Rory Best

Rory David Best (b. Craigavon, Northern Ireland, 15 August 1982) played hooker for Ulster Rugby and Ireland, captaining both sides during a fifteen year career.

He was educated at Portadown College and studied agriculture at Newcastle University. Returning to Northern Ireland, he played amateur rugby for Belfast Harlequins before winning his first professional contract with Ulster in 2004, joing his brother Simon, already on the team as a prop. He made 218 appearances for the province, scoring 115 points. He first captained the side in 2007.

He made his Ireland debut against the All Blacks in 2005. He went on to win 124 caps, being part of the side that won the Triple Crown in 2007 and the Grand Slam in 2009 and 2018. He first captained Ireland in 2009, and did so regularly from 2016 until his retirement after the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

He was selected for the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia in 2013, and the Lions 2017 tour of New Zealand, making five non-test appearances. During the 2017 tour he was awarded the OBE.

His last two matches were for the Barbarians, against the Flying Fijians at Twickenham on 16 November 2019, and against Wales at the Principality Stadium on 30 November 2019.

In April 2021 he was named as technical and high-performance skills coach for the Seattle Seawolves. He has also acted as forwards coach for the Fiji national team in their autumn tour of Europe in 2021.

Links

 * Stories relating to Rory Best at Rugbypass.com
 * ItsRugby: Rory Best