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| Full name | Joshua Dirk van der Flier | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | (1993-04-25)25 April 1993 (age 31) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Wicklow, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 103 kg (227 lb; 16 st 3 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Wesley College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University College Dublin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Joshua Dirk van der Flier[a] (born 25 April 1993) is an Irish professionalrugby union player who plays as aflanker forUnited Rugby Championship clubLeinster and theIreland national team.[1][2]
Van der Flier began his professional career with the Leinster academy. During his time at the academy, he played with the Leinster senior team, making his debut in October 2014 against Italian sideZebre Parma. It was announced in April 2015 that he had been awarded a senior contract with Leinster.[3][4]
Following the2022 Champions Cup final, Van der Flier became the third Leinster player to winEuropean player of the year, afterSean O’Brien in 2011 andRob Kearney in 2012.[5] In June 2022 he was named Leinster's 2021–22 Men's Player of the Year.[6]
Van der Flier received his first call up to the seniorIreland squad by coachJoe Schmidt for the2016 Six Nations,[7]and he debuted for Ireland on 27 February 2016 againstEngland in the Six Nations atTwickenham.[8]
Van der Flier won the Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland men's player of the year award for the 2021-22 campaign.[9]He was named as the Ireland men's XVs Players' Player of the Year at the 2022 Rugby Players Ireland awards.[10] He was named as the 2022World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year.[11]
He was selected to be part of Ireland'sWorld Cup squad ahead of the2023 World Cup in France.[12]
In December 2024, he won Player of the Series for the2024 Autumn Nations Series beating outCheslin Kolbe,Wallace Sititi andThomas Ramos.[13]
van der Flier was born and raised in Wicklow, Ireland, where he began to play rugby.
He is of Dutch descent on his father's side, his grandparents having moved to Ireland from the Netherlands in the 1950s to open a radiator factory.[2] His father, Dirk van der Flier, played rugby forOld Wesley.[14] He is commonly referred to among Leinster Rugby circles as ‘The Dutch Disciple’.[15]
He married Sophie De Patoul in August 2022.[16]
Van Der Flier is a practicing Christian, and wears the cross drawn on his wrist tape during games.[17]
He has a master's in business administration fromDublin Business School, completed in 2020.[18]
| Number | Position | Points | Tries | Result | Opposition | Venue | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flanker | 5 | 1 | Won | Japan | Ajinomoto Stadium | 24 June 2017 | [19] |
| 2 | Flanker | 5 | 1 | Won | Wales | Aviva Stadium | 8 February 2020 | [20] |
| 3 | Flanker | 5 | 1 | Won | Japan | Aviva Stadium | 3 July 2021 | [21] |
| 4–5 | Flanker | 10 | 2 | Won | Argentina | Aviva Stadium | 21 November 2021 | [22] |
| 6 | Flanker | 5 | 1 | Lost | France | Stade de France | 12 February 2022 | [23] |
| 7 | Flanker | 5 | 1 | Won | Scotland | Aviva Stadium | 19 March 2022 | [24] |
| 8 | Flanker | 5 | 1 | Won | New Zealand | Wellington Regional Stadium | 16 July 2022 | [25] |
| 9 | Flanker | 5 | 1 | Won | South Africa | Aviva Stadium | 5 November 2022 | [26] |
| 10 | Flanker | 5 | 1 | Won | Wales | Millennium Stadium | 4 February 2023 | [27] |
as of 5 November 2022[update][28][29][30]
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