Sean Reidy (born 10 May 1989) is a New Zealand-born Irish rugby union player who played flanker for Ulster Rugby from 2014 to 2022, and has two caps for Ireland.
Born in Auckland, New Zealand,Brendan Crossan, "Century man Sean Reidy ready for Dragons showdown", The Irish News, 2 March 2019 he is Irish-qualified through his grandfather, who was born in County Kerry.David Kelly, "Back-row revelation Reidy bringing it all back home to Ulster", Irish Independent, 5 May 2016 His uncle Rod Ketels played for the All-Blacks.Jonathan Bradley, "Versatile Reidy happy to pitch into frantic endgame", Belfast Telegraph, 23 January 2016 He played for Counties Manukau in the 2013 ITM Cup, and scored the winning try in the 2013 Ranfurly Shield against Hawke's Bay,"Former Counties loose forward Sean Reidy in Ireland squad to face Boks", Stuff.co.nz, 26 May 2016 but was unable to progress to Super Rugby level. He wrote to all four Irish provinces requesting a trial,Declan Bogue, "Dragons v Ulster: ‘Rollercoaster’ on upswing as Sean Reidy reaches his 100th cap", The Times, 2 March 2019 and signed a short-term contract with Ulster ahead of the 2014–15 season.
Injuries curtailed his appearances in his first season with Ulster, but he became much more prominent in 2015–16,"Ulster's Sean Reidy and Ricky Lutton sign contract extensions", Belfast Telegraph, 24 February 2016 making 23 appearances including 16 starts, scoring five tries and making 176 tackles.Ulster: Season Review 2015 – 2016, The Front Row Union, 23 May 2016 He was selected for the 32-man Ireland squad to tour South Africa in June 2016. In 2016–17 he made 27 appearances including 24 starts, making 329 tackles and scoring four tries.Ulster Rugby: Who did what 2016 – 2017, The Front Row Union, 17 May 2017 He was named Rugby Writers' Player of the Year in the 2017 Ulster Rugby Awards."Departing Duo Receive Ulster Rugby Awards", Irish Rugby, 7 May 2017 In 2017–18 he made 22 appearances including 18 starts, scoring four tries and making 196 tackles.Ulster Rugby: Who did what 2017-18, The Front Row Union, 25 June 2018 In 2018–19 he made 25 appearances including 16 starts, making 215 tackles and scoring one try.Ulster Men: Who did what 2018-19, The From Row Union, 18 July 2019 He made his 100th appearance for Ulster in March 2019 against the Dragons. In 2019–20 he made 19 appearances including 16 starts, scoring two tries. In 2020–21 he made 19 appearances including 13 starts, scoring five tries and making 218 tackles and seven turnovers,Ulster 2020-21 - Who Did What?, The Front Row Union, 12 August 2021 but missed the second half of the season with a shoulder injury that required surgery.Jonathan Bradley, "Sean Reidy set for extended spell out but Ulster Rugby wait on Jacob Stockdale ahead of crunch PRO14 tie in Leinster", Belfast Telegraph, 5 January 2021 His opportunities in 2021–22 were limited, with seven appearances and two starts, and he was released at the end of the season, to return to New Zealand.Neil Treacy, "McGrath and Reidy among five Ulster departures", RTÉ Sport, 26 May 2022
References
External links Ulster Rugby profile United Rugby Championship profile
Ireland profile