Nick Timoney (born 1 August 1995) is an Irish rugby union player, who plays in the back row for Ulster and Ireland. He is regarded as a "hybrid" player, an athletic forward with the pace of a back.[2] He was named in the 2021–22 United Rugby Championship Dream Team.[3]
He made 20 appearances for Ulster in the 2017–18 season, scoring five tries and making 222 tackles,[10] and was named Young Player of the Year and Academy Player of the Year in the Ulster Rugby Awards.[11] He was awarded his first senior contract in February 2018.[12] In the 2018–19 season he made 27 appearances, and was the team's leading tackler with 303.[13] In the 2020–21 season he made 17 appearances, making 212 tackles and 13 turnovers.[14] After Marcell Coetzee's departure in March, he became the team's regular number eight,[2] and was named Rugby Writers' Player of the Year in the Ulster Rugby Awards.[15] In June 2021 he was called up to the senior Ireland squad for the Summer tests,[16] and scored a try in his debut in a 71–10 victory over the United States on 10 July.[17]
In the 2021–22 season, with the arrival of South African number eight Duane Vermeulen, he has primarily played at openside flanker.[18] He captained Ulster for the first time on 20 February 2022 in an away win against Scarlets,[19] and made his 100th appearance for the province in the second leg of the Champions Cup round of 16 tie against Toulouse in April the same year.[20] He led the United Rugby Championship in tackles with 274, 64 ahead of Ulster teammate Alan O'Connor in second place.[21] He also led the European Rugby Champions Cup in tackles at the end of the pool stage with 78,[22] and was nominated for Ulster's men's player of the year award.[23] He was called up to the Ireland squad for their 2022 tour of New Zealand[24] and their two-match tour of South Africa in July 2024.[25] He made his 150th appearance for Ulster against Connacht in October 2024.[26]
