| Birth name | Daniel Kelly | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 16 June 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 15 st 11 lb (221 lb; 100 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Daniel Kelly (born 16 June 2001)[1] is an English professional rugby union player for Leicester Tigers in Premiership Rugby. His usual position is centre.[2] Born in Manchester, England, Kelly represented Ireland Under 20s,[3] before being capped for the England national team in 2021.
Kelly started playing rugby at under six years old for Rochdale RUFC, in Greater Manchester.[4] He joined Kirkham Grammar School at 16 and was part of the Sale Sharks academy set up.[5] Due to a number of other players considered more talented he was not offered a professional contract at 18 so joined Loughborough University.[6]
On 10 April 2020 Kelly signed for Leicester Tigers, joining for the end of the delayed 2019-20 Premiership Rugby season.[7] He made his debut as a substitute in a 46–30 defeat to Gloucester at Kingsholm.[8] He quickly became a regular starter at inside centre, and by April 2022 was being highlighted by team mates as a defence leader as Leicester prepared for a European Rugby Champions Cup round of 16 tie with Clermont Auvergne.[9]
On 8th of July 2021 Kelly has been selected to play for his first cap for England,[10] and he made his international debut for England on 10 July 2021 against Canada at Twickenham. He was part of Leicester‘s championship winning team in the 2021–22 Premiership Rugby season.
