Mark McCall
Encyclopedia
Mark McCall is an Irish former rugby union
player and former coach of Ulster
. He played 13 times for the Ireland national rugby union team
, making his debut against New Zealand on 30 May 1992 as a substitute. He started in his second match the following month, also against New Zealand.
He played a Five Nations
match against Wales
in 1994, and came off the bench to play against England
in 1996. He played against Australia
later that year. He played four times in 1997; against New Zealand, Canada
and twice against Italy
. He also played against Scotland
and England in the 1998 Five Nations, finishing his career later that year with two matches against South Africa
. His entire thirteen match career went without him scoring a single point. He signed with Guinness Premiership side Saracens to join up with new coach Brenden Venter for the 09/10 season as first team coach.
His father Conn
played cricket
for Ireland.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player and former coach of Ulster
Ulster Rugby
Ulster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Ulster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Belfast, representing the Irish province of Ulster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...
. He played 13 times for the Ireland national rugby union team
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
, making his debut against New Zealand on 30 May 1992 as a substitute. He started in his second match the following month, also against New Zealand.
He played a Five Nations
Six Nations Championship
The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....
match against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
in 1994, and came off the bench to play against England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
in 1996. He played against Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
later that year. He played four times in 1997; against New Zealand, Canada
Canada national rugby union team
The Canada national rugby union team represents Canada in international rugby union. They are governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and black. Canada is classified by the International Rugby Board as a tier two rugby nation. There are ten tier one nations, and seven tier two nations, the...
and twice against Italy
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
. He also played against Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
and England in the 1998 Five Nations, finishing his career later that year with two matches against South Africa
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
. His entire thirteen match career went without him scoring a single point. He signed with Guinness Premiership side Saracens to join up with new coach Brenden Venter for the 09/10 season as first team coach.
His father Conn
Conn McCall
Hugh Conn McCall, usually known by his middle name was an Irish cricketer. A right-handed batsman and left-arm orthodox spin bowler, he played 15 times for the Ireland cricket team in the 1960s including seven first-class matches...
played cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
for Ireland.