Tony Buckley (born 8 October 1980) is a former Irish rugby union player who played Prop. He was one of the heaviest men playing professional rugby, weighing in at 21 st 10 lbs or 138 kilograms (305 lbs). He wore size 16 boots which had to be custom made for him in Germany.[1] He joined Sale Sharks on a 3-year deal from the 2011/12 season.[2]
Buckley has a background in Gaelic games.[3] He first started playing rugby for Kanturk R.F.C in Co Cork. Educated in Newbridge College, Buckley initially played rugby with the school team as a Second Row. He was capped for Leinster Schools before playing for Shannon RFC.[4] He also spent 1998 in New Zealand at St Peter's College representing their 1st XV. Alongside him in the front row was future Tongan international and Northampton Prop Soane Tonga'uiha.[5]
Club/Provincial
Buckley joined Munster from Connacht in 2005 but his first two years were interrupted with injury. Following initial reports, it was thought that he would move to Bath on a one-year contract at the end of the 2007 season.[6] However, it was later announced that he would remain at Munster until 2009, after agreeing to a two-year contract extension.[7] The 2007–08 season provided Buckley with increased game time, starting four of the first six matches in the Celtic League, followed by making his Heineken Cup debut against the London Wasps. It was during this match that Buckley came on for the injured John Hayes and within minutes had put Simon Shaw to ground with a hand-off on his own line.[8] After another disappointing season in which he lost his place in the Irish squad to Mike Ross and Munster failed to qualify for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals for the first time in over a decade, Buckley decided to join Sale Sharks for the 2011/12 season.[9]
International career
In April 2007, Buckley was named in the Irish squad for a tour of Argentina. He was listed among the replacements in the matchday XXII for the first test in Santa Fé on 26 May, during which he gained his first of two caps on the tour. Later that year he was added to the 2007 Rugby World Cup squad as an injury replacement for Simon Best,[10] but did not feature during the tournament following Ireland's exit at the group stages. Buckley's competitive debut came in the 2008 Six Nations Championship, when he was introduced for last 10 minutes of Ireland's opening fixture against Italy on 2 February 2008. He scored his first international try a year later against Canada on 24 May 2009, during the summer tour of North America. He also scored again for Ireland A against Georgia in the Churchill Cup, on 14 June 2009. Buckley was seen as the long term successor to John Hayes for club and country. Mike Ross was given the chance to start for Ireland in the 2011 Six Nations and Buckley was left out of the squad. He instead played for Ireland Wolfhounds. He was selected in Ireland's 43-man training squad for the 2011 World Cup, and won a place in the final 30-man squad to go to New Zealand.[11] On 25 September 2011, Buckley scored his first World Cup try against Russia, in what turned out to be his final international appearance for Ireland. The 6 ft 5ins tighthead won 25 caps for Ireland over the course of his career.
Retirement
Buckley confirmed his retirement from professional rugby in June 2014, but decided to continue to play rugby non-professionally with Ulster Bank League side Kanturk. Buckley said “I am lucky that I have emerged from professional rugby relatively intact and capable of enjoying my last couple of seasons with the club I started with. For now it’s back to civilian life.”[12]
^ Souster, Mark (1 February 2008). "Times Online: Tony Buckley promises to carry full load as Ireland look for that little extra". The Times. London. Retrieved 4 March 2010.
^"Tony Buckley to join Sale Sharks". RTÉ News. 16 February 2011.
^Souster, Mark (1 February 2008). "Tony Buckley promises to carry full load as Ireland look for that little extra". The Times. London.
^. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
tony, buckley, born, october, 1980, former, irish, rugby, union, player, played, prop, heaviest, playing, professional, rugby, weighing, kilograms, wore, size, boots, which, custom, made, germany, joined, sale, sharks, year, deal, from, 2011, season, birth, na. Tony Buckley born 8 October 1980 is a former Irish rugby union player who played Prop He was one of the heaviest men playing professional rugby weighing in at 21 st 10 lbs or 138 kilograms 305 lbs He wore size 16 boots which had to be custom made for him in Germany 1 He joined Sale Sharks on a 3 year deal from the 2011 12 season 2 Tony BuckleyBirth nameAnthony BuckleyDate of birth 1980 09 18 18 September 1980 age 42 Place of birthCork IrelandHeight1 96 m 6 ft 5 in Weight138 kg 21 7 st 304 lb SchoolBoherbue Comprehensive SchoolNewbridge CollegeSt Peter s CollegeRugby union careerPosition s PropAmateur team s YearsTeamApps Points Shannon RFC Senior careerYearsTeamApps Points 2004 20052005 20112011 2014ConnachtMunsterSale Sharks609657 25 40 10 Correct as of 9 February 2014National team s YearsTeamApps Points 2007 20112009 2011IrelandIreland Wolfhounds256 10 5 Correct as of 26 September 2011 Contents 1 Career 1 1 Early career 1 2 Club Provincial 1 3 International career 2 Retirement 3 Statistics 3 1 International analysis by opposition 4 References 5 External linksCareer EditEarly career Edit Buckley has a background in Gaelic games 3 He first started playing rugby for Kanturk R F C in Co Cork Educated in Newbridge College Buckley initially played rugby with the school team as a Second Row He was capped for Leinster Schools before playing for Shannon RFC 4 He also spent 1998 in New Zealand at St Peter s College representing their 1st XV Alongside him in the front row was future Tongan international and Northampton Prop Soane Tonga uiha 5 Club Provincial Edit Buckley joined Munster from Connacht in 2005 but his first two years were interrupted with injury Following initial reports it was thought that he would move to Bath on a one year contract at the end of the 2007 season 6 However it was later announced that he would remain at Munster until 2009 after agreeing to a two year contract extension 7 The 2007 08 season provided Buckley with increased game time starting four of the first six matches in the Celtic League followed by making his Heineken Cup debut against the London Wasps It was during this match that Buckley came on for the injured John Hayes and within minutes had put Simon Shaw to ground with a hand off on his own line 8 After another disappointing season in which he lost his place in the Irish squad to Mike Ross and Munster failed to qualify for the Heineken Cup quarter finals for the first time in over a decade Buckley decided to join Sale Sharks for the 2011 12 season 9 International career Edit In April 2007 Buckley was named in the Irish squad for a tour of Argentina He was listed among the replacements in the matchday XXII for the first test in Santa Fe on 26 May during which he gained his first of two caps on the tour Later that year he was added to the 2007 Rugby World Cup squad as an injury replacement for Simon Best 10 but did not feature during the tournament following Ireland s exit at the group stages Buckley s competitive debut came in the 2008 Six Nations Championship when he was introduced for last 10 minutes of Ireland s opening fixture against Italy on 2 February 2008 He scored his first international try a year later against Canada on 24 May 2009 during the summer tour of North America He also scored again for Ireland A against Georgia in the Churchill Cup on 14 June 2009 Buckley was seen as the long term successor to John Hayes for club and country Mike Ross was given the chance to start for Ireland in the 2011 Six Nations and Buckley was left out of the squad He instead played for Ireland Wolfhounds He was selected in Ireland s 43 man training squad for the 2011 World Cup and won a place in the final 30 man squad to go to New Zealand 11 On 25 September 2011 Buckley scored his first World Cup try against Russia in what turned out to be his final international appearance for Ireland The 6 ft 5ins tighthead won 25 caps for Ireland over the course of his career Retirement EditBuckley confirmed his retirement from professional rugby in June 2014 but decided to continue to play rugby non professionally with Ulster Bank League side Kanturk Buckley said I am lucky that I have emerged from professional rugby relatively intact and capable of enjoying my last couple of seasons with the club I started with For now it s back to civilian life 12 Statistics EditInternational analysis by opposition Edit Against Played Won Lost Drawn Tries Points Won Argentina 3 1 2 0 0 0 33 33 Australia 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 Canada 2 2 0 0 1 5 100 England 2 1 1 0 0 0 50 Fiji 1 1 0 0 0 0 100 France 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 Italy 1 1 0 0 0 0 100 New Zealand 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 Russia 1 1 0 0 1 5 100 Scotland 3 1 2 0 0 0 33 33 South Africa 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 United States 2 2 0 0 0 0 100 Wales 2 1 1 0 0 0 50Total 25 11 14 0 2 10 44Correct as of 5 July 2017 13 References Edit Souster Mark 1 February 2008 Times Online Tony Buckley promises to carry full load as Ireland look for that little extra The Times London Retrieved 4 March 2010 Tony Buckley to join Sale Sharks RTE News 16 February 2011 Souster Mark 1 February 2008 Tony Buckley promises to carry full load as Ireland look for that little extra The Times London Munster Rugby Introducing Tony Buckley Archived from the original on 15 September 2008 Retrieved 30 June 2009 Soane Longopoa Tonga uiha MunsterRugby ie Buckley Heads For Bath Archived from the original on 12 December 2007 Retrieved 10 April 2007 MunsterRugby ie Buckley Remains With Munster Archived from the original on 23 May 2007 Retrieved 13 April 2007 YouTube com Mushy s Hand off on Shaw YouTube Retrieved 20 November 2007 Toulon 32 16 Munster RTE News 16 January 2011 Stricken Best out of World Cup CNN Retrieved 9 March 2022 Buckley picked to start for Wolfhounds RTE News 26 January 2011 Ex Munster prop Tony Buckley retires from professional rugby Tony Buckley ESPN Scrum 5 July 2017External links EditMunster Profile IRFU Profile Ireland Wolfhounds Profile Tony Buckley at ESPNscrum Sale Sharks Profile at the Wayback Machine archived 21 September 2011 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Tony Buckley amp oldid 1105518269, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
