Josh van der Flier

Joshua Dirk van der Flier (Dutch: [væn dər ˈflɪər]; born 25 April 1993) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a flanker for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team.[1][2]

Josh van der Flier
van der Flier representing Ireland during the 2023 Six Nations Championship
Full nameJoshua Dirk van der Flier
Date of birth (1993-04-25) 25 April 1993
Place of birthWicklow, Ireland
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Weight103 kg (227 lb; 16 st 3 lb)
SchoolWesley College
UniversityUniversity College Dublin
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker, Hooker
Current team Leinster
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2014– Leinster 125 (125)
Correct as of 27 April 2023
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2011 Ireland U18 2
2012–2013 Ireland U20 10 (0)
2016– Ireland 57 (50)
Correct as of 14 October 2023

Van der Flier is of Dutch descent through his paternal grandparents, who moved to Ireland in the 1950s to open a radiator factory.[2] He is commonly referred to amongst Leinster Rugby circles as ‘The Dutch Disciple’.[3]

Professional career

Leinster

He 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 Zebre. It was announced in April 2015 that he had been awarded a senior contract with Leinster.[4][5]

Following the 2022 Champions Cup final Van der Flier became the third Leinster player to win European player of the year, after Sean O’Brien (2011) and Rob Kearney (2012).[6] In June 2022 he was named Leinster's 2021–22 Men's Player of the Year.[7]

Ireland

Van der Flier received his first call up to the senior Ireland squad by coach Joe Schmidt for the 2016 Six Nations Championship.[8] Van der Flier debuted for Ireland on 27 February against England in the 2016 Six Nations Championship at Twickenham.[9]

He was named as the Ireland men’s XVs Players’ Player of the Year at the 2022 Rugby Players Ireland awards.[10] He also won the Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland men’s player of the year award for the 2021-22 campaign.[11]

In November 2022, Van der Flier was named as the World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year.[12] In August 2023, he was selected to be part of Ireland's World Cup squad ahead of the 2023 World Cup in France.[13]

Personal life

Van Der Flier was born and raised in Wicklow town and attended Wesley College in Dublin as a boarder, where he began to play rugby, along with cricket and hockey.

He is of Dutch descent on his father's side, his grandparents having moved to Ireland from the Netherlands in the 1950s. His father, Dirk Van Der Flier, played rugby for Old Wesley.[14]

He married Sophie De Patoul in August 2022. [15]

Van Der Flier is a practicing Christian, and wears the cross drawn on his wrist tape during games.[16]

He has a master's in business administration from Dublin Business School, completed in 2020.[17]

Career statistics

List of international tries
Number Position Points Tries Result Opposition Venue Date Ref.
1 Flanker 5 1 Won Japan Ajinomoto Stadium 24 June 2017 [18]
2 Flanker 5 1 Won Wales Aviva Stadium 8 February 2020 [19]
3 Flanker 5 1 Won Japan Aviva Stadium 3 July 2021 [20]
4–5 Flanker 10 2 Won Argentina Aviva Stadium 21 November 2021 [21]
6 Flanker 5 1 Lost France Stade de France 12 February 2022 [22]
7 Flanker 5 1 Won Scotland Aviva Stadium 19 March 2022 [23]
8 Flanker 5 1 Won New Zealand Wellington Regional Stadium 16 July 2022 [24]
9 Flanker 5 1 Won South Africa Aviva Stadium 5 November 2022 [25]
10 Flanker 5 1 Won Wales Millennium Stadium 4 February 2023 [26]

as of 5 November 2022[27][28][29]

Honours
Leinster
Ireland
Individual

References
  1. "Josh van der Flier". Irish Rugby. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  2. Stafford, Mikey. "Video: Ireland new boy Josh van der Flier finally clears up pronunciation of his name". SportsJoe. Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  3. ""Criminally underrated" – 5 most underrated players in world rugby right now". The Ruck. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  4. "Latest News - the Official Home of Leinster Rugby".
  5. "All Fixtures & Results".
  6. "Leinster's Josh van der Flier wins European rugby player of the year award". the42. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  7. "2022 BANK OF IRELAND LEINSTER RUGBY AWARDS BALL". Leinster rugby. 5 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  8. "Six Nations 2016: Rory Best named as new Ireland captain". BBC. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  9. "Joe Schmidt hands Ireland debuts to Van Der Flier and McCloskey for England clash". Irish Independent. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  10. "Josh van der Flier named Irish Players' Player of the Year 2022". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  11. "Van der Flier and Jones win Rugby Writers player of the year awards". the42. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  12. "Johnny Sexton and Josh van der Flier nominated for World Rugby Player of the Year". the42. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
  13. "Ireland name squad for World Cup - as it happened". BBC. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  14. Gallagher, Gerard (2022). Faith: In Search of Greater Glory in Sport. Hero Books.
  15. "Irish rugby star Josh van der Flier gets married to Sophie De Patoul in Dublin". Sunday World. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  16. Gallagher, Gerard (2022). Faith: In Search of Greater Glory in Sport. Hero Books.
  17. "Who is Josh van der Flier: Ten things you should know about the Ireland flanker". Rugby World. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  18. "Ireland sign off from summer tour with convincing Japan win". ESPN. 24 June 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  19. Eddison, Paul (8 February 2020). "IRELAND POWER TO BONUS-POINT SUCCESS AGAINST WALES". Six Nations Rugby. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  20. Morrow, Michael (3 July 2021). "Ireland 39-31 Japan: Irish outlast Japan in high-scoring Test". BBC. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  21. Morrow, Michael (21 November 2021). "Ireland 53-7 Argentina: Seven-try hosts secure autumn clean sweep". BBC. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  22. Baker, Luke (12 February 2022). "DUPONT AND JAMINET HELP FRANCE EDGE IRELAND IN PARIS THRILLER". Six Nations Rugby. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  23. Baber, Andy (19 March 2022). "IRELAND SECURE TRIPLE CROWN WITH BONUS-POINT WIN OVER SCOTLAND". Six Nations Rugby. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  24. Morrow, Michael (16 July 2022). "New Zealand 22-32 Ireland: Sensational visitors claim remarkable 2-1 series win". BBC. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  25. "Ireland hold off Springboks in Autumn Nations Series thriller". Autumn Nations Series. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  26. Bray, Jonny (4 February 2023). "RUTHLESS IRELAND SPOIL GATLAND'S COMEBACK IN BONUS-POINT WIN". Six Nations Rugby. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  27. "Joshua Dirk van der Flier". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  28. "Josh VAN DER FLIER". ITS Rugby. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
  29. "Ireland's Josh van der Flier named World Rugby men's player of the year". the42. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
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