Conor O"Shea is a former rugby union player who played at full back and occasionally at out-half and centre for Ireland, Lansdowne and London Irish.
Education
He attended University College Dublin where he completed a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and began his representative career. O"Shea then completed a Diploma in Legal Studies at the Dublin Institute of Technology and a Master"s of Sports Science degree in Sports Management in 1996 from the United States Sports Academy, known around the world as America"s Sports University.
Career
He is currently Director of Rugby at, but will leave this role at the end of the 2015/16 season to take up the head coaching role of the Italian national team, replacing French man Jacques Brunel. O"Shea went to Terenure College in Dublin, which is one of the main rugby nurseries in Ireland. He was coached by the respected John McClean.
Playing An ankle injury sustained while playing for against Gloucester in November 2000 curtailed a very promising career which included 35 international caps for Ireland scoring 44 points, including six tries.
O"Shea served as player, captain, Director of Rugby and finally managing director He joined in 1995 and made 127 first team appearances for the club scoring 412 points including 62 tries.
Coaching O"Shea left in 2005 to take up an appointment with the Rugby Football Union as Director of Regional Academies. His job was to oversee the network of 14 England regional academies and lead the selection and monitoring of players capable of developing into future England internationals.
In 2008 he left his position with the RFU to take up a role with the English Institute of Sport as National Director.
In 2007 O"Shea was called upon by the RFU to give a talk to the England squad before playing Ireland for the first time at Croke Park to acquaint the players with the sporting and political history of the ground. O"Shea also works as a television analyst on RTÉ in Ireland. On 16 December 2009, announced that O"Shea would become their new Director of Rugby.
He started his new position on 15 March 2010.
On 20 January 2016, announced that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season, after 6 years in the Director of Rugby role. On 25 March 2016, after months of speculation, O"Shea was named the new head coach of the Italian national team, who will start his first International appointment on 1 June 2016, before guiding Italy on their tour of the Americas against Argentina, Canada and the United States.