Two former Connacht Rugby players have been honoured this week.
Galway's Claire Molloy and Simon Geoghegan have been chosen as this year’s inductees into the Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland Hall of Fame.
Both players are popular winners, having made huge contributions to rugby in both the province and in Ireland.
Galway's Claire Molloy, the standard bearer for Connacht women's rugby, recently retired from international rugby, but still plays with Wasps.
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The daughter of Evan and Angela Molloy, Claire won 74 international caps over the course of her 12-year international career. An integral part of a team that won a Grand Slam in 2013, two Six Nations Championships, and Ireland’s first victory over New Zealand in 2014, Molloy also captained both the 15s and sevens teams during her career.
Simon Geoghegan - the blond flyer who was a popular figure for Connacht - is perhaps best known for his try in the 1994 Five Nations match against England at Twickenham which was instrumental in a famous 13–12 win. Geoghegan represented Ireland on 37 occasions, scoring an incredible 11 Test tries between 1991 and 1996, scoring 51 points.
Molloy says to follow in the footsteps of her former teammate and captain Fiona Coghlan and be inducted into the Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland Hall of Fame is an "incredible honour".
"I was lucky enough to be awarded as the Women’s Player of the Year in 2018 and to be recognised once again by the Rugby Writers of Ireland is an absolutely amazing feeling. I would also like to thank Guinness for its brilliant support of the women’s game in Ireland, it is very exciting to see a global brand, like Guinness get behind us to bring our game to fresh audiences.”
Former Munster player Billy Holland receives the Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland Tom Rooney Award in recognition of his immense contribution to Irish Rugby. Holland, who earned one cap for Ireland, was a stalwart for the southern province and retired in June of this year having played 247 times for Munster.
