Rodney Ah You

Rodney Ah You (born 27 October 1988) is a New Zealand born Irish rugby union player. Ah You's primary position is as a prop, and he can play at both tighthead and loosehead. He currently plays for Irish provincial team Ulster in the Pro12.

Ah You has represented Ireland at full international level. After qualifying for Ireland in October 2013 through residency,^[2][3] he made his debut on 7 June 2014 against Argentina.^[4]

Career

Club

Early career

At a young age Ah You's primary sporting interest was boxing, only taking up rugby at the age of 16. He started out playing as a back row forward, but credits former Crusaders player Dave Hewett with his move to the front row. Ah You progressed quickly in the sport, being capped by the Canterbury senior team before he had turned 20, and playing at under-age level for New Zealand. Ah You did not make the step up to Super Rugby level, however, and had not been called up for the Crusaders team by the time he left Canterbury for Connacht.^[5]

Connacht

Ah You joined Connacht on an 18-month deal in October 2010. He was brought in to replace the injured former England international, Robbie Morris in the squad.^[6] Ah You made his debut for Connacht in the 2010–11 European Challenge Cup against Harlequins on 12 December 2010, coming on as a replacement.^[7] He made his league debut for the side on 1 January 2011 against Leinster.^[8] In total, Ah You played 11 2010–11 Celtic League games and three games in the Challenge Cup in his first season, with all of his appearances coming as a replacement.^[9]

Ah You's second season with Connacht saw him play more regularly, and he made his first league start for Connacht in the opening game of 2011–12 Pro12, the Celtic League having been renamed. In that game against Benetton Treviso, Ah You scored his first try for the province and it proved decisive as Connacht won by just two points.^[10] Over the course of the season he featured in 13 games, seven of them being starts.^[9] The season also saw Ah You play in four of Connacht's six games in their first ever Heineken Cup campaign, starting against Harlequins and Toulouse, and coming from the bench in both games against Gloucester.^[7]

The 2012–13 season once again saw Ah You make all of his appearances from the bench. He played in 13 2012–13 Pro12 matches,^[9] and played in Connacht's away game to Zebre in the 2012–13 Heineken Cup.^[7] In February 2013, Ah You signed an extension to his contract to keep him with Connacht until the end of the 2013–14 season.^[11]

In the 2013–14 season, Ah You played more regularly. He made his first Connacht start of the season on 4 October against Treviso in the 2013–14 Pro12, having come on as a replacement in four games before that. Ah You played in all 6 of Connacht's games in the 2013–14 Heineken Cup, starting at home to Saracens and Toulouse, and away to Zebre.^[7] In the league he featured in all 22 of Connacht's games, starting in 12 of them.^[9] Ah You agreed to another contract extension with Connacht in December 2013, which will keep him with the province until 2016.^[12]

Ulster

In January 2016, it was announced that Ah You would join fellow Irish province Ulster on a two-year deal from the start of the 2016–17 season.

International

In his early career, Ah You was an under-age international player for his country. He was capped for both the New Zealand Under-19 and Under-20 teams. In January 2014, Ah You was one of seven uncapped players named in Ireland's extended 44-man squad for the upcoming Six Nations by head coach Joe Schmidt.^[2][13] He had become eligible to play for Ireland in October 2013, qualifying through residency.

In May 2014, Ah You was called up to the initial Emerging Ireland squad for the IRB Nations Cup, but in June, following injury to Martin Moore, Ah You was called up to the full Ireland squad for the end of season tour to face Argentina. Ah You was named on the substitutes bench for the first test of the series in Resistencia and came on as a second-half replacement for Mike Ross as Ireland came out 29–17 winners.^[4]

References