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| Date of birth | (1989-05-10)10 May 1989 (age 35) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Auckland,New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 104 kg (16 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sean Reidy (born 10 May 1989) is aNew Zealand-born Irishrugby union player who playedflanker forUlster Rugby from 2014 to 2022, and has two caps forIreland.
Born inAuckland, New Zealand,[2] he is Irish-qualified through his grandfather, who was born inCounty Kerry.[3] His uncleRod Ketels played for theAll-Blacks.[4] He played forCounties Manukau in the2013 ITM Cup,[1] and scored the winning try in the 2013Ranfurly Shield againstHawke's Bay,[5] but was unable to progress toSuper Rugby level.[4] He wrote to all four Irish provinces requesting a trial,[6] and signed a short-term contract with Ulster ahead of the2014–15 season.
Injuries curtailed his appearances in his first season with Ulster, but he became much more prominent in2015–16,[7] making 23 appearances including 16 starts, scoring five tries and making 176 tackles.[8][1] He was selected for the 32-man Ireland squad to tour South Africa in June 2016.[9] In2016–17 he made 27 appearances including 24 starts,[1] making 329 tackles and scoring four tries.[10] He was named Rugby Writers' Player of the Year in the 2017 Ulster Rugby Awards.[11] In2017–18 he made 22 appearances including 18 starts, scoring four tries and making 196 tackles.[12] In2018–19 he made 25 appearances including 16 starts, making 215 tackles and scoring one try.[13] He made his 100th appearance for Ulster in March 2019 against theDragons.[2] In2019–20 he made 19 appearances including 16 starts, scoring two tries.[1] In2020–21 he made 19 appearances including 13 starts, scoring five tries and making 218 tackles and seven turnovers,[14] but missed the second half of the season with a shoulder injury that required surgery.[15] His opportunities in2021–22 were limited, with seven appearances and two starts,[1] and he was released at the end of the season, to return to New Zealand.[16]