paul mullen Archives - SportsNewsIreland https://www.sportsnewsireland.com/tag/paul-mullen Sports News, Live GAA scores, GAA fixtures Mon, 12 Jul 2021 11:28:24 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 https://i0.wp.com/www.sportsnewsireland.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/sni-icon.jpg?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 paul mullen Archives - SportsNewsIreland https://www.sportsnewsireland.com/tag/paul-mullen 32 32 229439223 USA Capped Luke Carty On Debut, LA Sunshine And Roscommon GAA https://www.sportsnewsireland.com/rugby/usa-capped-luke-carty-excited-for-international-start-in-dublin https://www.sportsnewsireland.com/rugby/usa-capped-luke-carty-excited-for-international-start-in-dublin#respond Sat, 10 Jul 2021 08:00:27 +0000 https://www.sportsnewsireland.com/?p=17719 Irish-born USA Rugby fly-half Luke Carty is excited to face the country of his birth in Dublin on Saturday night. Carty will earn his second cap for the USA Eagles when he starts against Andy Farrell’s Ireland side in front of 6,000 fans at the Aviva Stadium. You can visit lots of sites to get […]

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Irish-born USA Rugby fly-half Luke Carty is excited to face the country of his birth in Dublin on Saturday night.

Carty will earn his second cap for the USA Eagles when he starts against Andy Farrell’s Ireland side in front of 6,000 fans at the Aviva Stadium. You can visit lots of sites to get great offers. 

The 23-year-old’s immediate family, who he has not seen since January, will be in attendance for the match.

“Obviously, it’s a bit of a strange one but I’m trying to treat it as any other game,” Carty said.

The fly-half made his debut for the national side last weekend against England in a 43-29 loss.

The Athlone native scored nine points to open his account with the United States.

Carty was happy with how his debut went after helping his side to put a high amount of points past Eddie Jones’ England.

“[My debut] was pretty cool. I was pretty nervous beforehand. Obviously, it was a big game – playing England at Twickenham, but it was really enjoyable.”

He noted that the USA camp has made him feel welcome in the setup.

The opportunity to play for America was an idea that helped entice the Westmeath man to ‘the land of opportunity.’

The thought of playing at a Rugby World Cup was also an attractive pull factor for the former Buccaneers Player of the Year.

He exclaimed that “it would be pretty cool to do that” and spoke of his pride seeing his older brother, Ireland international Jack Carty accomplish one of his lifelong dreams.

He brought the lessons that the likes of Colm ‘Cullie’ Tucker, Mossy Lawlor and Eric Elwood taught him at the Connacht Academy to the West Coast of the USA at the start of 2021.

The Connacht academy prospect joined Darren Coleman’s LA Giltinis, after almost joining Coleman’s former side Gordon, a Sydney-based Australian side.

Major League Rugby has surpassed Carty’s expectations and he is enjoying his rugby across the Atlantic Ocean.

“I’ve actually been surprised by the level of it…every team has got better as the year went on.”

He is also enjoying each and every minute of sunshine by the beach in Los Angeles, something Ireland cannot grant the fly-half on a consistent basis – a welcome culture shock.

Carty trains alongside Australian rugby legends Adam-Ashley Cooper and Matt Giteau in LA and has learnt a lot from them in the several months he has been with the club.

“It’s been great to pick their brains and learn from them and get to play alongside them.”

Irish brothers Harry and Sean McNulty are also on the books of the MLR side, with the former heading to the Olympics as part of the Ireland Sevens side.

The fly-half said the team watched the Ireland Sevens qualify from San Diego and that he is very happy for his teammate to be going to the Olympics after being an ‘original’ of the IRFU Sevens programme.

The support the Giltinis players have received while in club colours has also impressed Carty.

The games are pretty loud and [the fans] are pretty passionate about it.”

However, he has not forgotten Ireland.

The US star still keeps an eye on the Gaelic scores and noted his disappointment after Roscommon’s season-ending defeat to Galway in the Connacht Senior Football Championship.

His roommate in the US Camp, Aran Islands native Paul Mullen, likes to remind him of it.

He also hopes to see an old teammate get out on the pitch for his first Irish cap on Saturday night.

“Paul Boyle, it’s good to see him playing well…hope he gets to play on Saturday.”

However, Carty’s eyes are placed firmly on what’s ahead and more than 6,000 pairs of eyes will be placed firmly on him.

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USA Captain Bryce Campbell Happy With MLR Growth https://www.sportsnewsireland.com/rugby/usa-bryce-campbell-happy-with-mlr-growth https://www.sportsnewsireland.com/rugby/usa-bryce-campbell-happy-with-mlr-growth#respond Fri, 09 Jul 2021 18:01:21 +0000 https://www.sportsnewsireland.com/?p=17716 USA Rugby captain Bryce Campbell has said that he is pleased with the growth of Major League Rugby in the United States in recent years. The Austin Gilgronis centre is one of 18 MLR players in the USA’s matchday 23 for the match against Ireland. Irish-born US internationals Luke Carty and Paul Mullen are also […]

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USA Rugby captain Bryce Campbell has said that he is pleased with the growth of Major League Rugby in the United States in recent years.

The Austin Gilgronis centre is one of 18 MLR players in the USA’s matchday 23 for the match against Ireland.

Irish-born US internationals Luke Carty and Paul Mullen are also among the 18 in the squad that plays in the MLR.

Campbell believes that the league is integral to the national team and will continue to be for the future.

“Just the fact that all team is playing week in week out and that the competition is getting better and better – not even every season, but each week,” said Campbell.

Campbell stated that it is a huge positive to have a domestic competition to build international-level players in.

He believes that the American players in the MLR can build a strong bond, even if they are not on the same team and that helps the squad when they all come together to put on the USA jersey.

“I think with a lot of us playing MLR, we have felt each other’s tendencies a bit.”

The US have added new players to their camp since their last time together in Japan for the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

However, the core of the current squad includes several players who went to Japan and this also helps the team’s chemistry, according to the captain.

Campbell clarified that most of the players in the squad have played with each other at one point or another, so that makes it easier.

Players like Christian Dyer, who came into the squad after missing out on a spot on the US Sevens Olympic Squad, have fit in very well, according to Campbell.

“I’m just really happy with the way the team has come together.”

Ireland’s game against the USA kicks off on Saturday at 7:15 pm.

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Paul Mullen ‘Honoured’ To Play For USA https://www.sportsnewsireland.com/rugby/paul-mullen-honoured-to-play-for-usa https://www.sportsnewsireland.com/rugby/paul-mullen-honoured-to-play-for-usa#respond Fri, 09 Jul 2021 11:08:51 +0000 https://www.sportsnewsireland.com/?p=17692 Paul Mullen has said that he is honoured to play for the USA Rugby team as he prepares to make his 20th appearance for the side. He is eligible to play for the United States as he has an American grandparent. The Aran Islands native will play Ireland for the second time in his career […]

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Paul Mullen has said that he is honoured to play for the USA Rugby team as he prepares to make his 20th appearance for the side.

He is eligible to play for the United States as he has an American grandparent.

The Aran Islands native will play Ireland for the second time in his career on Saturday night in Dublin.

He first played the side in 2018 after they had beaten New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium.

Since then, he has played the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and has made a name for himself in Major League Rugby.

“To pull on the American jersey and to represent the red, white and blue – what an honour,” Mullen exclaimed.

The 19-time USA international has not been at home in Ireland since the first lockdown.

RugbyPass did a documentary with the forward during his time on the Aran Islands before returning to the States.

“I was absolutely delighted, in one aspect to be able to spend some time with my family, to be able to help out.”

However, he had to return to the US whenever he could.

The 29-year-old started playing rugby for Glenstal Abbey School when he was 13 and eventually progressed to the Munster underage ranks.

Mullen was called up for the Ireland U19s in 2010 after his performances at the underage level.

When it was time for him to go to college, his parents wanted him to study abroad.

“They thought that if I stayed in Ireland, I’d go off playing rugby.”

The tighthead prop moved to Texas and studied for his degree in Marine Engineering Technology at Texas A&M University and then received his master’s in Marine Resource Management in 2017.

Throughout this time, the Irish-born United States international was playing rugby but at a low level.

Mullen wanted to take his game to the next level and reached out to strength and conditioning coach Ed Cosner, who had worked with World Cup-winning New Zealanders Ben and Owen Franks.

His work with the strength and conditioning coach earned the prop a contract with the Houston Sabercats in the MLR and, later, a call-up to the USA Eagles.

Mullen has plied his trade in the MLR ever since and currently plays for the Utah Warriors, who sit second in the Western Conference after 14 games.

The Galwayman will play against Ireland on Saturday and then face the LA Giltinis next Saturday in a massive clash between the two best teams in the West.

His roommate for the week, Luke Carty, plays for the LA Giltinis and the pair will play each other one game after playing with each other for the US national team.

“[The rugby in MLR] has come on a lot. I’m really excited to see where it will be in three or four years time…the progress made in the past 3/4 years, if that progress is kept up…it’ll be a serious league.”

Having players like Matt Giteau and Ma’a Nonu come into the league will also help the growth of MLR across the US and worldwide.

18 out of 23 players in the USA matchday squad for Saturday’s game against Ireland play for an MLR side.

Mullen is happy to be back with a group that he considers family, even if there are some new faces in the team.

The fact everyone is together again after being forced apart because of the pandemic is something Mullen cherishes.

“It’s absolutely fantastic, you know. I mean, just even being in camp here, granted there’s a lot of restrictions because COVID, it’s very different but just to be amongst the boys again…is brilliant.”

The USA play Ireland in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin at 7:15 pm on Saturday, July 10th.

The game will be broadcast live on RTÉ 2.

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