Stephen Ferris (rugby player)
Encyclopedia
Stephen Ferris is a rugby union
player for Ulster
and Ireland. Ferris plays his club rugby with Dungannon
. He is from Maghaberry
and attended Friends School Lisburn
. He has played for Ulster and Ireland in all three backrow positions.
in October 2005.
Ferris made his full Ireland debut against Pacific Islanders
in November 2006. Ferris was selected for the Ireland Rugby World Cup squad in 2007 but was an unused reserve at the tournament. He earned his fifth Irish cap against Australia
in June 2008.
Ferris is one of four Ulster Rugby players included in Ireland's PWC high performance select group.
He is currently signed with Ulster Rugby, keeping him at Ravenhill
until the end of the 2010/11 season.
He was a member of the victorious Ireland team that won the 2009 Six Nations Championship
and Grand Slam
Ferris was selected as part of the 2009 British & Irish Lions
tour to South Africa.
He scored his first Lions try on 3 June, against the Golden Lions
but was forced to withdraw from the squad on Tuesday 9 June after he tore the medial collateral ligament
in his right knee during a training session. He was replaced by Wales captain Ryan Jones
.
He played for Ireland during the 2009 November Tests, in which Ireland defeated South Africa 15-10. Ferris played in four of Ireland's 2010 Six Nations matches, but missed the 2010 Summer Tour through injury. However, he made his international comeback during the 2010 November Tests, scoring his first international try against New Zealand at the new Landsdowne Road, and scoring his second against Argentina. He missed the 2011 Six Nations, and the latter half of the 2010/2011 season through injury, but returned for Ireland against France on 20 August during a 2011 Rugby World Cup warm-up test, having been included in Ireland's training squad for the world cup.
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 for 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...
and Ireland. Ferris plays his club rugby with Dungannon
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...
. He is from Maghaberry
Maghaberry
Maghaberry or Magaberry is a village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is 9 kilometres west of Lisburn and 4 kilometres north of Moira. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,696 people...
and attended Friends School Lisburn
Friends School Lisburn
Friends' School, Lisburn is a Quaker voluntary grammar school in the city of Lisburn, Northern Ireland founded in 1774.-History:Founded in 1774 on the basis of a bequest from John Handcock, a Quaker linen trader, when twenty acres were purchased at Prospect Hill from the Earl of Hertford. In 1774...
. He has played for Ulster and Ireland in all three backrow positions.
Career
Ferris graduated from the Ulster Academy and joined Ulster Rugby on a development contract at the start of the 2005–2006 season. He was named in the Ireland Under-20 Rugby World Cup Squad in 2005. He made his Ulster debut against Border ReiversBorder Reivers (Rugby)
Border Reivers, originally known as 'Scottish Borders Rugby' and also known as 'The Borders' were one of four professional rugby union teams in Scotland, alongside Edinburgh, Caledonia Reds and Glasgow Warriors....
in October 2005.
Ferris made his full Ireland debut against Pacific Islanders
Pacific Islanders rugby union team
The Pacific Islanders rugby union team is an international rugby union team, started in 2004, that represents Fiji, Samoa and Tonga. While Niue and the Cook Islands are not members of the Pacific Tri-Nations competition, they did supply players to the squad for the Pacific Islanders' tour in 2004...
in November 2006. Ferris was selected for the Ireland Rugby World Cup squad in 2007 but was an unused reserve at the tournament. He earned his fifth Irish cap 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...
in June 2008.
Ferris is one of four Ulster Rugby players included in Ireland's PWC high performance select group.
He is currently signed with Ulster Rugby, keeping him at Ravenhill
Ravenhill Stadium
Ravenhill Stadium is located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is used by Ulster Rugby. It has a normal capacity of 12,300 and is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union.-History:The grounds were opened in the 1923/24 season...
until the end of the 2010/11 season.
He was a member of the victorious Ireland team that won the 2009 Six Nations Championship
2009 Six Nations Championship
The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2009 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the tenth Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams...
and Grand Slam
Ferris was selected as part of the 2009 British & Irish Lions
2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa
The 2009 British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa was an international rugby union tour which took place in South Africa from May to July 2009....
tour to South Africa.
He scored his first Lions try on 3 June, against the Golden Lions
Golden Lions
The Golden Lions is a provincial rugby team based in Johannesburg, South Africa. The team was originally known as Transvaal, before changes to the political landscape in South Africa forced a name change to the Gauteng Lions, before again being changed to the Golden Lions. For sponsorship reason...
but was forced to withdraw from the squad on Tuesday 9 June after he tore the medial collateral ligament
Medial collateral ligament
The medial collateral ligament of the knee is one of the four major ligaments of the knee. It is on the medial side of the knee joint in humans and other primates. It is also known as the tibial collateral ligament, or abbreviated as the MCL.- Structure :It is a broad, flat, membranous band,...
in his right knee during a training session. He was replaced by Wales captain Ryan Jones
Ryan Jones
Ryan Paul Jones is a Welsh international rugby union player who plays at number eight for the Ospreys. He is able to cover blindside flanker and second row; he played second row in his younger days as he was kept out of his preferred number 8 role by Gareth Delve.-Early life:Jones played junior...
.
He played for Ireland during the 2009 November Tests, in which Ireland defeated South Africa 15-10. Ferris played in four of Ireland's 2010 Six Nations matches, but missed the 2010 Summer Tour through injury. However, he made his international comeback during the 2010 November Tests, scoring his first international try against New Zealand at the new Landsdowne Road, and scoring his second against Argentina. He missed the 2011 Six Nations, and the latter half of the 2010/2011 season through injury, but returned for Ireland against France on 20 August during a 2011 Rugby World Cup warm-up test, having been included in Ireland's training squad for the world cup.