John Quill (born March 10, 1990) is a retired Irish-born American rugby union player who played flanker for Rugby United New York (RUNY) in Major League Rugby (MLR) and the United States men's national team.
Birth name | John Quill | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 10 March 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Youghal, County Cork, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 230 lb (100 kg; 16 st 6 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
University | Cork Institute of Technology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Quill has previously played for the Glendale Raptors (MLR), Sacramento Express (PRO Rugby), and London Welsh.
Quill began his rugby career at Dolphin RFC and played for the Munster A setup.[2] He was the Dolphin's top try scorer for two seasons and club "Player of the Year" in 2012.[3]
He moved to the United States in 2012 to play with Boston RFC where he became a stand-out player in D1 US rugby.[4]
Quill joined the London Irish Academy in July 2013 with the hope of gaining a full-time contract.[5]
Quill battled through injury during his time at the academy and after a few months he returned from London to link up with his former club, Dolphin RFC where he put together an impressive string of performances.[6]
Quill signed with London Welsh of the RFU Championship in February 2014.[7] He was released by London Welsh at the end of his first season with the club after helping them achieve promotion to the Aviva Premiership.[8]
Quill played for the Ireland Schools team. Although Quill is Irish, he qualified to represent the United States through his American mother.[9]
Having impressed during his time with Boston RFC, Quill was called into the USA squad for the 2012 Autumn internationals during which he made his debut against Russia.[10]
Quill was selected for the USA Eagles's 2015 World Cup squad.[11] He was also selected for the USA Eagles' 2019 Rugby World Cup squad, and was sent off in the opening defeat (45-7) against England, after delivering a shoulder to the head of Owen Farrell, the first red card of the tournament.[12] Following the 2019 World Cup Quill retired from international rugby.[13]