Date of birth | 28 January 2000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Place of birth | London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 118 kg (18.6 st; 260 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Roscrea College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Cormac Izuchukwu (born 28 January 2000) is an Irish rugby union player who plays lock for Ulster in the United Rugby Championship.
He was born in London to an Irish mother and Nigerian father. He moved to Offaly when he was 7 where he and his brother and sister were raised by their mother.[1] He started playing rugby with Tullamore RFC in Offaly, before going to Roscrea College,[2] where he played for the first XV in the Leinster Schools Cup quarter-finals.[1] He was offered an opportunity to try out for Connacht at under-19 level, but twisted his ankle and was unable to attend. He signed up for a coaching course in Kelso, Scotland, which included training with Newcastle Falcons.
He joined the Ulster academy ahead of the 2020–21 season,[3] and made his Ulster debut coming in the 63rd minute of 21―7 victory over Ospreys on 26 February 2021.[4] He played in the subsequent games against Glasgow Warriors and Leinster when he received a yellow card.[5]
He signed a two-year contract with the province in April 2021.[6] He was selected for the Emerging Ireland squad for the Toyota Challenge in South Africa in September 2022.[7] He was a squad player for Ulster under Dan McFarland, but became a regular starter in the back row in the second half of the 2023–24 season under new head coach Richie Murphy,[8]
A highlights video came to the attention of Anthony Eddy at the IRFU, who signed him up for Ireland Sevens.[3] He represented Ireland at two sevens competitions in 2019.[9][10]
His form saw him called up to the Ireland squad for their two-match 2024 summer tour of South Africa.[11] He went on to make his debut in a 52-17 win against Fiji scoring a try before it was disallowed for a forward pass in the 2024 Autumn Nations Series.[12] [13]