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The inspiring Ian McKinley is back in rugby, taking up a coaching position in his native Ireland

By Liam Heagney

28 Aug 2020

Ian McKinley. (Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)

Fomer Italy international Ian McKinley is back in the game in Ireland, coaching at Ulster schools level in Ballymena after calling time on his remarkable playing career where he achieved Test level honours despite initially retiring in 2011 following the loss of sight in an eye.

Now 30, the Dubliner was just a half-dozen games into his career at Leinster when the stud of a teammate perforated his left eye during an All-Ireland League club game for UCD. That appeared to be the end of his rugby days.

However, after moving to Italy to clear his head and dabble in some underage coaching, he gave playing at junior level in 2014 a go using specially manufactured goggles for protection.

RugbyPass brings you Exceptional Stories, the documentary starring former Italy international Ian McKinley

That success sparked a hunger in McKinley to see how far up the ladder he could go and his inspiring journey culminated in professional deals with Guinness PRO14 clubs Zebre and Benetton, along with Test level honours with Italy.

Having made an Italian debut in November 2017 against Fiji, he went on to earn a total of nine caps and somewhat fittingly his last international appearance came against Ireland in August 2019 back in his native Dublin.

Delighted to be on board with @ballymenaacadem for the upcoming season??#ballymena #academy #schoolsrugby #ulster https://t.co/4Kf1Z73hcy
— Ian McKinley (@ianmck7) August 28, 2020

He saw out the 2019/20 season in Treviso but with appearances becoming less frequent following the signing of fellow Irishman Ian Keatley from Munster, lockdown resulted in the parting of ways and McKinley’s return to Ireland following an epic adventure in Italy.

Ballymena Academy, a grammar school catering for 1,200 11- to 18-year-olds, have tweeted their recruitment of the former out-half. “We are delighted to welcome former Italian international rugby player Ian McKinley to the coaching team at Ballymena Academy for the incoming season. Benvenuto a Ballymena Academy!”

McKinley soon responded, posting: “Delighted to be on board for the upcoming season.” RugbyPass told the McKinley story in December 2018 as part of its exceptional stories series.

My new show called “The Lockdown” on @RugbyPass
My first guest is @BenettonRugby and @azzurri player @ianmck7
Living through this in Italy (my thoughts are with everyone there)
Full show is here ?https://t.co/bBuHBQYJf0 pic.twitter.com/ID7cwlKdlC
— Jim Hamilton (Vice Captain) (@jimhamilton4) March 20, 2020

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Comments on RugbyPass

IkeaBoy 16 minutes ago

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Very considered stuff, JW!

What I think is slippery is that they are essentially red carding based on ‘intent’ which was never really the case. It’s a tough ask to expect a ref to essentially physiologically profile a player, in-game. It should be a minimum at any level of rugby that a player wouldn’t deliberately be reckless or aim for a high degree of danger. Even with the guidance it’s still very subjective for refs. I’m not even sure if a full red has been dished out at test level since the new 20 min card arrived? It looks like they’ve forgotten they can still dish out a straight red.

WR are focused on sanctioning the dangerous act and dealing with it rather than working on removing the act itself. The big task is to remove the risky play rather than being consistent on carding it. It’s probably a coaching issue really and would take a while to bed in and have to work up from the age groups who are starting the game now.

Aki was a great example though. Short and stocky for a centre but he used to tackle high. He got red carded twice for Ireland but worked on it and I don’t think he’s had a problem since. Club or test level.

I agree with the ABs last couple of seasons. I don’t think they tackled any better or worse they just maybe didn’t keep up to speed with the law changes. I remember with Fozzie in the 2022 series, he didn’t even realise that hooking big Ardie in the second test would be a permanent change!

Verdict is still out on the 20 min reds but maybe it takes the next RWC to see if they are used or abused.

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