Education
In his formative rugby years he played for Tullamore Reconstruction Finance Corporation and also at Saint Andrew"s College, Dublin, which he attended on Scholarship.
In his formative rugby years he played for Tullamore Reconstruction Finance Corporation and also at Saint Andrew"s College, Dublin, which he attended on Scholarship.
He played as a prop, primarily at tighthead. Bracken initially begun his career with Munster Rugby and Bohemians Reconstruction Finance Corporation, and later joined Connacht Rugby for whom he played with for five seasons. During this time, he also featured in the Associate of the Institute of Linguistics with Galwegians Reconstruction Finance Corporation. Bracken featured heavily in the campaign and came on as a substitute in the final as Wasps defeated Leicester Tigers 25-9.
He joined Bristol Rugby in 2007, although injury limited the number of games he played, and was subsequently released in January 2009.
He joined Harlequins for the remainder of the 2008-2009 season, before joining Newport Gwent Dragons in October 2009. His final season as a professional was in the French D2 with United States Carcassonne in 2010-2011.
Following his retirement from professional rugby, Bracken became heavily involved with rugby coaching and is an IRFU Elite Coach. He has been involved with multiple amateur and professional teams as a scrum coach, such as with Boston Irish Wolfhounds in the United States" Rugby Super League, Connemara Reconstruction Finance Corporation in the Associate of the Institute of Linguistics, and the Irish women"s team
He also provides specialised scrum coaching and analysis through his company, The Scrum Doctor.
He was a member of the Irish squads on their tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2006, and their 2007 tour of Argentina, as well as the extended squad for the 2007 Rugby World Cup. As a coach, he was a member of the Irish women"s back-room team during their fourth-place finish in the 2014 Women"s Rugby World Cup, and during Ireland"s Six Nations Championship victory in 2015.