Michael Allen (rugby union)

Michael Allen
Full name Michael Allen
Date of birth (1990-11-28) 28 November 1990
Place of birth Belfast, Northern Ireland
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 12 in)
Weight 97.6 kilograms (15 st 5 lb)
School Methodist College Belfast
Rugby union career
Current status
Position(s) Wing, Centre
Current team Edinburgh
Playing career
Position Wing, Centre
Amateur clubs
Years Club / team
Belfast Harlequins
Professional / senior clubs
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2011–2015
2015–
Ulster
Edinburgh
48
23
(30)
(25)
correct as of 24 May 2015.
National team(s)
Years Club / team Caps (points)
2013– Emerging Ireland 4 (5)
correct as of 10 Feb 2015.

Michael 'Mike' Allen (born 28 November 1990) from Belfast is an Irish rugby union player who plays both at centre and wing for Edinburgh. [1]

Early life

Allen was educated at Methodist College Belfast. He twice won the Ulster Schools' Cup, scoring several tries in the 2009 Semi-Final as the school won the cup two years running, beating Regent House in 2008 and R.B.A.I in 2009.[2]

He attended his first rugby match at only two weeks old to watch his father play for what is now Belfast Harlequins and spent his childhood at the club.[3]

Allen's mother, Corinne, is a former Northern Ireland Netball international and his sister also excelled at the sport.

Ulster

Allen has represented Ulster Rugby at Under 18, Under 19 level and Academy level. He also played for the Ulster Ravens in the British and Irish Cup Semi-Final in 2010 against Munster A.

He made his Ulster first team debut against Leinster at The RDS in 2012 and was awarded with a Senior Ulster Contract in 2013.

In the 2012–13 season, Allen scored his first senior Ulster try against Cardiff Blues and was named on the bench for the Final, coming on in the 64th minute in the 24–18 defeat to Leinster.

In the 2013–14 season, Allen made his breakthrough playing Wing due to injuries to Tommy Bowe and Andrew Trimble, scoring a try against Connacht and two against Treviso. He has spoken about the competition he faces at wing with Bowe, Trimble and Craig Gilroy, who are all Ireland Internationals, saying "Obviously they’re three world class players but I can’t dwell on that. I have to try and make the most of the game time that I get but at the same time I recognise how tough it is. My priority is to play well enough to ensure that Mark (Anscombe, Ulster coach) has a decision to make each week.” [3]

Ireland

Allen represented Ireland Schools at under-19 Level.

In 2013, Allen was selected for the Emerging Ireland squad to play at the 2013 IRB Tbilisi Cup in Georgia where he scored a try in a 19–8 defeat to South Africa President's XV.[4] Emerging Ireland beat Uruguay 42–33 on 16 June 2013 to secure a second-place finish in the tournament.[5]

References

  1. Ulster Rugby
  2. 09 February 2009 (2009-02-09). "Methody cruise it". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  3. 1 2 "Michael Allen winging his way into Ulster reckoning - Rugby News | Rugby Results, Fixtures & Tables | The Irish Times - Wed, Oct 30, 2013". The Irish Times. 2013-10-30. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  4. https://web.archive.org/web/20140115070741/http://www.irishrugby.ie/rugby/29341.php. Archived from the original on January 15, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. https://web.archive.org/web/20140115175458/http://www.irishrugby.ie/rugby/29387.php. Archived from the original on January 15, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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