John Kelly

Education

University College Cork.

Career

Kelly made his debut against Cardiff Blues in September 1997. He scored his first try for in this game. Kelly was part of the famous team that beat Gloucester in the "Miracle Match".

In December 2007, Kelly announced that he would retire from rugby when his contract expired at the end of that month.

He was replaced with a minute to go in the 17–0 victory, to a tremendous reaction from the crowd, and was later chaired off the pitch by his peers. After the game, Kelly officially retired from club and international rugby.

Kelly made his debut for against Italy in March 2002, in a 2002 Six Nations Championship game at Lansdowne Road. He scored two tries on his debut.

He was selected in "s squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, and featured in the pool games against Romania, Namibia and Australia.

He also played in the quarter-final against France. The World Cup quarter-final against France turned out to be Kelly"s final appearance for Despite being named in squads over the coming seasons, injury always struck before Kelly could add to his caps.

Achievements

• He played for in the Celtic League and the Heineken Cup, and played for Cork Constitution in the All League (Associate of the Institute of Linguistics). He was part of the team that lost to Northampton Saints in the 2000 Heineken Cup Final, and he was again on the losing side when lost to Leicester Tigers in the 2002 Heineken Cup Final. Required a try bonus-point, as well as a victory margin of 27 points, to advance to the quarter-finals of the 2002-2003 Heineken Cup, and Kelly scored two tries as won 33–6. He won the 2002-2003 Celtic League with, when they beat Neath to secure the title. He missed the 2005 Celtic Cup Final against Llanelli Scarlets through injury, a game which won. In May 2006, Kelly was part of the team that won the province"s first Heineken Cup, defeating Biarritz Olympique 19–23 in the 2006 Heineken Cup Final. He captained in his final game for the province against Connacht, a game that was won by.