# Sam Monaghan

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**Samantha Monaghan** (born 25 June 1993), is an Irish [rugby union](/source/Rugby_union) player who plays [second row](/source/Lock_(rugby_union)) for [Gloucester-Hartpury](/source/Gloucester-Hartpury) in [Premiership Women's Rugby](/source/Premiership_Women's_Rugby), as well as the [Ireland](/source/Ireland_women's_national_rugby_union_team) national team.

## Early life

Monaghan was born in New York City, United States, to Irish parents. She moved to Ireland at the age of 8.[1] In her youth, she first played [Gaelic football](/source/Gaelic_football) and was Irish Under-16 champion with the [County Meath](/source/County_Meath) team.[2]

## Rugby career

She later moved to England, near Brighton. She could not find a Gaelic football club there so she tried rugby union at [Lewes RFC](/source/Lewes_RFC) mainly to make friends and socialize. At the end of her first season, her coaches advised her to take rugby union more seriously.[3] The following season, her coaches got her in touch with [Wasps Women](/source/Wasps_Women) director of rugby [Giselle Mather](/source/Giselle_Mather) who offered her a trial, Monaghan then went on to sign for Wasps.[3][4]

In September 2021, she earned her first cap for Ireland in a [World Cup qualifying](/source/2021_Rugby_World_Cup_qualifying) game against Spain.[3] After a stand out [2022 Six Nations](/source/2022_Women's_Six_Nations_Championship) performance, Monaghan signed for [Gloucester-Hartpury](/source/Gloucester-Hartpury) ahead of the [2022–23 Premier 15s](/source/2022%E2%80%9323_Premier_15s) season.[5] In her first season at Gloucester-Hartpury, she helped lift the league title,[6] was named Irish Player of the year,[7] and signed a contract extension with Gloucester-Hartpury.[8]

In October 2023, Monaghan was selected for the first [WXV 3](/source/2023_WXV#WXV_3) tournament, she was co-captain of the team alongside [Edel McMahon](/source/Edel_McMahon).[2] Ireland went on to lift the title.[9]

In January 2024, she fainted in the changing room following a winning match against Saracens, the medical staff diagnosed a concussion that had not been spotted during the game. She then went two months without playing, which she described as very difficult.[10] She also lifted the league title for the second year In a row, however during the final she suffered a serious knee injury which meant she could not take park in the [2024 WXV](/source/2024_WXV).[11][12]

On 11 August 2025, she made the Irish squad to the [Rugby World Cup](/source/2025_Women's_Rugby_World_Cup) in England.[13][14]

## References

1. Geoghegan, Jimmy (12 May 2023). ["'I never thought I would play rugby for Ireland'"](https://www.meathchronicle.ie/2023/05/12/i-never-thought-i-would-play-rugby-for-ireland/). *Meath Chronicle*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240401195359/https://www.meathchronicle.ie/2023/05/12/i-never-thought-i-would-play-rugby-for-ireland/) 1 April 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 October 2024.

1. Geoghegan, Jimmy (2 October 2023). ["Captaincy a new twist in Sam Monaghan's amazing career"](https://www.meathchronicle.ie/2023/10/02/captaincy-a-new-twist-in-sam-monaghans-amazing-career/). *Meath Chronicle*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240331085835/https://www.meathchronicle.ie/2023/10/02/captaincy-a-new-twist-in-sam-monaghans-amazing-career/) 31 March 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 October 2024.

1. Walsh, Daire (16 September 2021). ["Monaghan: Hard Pill To Swallow, But We'll Come Back Stronger"](https://www.irishrugby.ie/2021/09/16/monaghan-hard-pill-to-swallow-but-well-come-back-stronger/). *Irish Rugby*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240331092841/https://www.irishrugby.ie/2021/09/16/monaghan-hard-pill-to-swallow-but-well-come-back-stronger/) 31 March 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 October 2024.

1. Glennon, Michael (16 September 2021). ["Meath's Sam Monaghan on her unlikely road to Test rugby"](https://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2021/0916/1247170-meaths-sam-monaghan-on-her-unlikely-road-to-test-rugby/). *[RTÉ.ie](/source/RT%C3%89.ie)*. Retrieved 5 October 2024.

1. Casey, Gavan (26 July 2022). ["Six Nations star Sam Monaghan swaps Wasps for Gloucester-Hartpury"](https://www.the42.ie/sam-monaghan-5826486-Jul2022/). *The 42*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240418111248/https://www.the42.ie/sam-monaghan-5826486-Jul2022/) 18 April 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 October 2024.

1. ["Gloucester-Hartpury win first Premier 15s title with victory over Exeter"](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jun/24/gloucester-hartpury-premier-15s-exeter-womens-rugby). *The Guardian*. 24 June 2023. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20241005010301/https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jun/24/gloucester-hartpury-premier-15s-exeter-womens-rugby) 5 October 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 October 2024.

1. Scully, Michael (18 May 2022). ["Josh van der Flier and Sam Monaghan claim Rugby Players Ireland top awards"](https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/rugby-union/josh-van-der-flier-sam-27003134). *Irish Mirror*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20241005010405/https://www.irishmirror.ie/sport/rugby-union/josh-van-der-flier-sam-27003134) 5 October 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 October 2024.

1. ["Sam Monaghan and Gwen Crabb: Gloucester-Hartpury locks sign new deals"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/66720779). *BBC Sport*. 5 September 2023. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20241005010304/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/66720779) 5 October 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 October 2024.

1. ["Ireland edge Spain to win WXV 3 title | Women in Rugby | women.rugby"](https://www.women.rugby/news/886138/wxv-3-ireland-spain-recap). *women.rugby*. 28 October 2023. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240329183828/https://www.women.rugby/news/886138/wxv-3-ireland-spain-recap) 29 March 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 October 2024.

1. ["Concussion put me in a dark place, reveals Ireland co-captain Sam Monaghan"](https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/sport/concussion-put-me-in-a-dark-place-reveals-ireland-co-captain-sam-monaghan/a1583910653.html). *Belfast Telegraph*. 31 March 2024. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240331160339/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/sport/concussion-put-me-in-a-dark-place-reveals-ireland-co-captain-sam-monaghan/a1583910653.html) 31 March 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 October 2024.

1. Thomas, Martyn (1 July 2024). ["Ireland co-captain Sam Monaghan ruled out with 'significant knee injury'"](https://www.rugbypass.com/news/ireland-co-captain-sam-monaghan-ruled-out-with-significant-knee-injury/). *rugbypass*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240924184352/https://www.rugbypass.com/news/ireland-co-captain-sam-monaghan-ruled-out-with-significant-knee-injury/) 24 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 October 2024.

1. Treacy, Neil (29 August 2024). ["Monaghan ruled out of WXV but Sevens stars return"](https://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2024/0829/1467285-monaghan-ruled-out-of-wxv-but-sevens-stars-return/). *RTE*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240905194909/https://www.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2024/0829/1467285-monaghan-ruled-out-of-wxv-but-sevens-stars-return/) 5 September 2024 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 5 October 2024.

1. ["Wafer and McMahon fit for Ireland World Cup squad"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/articles/cqjyyvlpxrpo). *BBC Sport*. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.

1. ["Ireland's Squad Named For Women's Rugby World Cup 2025"](https://www.irishrugby.ie/video/irelands-rugby-world-cup-squad-announcement/). *Irish Rugby*. 11 August 2025. Retrieved 11 August 2025.

## External links

- [Irish Player Profile](https://www.irishrugby.ie/women/sam-monaghan)
- [Gloucester-Hartpury Player Profile](https://www.gloucesterrugby.co.uk/teams/women/player/sam-monaghan)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sam Monaghan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Monaghan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Monaghan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.