Ciarán Frawley, born on December 4, 1997, is a professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for the Leinster club in the United Rugby Championship. Although born in Sydney, Australia, he represents Ireland at the international level due to his Irish ancestry.
Frawley returned to Ireland at the age of 3 after being born to Irish immigrant parents in Australia. Growing up in Skerries, North County Dublin, he played for his local club Skerries RFC and represented Skerries Community College at the school level. In 2014, Frawley led Skerries to an All-Ireland Under-17 club title, showcasing his talent at a young age.
Frawley made his breakthrough into senior rugby when he debuted for Skerries RFC in late 2015 on his eighteenth birthday. He later moved to UCD in 2016 while pursuing his studies.
His club career progressed further when he joined the Leinster Rugby academy ahead of the 2017-18 season. Remarkably, he made his senior debut for Leinster during his first year in the academy, coming on as a substitute against the Scarlets in February 2018. Frawley made an immediate impact, scoring a conversion and later adding a penalty in the match. Throughout the season, he made two more appearances, including a standout performance against the Southern Kings, where he scored 14 points and secured his first senior try, earning him the man-of-the-match accolade.
In addition to his performances for the senior team, Frawley played a crucial role as an out-half for Leinster 'A' in winning the inaugural Celtic Cup in October 2018. The team remained undefeated throughout the competition, capping off an impressive campaign.
Frawley made his European Champions Cup debut on December 14, 2019, coming off the bench and scoring two conversions in a 50-21 win over the Northampton Saints. Making 12 appearances across all competitions in the 2019-2020 season, Frawley scored one try in a bonus-point win over Connacht in the Pro 14 on January 4, 2020.
Increasingly being used as an inside centre, Frawley made nine appearances in the 2020-21 season. His sole try came away to Montpellier in the European Rugby Champions Cup on December 12, 2020. He was named man-of-the-match in a United Rugby Championship game versus Scarlets on October 16, 2021. Frawley scored his first try of the season on January 22, 2022, coming off the bench to dot down versus Bath at The Rec. A facial injury requiring surgery suffered against Edinburgh forced Frawley out of a number of matches, but he returned to score a try and pick up the man-of-the-match award versus Connacht on March 26, 2022. In June 2022, he was named Leinster's 2021–22 Supporter's Player of the Year.
At the international level, Frawley represented Ireland at the under-18 club and under-19 levels. He was selected for the Ireland U-20s ahead of the 2017 Six Nations Under 20s Championship, featuring in all five games as Ireland finished fourth. Frawley also played for the Irish team in the 2017 World Rugby Under 20 Championship, scoring a try versus Samoa. He received his first Ireland call-up for the 2021 Autumn Internationals and was included in the Ireland squad for the July 2022 tour of New Zealand. He started at fly-half in the first game against the New Zealand Maori.
KG(30/06/2023)
Career
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Leinster Rugby Inside Centre |
2017 - present |
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Ireland Inside Centre |
2021 - present |
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Ireland A Fly Half |
2022 - present |
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Ireland U20's Fly Half |
2017 - 2017 |
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Emerging Ireland Inside Centre |
2022 - 2022 |
