 Stephen Archer in 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1988-01-29)29 January 1988 (age 37) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Cork, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 118 kg (18.6 st; 260 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Christian Brothers College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Stephen Archer (born 29 January 1988) is an Irishrugby union player who plays as aprop forUnited Rugby Championship clubMunster.
Archer made his Munster debut as a replacement againstEdinburgh during aCeltic League fixture on 23 October 2009.[1] He was part of the historic Munster team that beatAustralia 15–6 atThomond Park on 16 November 2010.[2] He made hisHeineken Cup debut as a replacement in Munster's Round 5 26–10 win againstCastres on 14 January 2012, during the2011–12 Heineken Cup.[3]
Archer was part of the team that defeated newly crowned Heineken Cup champions, and arch-rivals,Leinster 19–9 in the2011 Magners League Grand Final on 28 May 2011.[4] With Munster A, Archer won the2011–12 British and Irish Cup.[5] He scored his first try for Munster in a2011–12 Pro12 league fixture againstUlster on 5 May 2012. He signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in January 2013.[6] In October 2015, Archer was ruled out for a number of months after sustaining a neck injury that required surgery.[7]
Archer made his 150th appearance for Munster on 1 January 2018, doing so when he came off the bench againstUlster in a2017–18 Pro14 fixture.[8] He signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in January 2018.[9] Archer made his 150thUnited Rugby Championship appearance in Munster's 37–28 win against Italian sideBenetton in round 20 of the2018–19 season on 12 April 2019.[10] He won his 200th cap for Munster in their2019–20 Pro14 round 7 fixture againstEdinburgh on 29 November 2019, becoming the eleventh player to achieve the accolade for the province.[11][12]
Archer signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in January 2020,[13] and signed a one-year contract extension in January 2022.[14] He won his 50th Champions Cup cap for Munster in their 26–10 home win against English clubExeter Chiefs in the second leg of their2021–22 Champions Cup round of 16 clash on 16 April 2022,[15] and he overtookBilly Holland to become the second most capped Munster player of all-time when he won his 248th cap for the province in their 36–17 away defeat againstUlster in the quarter-finals of the2021–22 United Rugby Championship on 3 June 2022.[16] Archer earned his 250th cap for Munster in their2022–23 United Rugby Championship round three fixture against Italian sideZebre Parma on 1 October 2022, coming in as a replacement forKeynan Knox.[17]
Archer signed a one-year contract extension with Munster in February 2023,[18] and started in Munster's 19–14 win against theStormers in thefinal of the2022–23 United Rugby Championship on 27 May 2023.[19]
Archer has representedIreland at underage levels up to Under-20. He received his first senior call-up when he was selected in theIreland Wolfhounds squad for their game againstEngland Saxons in January 2012.[20] He went on to make his Wolfhounds debut against England Saxons on 28 January 2012.[21]
Archer was selected on the bench for Ireland's2013 Six Nations Championship game againstFrance on 9 March 2013, his first senior call-up,[22] though he did not come on during the 13–13 draw.[23] Archer made his senior debut for Ireland a week later, coming off the bench againstItaly. On 23 October 2013, Archer was named in the Ireland squad for the2013 Autumn Tests.[24] He came off the bench againstAustralia on 16 November 2013 to win his second, and, so far, last cap.[25]
Archer came off the bench forIreland Wolfhounds againstEngland Saxons on 25 January 2014.[26] He was named in the Ireland squad for the2014 Guinness Series on 21 October 2014.[27] Archer was named in theEmerging Ireland squad for the2015 World Rugby Tbilisi Cup on 19 May 2015.[28] He started in the opening 25–0 win againstEmerging Italy on 13 June 2015.[29] Archer started in the 33–7 win againstUruguay on 17 June 2015.[30] He also started in the 45–12 win againstGeorgia on 21 June 2015, a win which secured the tournament for Emerging Ireland.[31]
