John Quill (born March 10, 1990) is a retired Irish-born American rugby union player who played flanker for Rugby United New York (RUNY) in Major League Rugby (MLR) and the United States men's national team.
| Birth name | John Quill | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 10 March 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Youghal, County Cork, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 230 lb (100 kg; 16 st 6 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Cork Institute of Technology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Quill has previously played for the Glendale Raptors (MLR), Sacramento Express (PRO Rugby), and London Welsh.
Club career
editQuill began his rugby career at Dolphin RFC and played for the Munster A setup.[2] He was the Dolphin's top try scorer for two seasons and club "Player of the Year" in 2012.[3]
He moved to the United States in 2012 to play with Boston RFC where he became a stand-out player in D1 US rugby.[4]
Quill joined the London Irish Academy in July 2013 with the hope of gaining a full-time contract.[5]
Quill battled through injury during his time at the academy and after a few months he returned from London to link up with his former club, Dolphin RFC where he put together an impressive string of performances.[6]
Quill signed with London Welsh of the RFU Championship in February 2014.[7] He was released by London Welsh at the end of his first season with the club after helping them achieve promotion to the Aviva Premiership.[8]
International career
editQuill played for the Ireland Schools team. Although Quill is Irish, he qualified to represent the United States through his American mother.[9]
Having impressed during his time with Boston RFC, Quill was called into the USA squad for the 2012 Autumn internationals during which he made his debut against Russia.[10]
Quill was selected for the USA Eagles's 2015 World Cup squad.[11] He was also selected for the USA Eagles' 2019 Rugby World Cup squad, and was sent off in the opening defeat (45-7) against England, after delivering a shoulder to the head of Owen Farrell, the first red card of the tournament.[12] Following the 2019 World Cup Quill retired from international rugby.[13]
References
edit- ^ "John Quill". USA rugby. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "Rugby player poised to make US debut". Irish Examiner. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ "Corkman Quill On The Bench For USA". IRFU. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ "Men Player of the Week - John Quill". RugbyMag. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ "London Irish confirm new look Academy squad for the 2013/14 season". Premiership Rugby. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ "Rugby Classifieds Player of the Week: John Quill". This is American rugby. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ "John Quill to join London Welsh". Dolphin RFC. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "Quill, L'Estrange Released From London Welsh". Retrieved 18 June 2014.
- ^ "Rugby player poised to make US debut". Irish Examiner. 9 November 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ "JOHN QUILLUnited States Of America". espnscrum. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- ^ "Two Irishmen have been named in USA's squad for the Rugby World Cup". the42. September 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ^ Kitson, Robert (26 September 2019). "Cokanasiga helps England crush USA as Quill sees World Cup's first red card". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
- ^ "MEN'S EAGLE JOHN QUILL RETIRES FROM INTERNATIONAL RUGBY". USA Rugby. Retrieved 1 April 2021.