| Chris Farrell | |
| Birth Name: | Christopher Robert Eric Farrell |
| Birth Date: | 1993 3, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | Fivemiletown, Northern Ireland |
| Weight: | 110kg (240lb) |
| Position: | Centre |
| Amatyears1: | 2004–2014 |
| Amatteam1: | Clogher Valley RFC |
| Amatyears2: | 2017–2023 |
| Amatteam2: | Young Munster |
| Years1: | 2011–2014 |
| Clubs1: | Ulster |
| Apps1: | 5 |
| Points1: | 0 |
| Years2: | 2014–2017 |
| Clubs2: | Grenoble |
| Apps2: | 74 |
| Points2: | 50 |
| Years3: | 2017–2023 |
| Clubs3: | Munster |
| Apps3: | 71 |
| Points3: | 45 |
| Years4: | 2023– |
| Clubs4: | Oyonnax |
| Apps4: | 7 |
| Points4: | 5 |
| Clubupdate: | 27 May 2023 |
| Repyears1: | 2012 |
| Repteam1: | Ireland U20 |
| Repcaps1: | 9 |
| Reppoints1: | 5 |
| Repyears2: | 2017–2021 |
| Repteam2: | Ireland |
| Repcaps2: | 15 |
| Reppoints2: | 5 |
| Repupdate: | 3 July 2021 |
| School: | Fivemiletown College Campbell College |
Christopher Robert Eric Farrell (born 16 March 1993) is an Irish rugby union player for French Pro D2 club Oyonnax. He plays as a centre.
Farrell grew up in Fivemiletown, a village in south Tyrone, Northern Ireland. His initial sporting passion was soccer and he played centre-half for a local team, before he started playing rugby at the age of 11 for Clogher Valley RFC in County Tyrone.[1]
In December 2011, Farrell, then aged 18, made his Ulster debut against Leinster.[2]
At the beginning of the 2014–15 Top 14 season, Farrell joined French Top 14 side FC Grenoble, where Bernard Jackman, formerly of Connacht, Leinster and Ireland, was coach.[3] Farrell made his debut against La Rochelle off the bench and made his first start against Oyonnax.[4]
On 24 January 2017, it was announced that Farrell would be joining Irish province Munster on a two-year contract, beginning at the conclusion of the 2016–17 season.[5] Farrell made his competitive debut for Munster on 1 September 2017, starting the provinces opening 2017–18 Pro14 fixture against Benetton in Irish Independent Park, Cork.[6] Farrell scored his first try for Munster in their fixture against South African side Cheetahs on 9 September 2017, helping the province to a 51–18 win in Thomond Park.[7] He was ruled out for 6–8 weeks following a knee injury sustained whilst playing for Ireland.[8] He returned from the injury on 6 January 2018, starting in Munster's 39–13 win against Connacht.[9]
A knee injury Farrell suffered while with the Ireland squad during the 2018 Six Nations required surgery, and subsequently ruled him out of the remainder of the 2017–18 season.[10] He signed a three-year contract extension with Munster in October 2018.[11] Farrell returned from the aforementioned knee injury on 25 November 2018, featuring off the bench in Munster's 2018–19 Pro14 round 9 fixture against Italian side Zebre.[12] He scored two tries and earned the Man-of-the-Match in Munster's 44–14 win against Edinburgh on 30 November 2018.[13]
Farrell won his 50th cap for Munster in their 35–14 away win against English club Wasps in round 1 of the 2021–22 Champions Cup on 12 December 2021,[14] [15] and signed a two-year contract extension with the province in January 2022,[16] but was released from the contract early in March 2023.[17]
Farrell joined French Pro D2 club Oyonnax in March 2023.[18] Having joined as a medical joker, Farrell secured a two-year contract extension with the club,[19] and went on to help the club secure promotion to the Top 14 after they defeated Grenoble to win the 2022–23 Rugby Pro D2 season.[20]
Farrell earned his first senior international call-up in October 2017, being named in the Ireland squad for the 2017 Autumn Internationals.[21] He made his first appearance for Ireland on 18 November 2017, starting against Fiji.[22] Farrell also started in Ireland's win against Argentina, though he went off injured during the second-half.[8] Farrell made his Six Nations debut on 24 February 2018, starting against Wales and earning the Man-of-the-Match award in Ireland's 37–27 win.[23] However, a knee injury sustained during training ruled Farrell out of the remainder of the tournament.[24] [10]
Farrell was selected in the 31-man Ireland squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup,[25] having featured in the warm-up matches against Italy,[26] and Wales.[27] During the World Cup itself, Farrel was used as a replacement in Ireland's opening 27–3 win against Scotland,[28] and he started in their shock 19–12 defeat against hosts Japan.[29] When the 2020 Six Nations resumed in October 2020 following a delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Farrell featured as a replacement in Ireland's 35–27 defeat against France in their final fixture of the tournament.[30]
With the usual format of end-of-year international tests not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ireland instead participated in the Autumn Nations Cup. Farrell started in the 32–9 opening win against Wales on 13 November,[31] the 18–7 defeat against England on 21 November,[32] and the 23–10 win against Georgia on 29 November,[33] then featured off the bench in the 31–16 win against Scotland on 5 December, which secured a third-place finish for Ireland in the tournament.[34] During the 2021 July rugby union tests, Farrell started in Ireland's 39–31 win against Japan,[35] however, a head injury sustained during the game ruled Farrell out of Ireland's final test against the United States.[36] A hip injury ruled Farrell out of the 2022 Ireland rugby union tour of New Zealand.[37]
| Against | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Tries | Points | % Won | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | |||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 15 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Correct as of 3 July 2021[38]