Donal
Lenihan

Donal Lenihan is a retired former lock who played for and captained the Ireland national side.

Donal Lenihan

Donal Lenihan is a retired former rugby union player and manager who represented and captained the Ireland national team. As a lock he is fondly remembered by fans and contemporaries alike for his abilities on the pitch, particularly his aerial skills in line-outs. What’s more, he’s considered to be one of the greats of the Irish game and was inducted into the nation’s Hall of Fame in 2013.

Born in Cork, Ireland in September 1959, sport was in his blood as his father Gerald was an Irish boxing champion and former Gaelic footballer. Donal Lenihan first got involved in rugby union in school and quickly developed a passion for the game. He went on to captain various school teams and when he was a student at University College Cork, he played for the institution’s rugby union side at amateur level. Lenihan also played for Cork Constitution, winning the Munster Senior Cup three times, in addition to this he also played for Munster Rugby itself.

Donal Lenihan’s international career began in 1981 when he made his senior debut aged 22 against Australia. He went on to play for the side for over a decade and in this time won three Five Nations championships, including two Triple Crowns. He captained the side in the first Rugby World Cup in 1987 and again in the following tournament in 1991. In total he won 52 caps for Ireland and led them as captain for 17 of these games.

He was also selected for three British & Irish Lions tours in the 1980s, in the last of which, in 1989 he was named captain and took the side to a famous tour victory in Australia. Across this successful spell he was also named the 1980’s ‘Player of the Decade’ by the Irish Times.

After his retirement from playing, Donal Lenihan became manager of the Ireland national side in 1998, however, in 2000 he stepped down to go and manage the Lions for their 2001 tour to Australia. Today, Donal Lenihan provides regular commentary and punditry for TV and radio, he’s also a sports journalist and works as a financial consultant.