Name Denis Buckley Education Blackrock College Weight 109 kg | Height 1.78 m Role Rugby Player Current team Connacht Rugby | |
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Denis Buckley, Robbie Henshaw & Pat Lam on Connacht's win over Edinburgh
Denis Buckley (born 9 August 1990) is a rugby union player from Ireland. He predominantly plays as a loosehead prop. Buckley currently plays for Irish provincial team Connacht Rugby in the Pro14. He plays his club rugby for Buccaneers.
Contents
- Denis Buckley Robbie Henshaw Pat Lam on Connachts win over Edinburgh
- From grassroots to green shirts denis buckley part 1
- Early life
- Connacht Rugby
- International
- References
From grassroots to green shirts denis buckley part 1
Early life
Raised in County Roscommon, Buckley first played rugby with local club Creggs RFC, later moving to Athlone-based team Buccaneers. Buckley was a student at the prestigious Blackrock College. He has also studied at NUI Galway. Buckley joined the Connacht academy in 2009.
Connacht Rugby
Buckley became part of Connacht's academy ahead of the 2009–10 season. In September 2011, while in his third year at the academy, Buckley made his first appearance for the team. He came on as a replacement in a 2011–12 Pro12 match against Benetton Treviso. His first European appearance came against Toulouse in the 2011–12 Heineken Cup on 14 January 2012, also as a replacement. Buckley made his first start on 24 February that year in a Pro 12 match with Edinburgh. In total, his first season saw him make eight Pro 12 appearances and feature in two Heineken Cup games for the province.
Buckley became part of Connacht's senior squad the following season and played more regularly for the team, starting seven matches in the 2012–13 Pro12 and making 15 appearances in the competition overall. He also featured in five of the team's six matches in the 2012–13 Heineken Cup, starting in the game away against Zebre, and in both ties with Harlequins. Buckley signed a new contract in November 2012 to keep him with the province until 2015.
Buckley suffered a slow start to the following season, with injuries meaning he did not make his first appearance until 29 November 2013 when he was a replacement against Edinburgh in the 2013–14 Pro12. His next game came in that season's Heineken Cup, where he came on from the bench in a famous victory over four time European champions Toulouse in France. He appeared in four of Connacht's pool games in the Cup, being a replacement on each occasion. In February 2014, Connacht's first choice loosehead prop, Brett Wilkinson, suffered a neck injury against Saracens, which ultimately forced him to retire. This saw Buckley play more frequently for the province, starting all but two of Connacht's remaining matches and featuring as a replacement in the others. Buckley made a total of 14 appearances in the 2013–14 Pro12, six of these coming as a replacement.
International
Buckley has also been involved with Ireland at under-age international level. He was part of the Irish set up at school's and Under-18 level. He has represented Ireland a member of the Emerging Ireland squad participating in the 2015 World Rugby Tbilisi Cup.
After two stellar seasons 2014-2016 with Connacht Rugby, it is expected that Buckley's promotion to the Full International side would be a formality. Especially as he was named in the Pro12 Dream Team [Team of the Season for all Pro12 Clubs]. Buckley was incredibly unlucky to miss out on a spot on the Ireland Squad for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. An Injury sustained in training after Connacht's record win against Munster in April 2016 meant he unfortunately missed out on the Provinces successful Title run in and a guaranteed place on Ireland's end of season touring party to South Africa.