LIST | The four third-generation international rugby players
Rugby NewsTuesday, 10 November 2020 at 17:07
Rugby fans are familiar with all the dynasties that exist within the sport, however, although there are a lot of second generation internationals you could name, there is hardly any third-generation international rugby players.
So here at RUCK, we thought which families have this tradition? We could only find four examples of sons, fathers and grandfathers all winning international caps.
Click through the article, below, to discover the few players in this elite group of third-generation international rugby players…
If you can think of any other third-generation international rugby players, please let us know so we can add them to the list.
Third-generation international rugby players:
1. Kenny Murphy - Ireland
Our first third-generation international rugby player is Kenny Murphy, who is a former Irish rugby union international player who played as a full-back. He played for the Ireland team from 1990 to 1992, winning 11 caps. He was a member of the Ireland squad at the 1991 Rugby World Cup.
His father, Noel Murphy, jr, made 41 appearances for Ireland between 1958 and 1969. The powerhouse flanker also toured with the British & Irish Lions twice, the 1959 and 1966 tours of Australia and New Zealand. He made his Lions debut on 30 May 1959 against New South Wales and marked the occasion with a try before going on to win eight caps for the tourists.
Murphy's Grandfather, Noel Murphy, sr, was also an Ireland international between 1930 and 1933,winning 11 caps playing as a flanker. He also coached the Ireland squad on their 1961 tour of South Africa when the touring party also included his son Noel Jr.
2. Pat Howard - Australia
The centre/fly-half Pat made his Wallabies debut on 17 July 1993 against New Zealand before going onto win 20 caps.
This debut test came 23 years after his father, Jake Howard, who also played for the Wallabies, and 67 years after his Grandfather Cryil Towers, who made his debut for Australia in 1926.
His father, who married Cryils' daughter Margariete, made his international rugby debut on 6 June 1970 against Scotland and went on to make six further international representative appearances between 1970 and 1973.
In 1998 he signed for Leicester Tigers, displacing Will Greenwood, who was forced to return to Harlequins for first team rugby. Howard became a pivotal part of the Tigers' championship winning side. Howard started the victorious 2001 Heineken Cup Final for Leicester.
Meanwhile, Towers had played 57 matches for Australia between 1926 and 1937, 19 of them Tests, 2 of those as captain. In retirement he was one of the first rugby commentators, becoming known as the "voice of rugby" from his broadcasts for the Australian Broadcasting Commission.
3. Liam Barry - New Zealand
Barry holds a special place among the long parade of All Blacks for when he was chosen as a 22-year-old for the tour of Scotland and England in 1993 he followed his father Kevin and his grandfather Ned in wearing the silver fern. That became the first instance of a family providing three generations of All Blacks.
Kevin Barry, his father, was a utility forward and made 23 appearances for the All Blacks between 1962 and 1964, while Ned Barry, his Grandfather played 10 matches for the All Blacks including one international, against Australia in 1934.
Ned also had another son, Pat, who played for Counties in the 1960s, and another grandson, Mike Barry, who represented North Auckland and North Harbour.
4. Charlie Shiel - Scotland
The Edinburgh scrum-half has represented Scotland Sevens and has been tipped for a senior international call-up. Both his father, Graham, and grandfather Dougie Morgan pulled on a Scotland jersey during their careers.
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