Rob Herring (rugby union)

Rob Herring (born 27 April 1990) is an Irish rugby union player for Ulster in the United Rugby Championship and Heineken Cup. He plays as a hooker.

Rob Herring
Birth nameRobert William Herring
Date of birth (1990-04-27) April 27, 1990
Place of birthCape Town, South Africa
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1]
Weight227 lb (103 kg; 16 st 3 lb)
SchoolSouth African College Schools
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2009–11
2009–10
2011
2012
2012–		 London Irish
→ Nuneaton(loan)
→ London Welsh (loan)
Western Province
Ulster		 5
8
3
2
210		 (0)

(5)
(0)
(155)
Correct as of 1 May 2022[2]
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
2013
2014–15
2014–		 Emerging Ireland
Wolfhounds
Ireland		 3
2
26		 (0)
(0)
(5)
Correct as of 19 March 2022

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Herring hails from one of South Africa's oldest and well known schools, South African College Schools (SACS). He joined London Irish academy in 2009, and made his senior debut for the team in 2010,[3] but was not offered a senior contract, and returned to South Africa to continue his studies. He played for Western Province's under-21 team, and appeared in the Varsity Cup for Stellenbosch University.[4] On the basis of these performances, both Ulster and Connacht showed interest,[5] aware he qualified to play for Ireland through his Irish grandfather.[6] Both teams offered him a two-year development contract, but Herring asked for a six-month trial so he could continue his studies if it didn't work out, and Ulster agreed.[7] He signed for Ulster ahead of the 2012–13 season.[3]

Initially used as a backup to team captain Rory Best, he got first-team opportunities when Best was on Ireland duty.[6] He was named captain in Best's absence during the 2015 Rugby World Cup,[8] and shared the captaincy with Andrew Trimble during the 2016–17 season after Best stepped down from the role.[9] He made his 100th appearance for the province in September 2016.[10] Since Best's retirement in 2019, Herring has been Ulster's first choice hooker.[4] He made his 200th appearance for Ulster in October 2021.[5]

In January 2014, Herring was included in the provisional 44 man Ireland squad for the 2014 Six Nations Championship.[11] He made his debut for Ireland in June 2014 coming off the bench in a tour match against Argentina. On 16 October 2019, Herring was called into the Ireland squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup to replace the injured Seán Cronin.[12] He started all five of Ireland's matches in the 2020 Six Nations Championship.[4]

References
  1. Ulster Rugby player profile
  2. Playing stats at ItsRugby.co.uk
  3. "Ulster sign Niall O'Connor and Rob Herring for 2012-13 season", BBC Sport, 18 June 2012
  4. Sarah Mockford, "Ireland hooker Rob Herring on his rugby journey", Rugby World, 18 November 2020
  5. Jonathan Bradley, "Rob Herring opens up on ‘difficult’ days as Rory Best’s back-up but says 200th Ulster cap is proof he made right choice", Belfast Telegraph, 12 October 2021
  6. "Rob Herring can keep Ulster Rugby on the charge". Irish Independent. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  7. "Ulster Rugby Lad meets… Rob Herring", Ulster Rugby Lad, undated
  8. "Rob Herring named as Ulster Captain during World Cup", Ulster Rugby, 1 September 2015
  9. "Rob Herring and Andrew Trimble to share Ulster captaincy", BBC Sport, 17 August 2016
  10. "Charles Piutau returns for Ulster as co-captain Rob Herring set for 100th cap", OTB Sports, 15 September 2016
  11. "Joe Schmidt names seven uncapped players in his extended 44-man Six Nations squad". Irish Independent. 14 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.
  12. "Herring set to join Ireland's World Cup squad as Cronin suffers injury". The 42. 16 October 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
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