight96 kg (15 st 2 lb)
SchoolKilkenny College
UniversityUniversity College Dublin
Height and weight correct as of 9 May 2019
Rugby union career
Position(s) Fly-half
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2008–2013 Lansdowne
()
2013–2019 Galway Corinthians
()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013–2019 Connacht 89 (368)
Correct as of 9 May 2019

Before joining Connacht, Ronaldson played amateur rugby in the All-Ireland League. He played with Lansdowne, and in the 2012–13 season was the league's top scorer. He kicked 206 points in 16 games, helping his club to win the Division 1A title.

Early life

Born in Kildare, Ronaldson came from a rugby playing family, with his father Tim having played for Leinster at Junior level, and his grandfather, Bill Tector, being an Ireland international. Ronaldson's first club in the sport was Naas.[1] In addition to rugby, Ronaldson has also played cricket. He lined out for Halverstown Cricket Club,[2] where his father has also served as a chairman.[3]

Ronaldson attended Kilkenny College, where he played for the school's rugby team.[1] He was part of the team that beat Blackrock College in the 2007 Leinster Senior Cup quarter-finals in a shocking upset.[4] The following year saw Ronaldson named captain of the school side.[5] After finishing secondary school, Ronaldson studied Sports Management at University College Dublin.[1]

Rugby career

Lansdowne

When he moved to Dublin to attend university, Ronaldson joined city club Lansdowne in the All-Ireland League, the country's top level amateur competition. After graduating university, he remained with Lansdowne and began working at Wesley College as a housemaster and PE teacher.[1] His performances with Lansdowne saw him included in Leinster development squads,[6] and he was also called up to the Ireland Clubs side.[7]

In the 2012–13 season, Ronaldson was the league's top scorer, helping Lansdowne to reach the Division 1A decider. He was prominent in the final, as Lansdowne beat Clontarf 32–27 to claim their first ever title. In total, Ronaldson scored 206 points in 16 games.[8] His contributions to the team's victory saw him named the league's player of the season.[9]

Connacht

Ronaldson's form in Lansdowne's title-winning season earned him a move to Connacht, and he signed a one-year contract with the province in 2013.[10] His first competitive game for Connacht was in the first round of the Pro12, as he came on as a substitute in a 25–16 win over Zebre.[11] His first start for the province came against the Ospreys on 28 September 2013.[12] Ronaldson kicked 4 out of his 5 penalties in a 26-43 defeat. Ronaldson made his Heineken Cup debut against Saracens, playing at inside centre as Connacht came close to an upset before losing 17–23.[13][14] Injuries saw his number of appearances trail off as the season went on, but Ronaldson played a total of 14 times in his first year, scoring 38 points.[15][16] In November 2013, it was announced that he had signed an extension to his contract, keeping him with Connacht until 2016.[17]

Ronaldson continued playing regularly in his second season, featuring mainly at out-half. An injury against Munster in January 2015 disrupted his later season,[18] but he made a total of 12 appearances in the league and five in the Challenge Cup.[15][16] In the 2015–16 season Ronaldson continued to appear regularly, primarily playing as an inside centre alongside Bundee Aki. He was named the team's Player of the Month for November 2015 in recognition of these performances.[19] Ronaldson suffered a knee injury in the end-of-season run in as Connacht chased a place in the knockout stages of the league.[20] He ultimately missed out on playing in the team's Pro12 triumph, making a total of 20 appearances in the season.[15][16] In April 2016, it was announced that Ronaldson had signed a further extension to his deal, taking him through to summer 2018.[21]

Ronaldson made his first appearance of the 2016–17 season against Ulster in October 2016, after almost 6 months out injured and was a starter for the team at inside centre for the next two months.[22] He was injured again in late November however,[23] and didn't return until mid-January.[24] After returning from injury Ronaldson was a mainstay in the side for the remainder of the season, and made a total of 17 appearances in all competitions for 2016–17, scoring 100 points in the process.[15][16] The form of Tom Farrell at centre in the 2017–18 season saw Ronaldson used more regularly as a replacement than in previous seasons, and he returned to playing primarily at fly-half as cover for Jack Carty. Of his 17 appearances in all competitions, 11 came from the bench.[15][16] In March 2018, it was announced Ronaldson had signed another extension to his deal with Connacht.[25] Ronaldson suffered a serious injury early in the 2018–19 season, and subsequently missed the remainder of the season. He left the province at the end of the season.[26] In total, Ronaldson scored 368 points in 89 competitive games for Connacht across his six seasons with the team.[15][16]

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References
  1. "Teacher thriving in the school of hard knocks". Irish Independent. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  2. "Player Profile". Cricket Leinster. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  3. "About Halverstown". Cricket Leinster. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  4. "Kilkenny stand firm for shock victory". Irish Times. 27 February 2007. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  5. "Leinster Senior Cup: School-by-school guide". Irish Times. 26 January 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  6. "Leinster Development 15 v 40 Ireland Under-20". Leinster Rugby. 22 December 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  7. "Representative Round-Up". Munster Domestic Rugby. 10 February 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  8. "Lansdowne take first ever AIL title with win over Clontarf". Irish Independent. 30 March 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  9. "Ulster Bank League Awards Return For 2013/14 Season". Irish Rugby. 5 December 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2018. former Lansdowne player, inaugural Ulster Bank League award winner and current Connacht out-half Craig Ronaldson
  10. "Craig Ronaldson signs for Connacht". RTÉ Sport. 6 June 2010.
  11. "Connacht Rugby 25 - 16 Zebre". RaboDirectPRO12. 7 September 2013.
  12. "Connacht Rugby 26 - 43 Ospreys". RaboDirectPRO12. 28 September 2013.
  13. "Heartbreak for Connacht against Saracens". RTÉ Sport. 11 October 2013.
  14. "Ronaldson full of western promise". Irish Independent. 18 October 2013.
  15. "Player Profile: Craig Ronaldson". Pro14. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019.
  16. "Player Archive: Craig Ronaldson". European Professional Club Rugby. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019.
  17. "Henshaw signs new deal with Connacht". Newstalk. 26 November 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  18. "Classy Connacht overcome sluggish start to beat Munster". RTÉ Sport. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  19. "Ronaldson Voted Connacht's Player Of The Month". Irish Rugby. 10 December 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  20. "Connacht centre McSharry advised to sit out rest of season after concussion". The42. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  21. "Craig Ronaldson and Jake Heenan sign new contract extensions with Connacht". Irish Independent. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  22. "Connacht run the hell out of everything, including Toulouse". Irish Times. 15 October 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  23. "Connacht centre Ronaldson ruled out for over a month, will miss big European and inter-pro clashes". The42. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  24. "Craig Ronaldson and John Cooney come in for Connacht". Irish Times. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  25. "Kelleher, Ronaldson, Griffin and Leader the latest Connacht players to extend contracts". Pro14. 21 March 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
  26. "'I still firmly believe I'll be back and good to go. I've unfinished business in the game'". The42. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2020.


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