Birth name | Andrew Matchett | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 25 May 1969 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
School | Portadown College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Andrew Matchett (born 25 May 1969) is an Irish former rugby union player. He played scrum-half for Portadown, Ballymena, Bedford, Belfast Harlequins, and Ulster, with whom he won the 1998-99 Heineken Cup.
Educated at Edenderry Primary School, where he was introduced to mini-rugby, then Killicomaine Junior High School and Portadown College. Played for Ulster and Ireland at schools and under-21 level.[1]
Joined Portadown Rugby Club,[1] where his father Marshall was president.[2]
He was first selected for Ulster in 1990. After being an unused substitute against Yorkshire on 1 September,[3] he made his representative debut against Spain on 4 September,[1] while a Business Studies student at the University of Ulster.[2]
After Portadown failed to gain promotion to the All-Ireland League, he moved to AIL club Ballymena in 1991.[4]
In March 1997 he signed a short-term contract with Bedford in Division 2 of the Courage League.[5] After they were promoted to Division 1 he was offered a full-time contract for the following season, but turned it down.[6]
In the summer of 1997 he was selected for an Ireland Development tour to New Zealand and Western Samoa.[7] He was selected a number of times on the bench for Ireland A, without being capped.[8]
He captained Ulster against the Spanish Barbarians in San Sebastian in June 1998.[9]
He was part of Ulster's 1998-99 Heineken Cup-winning team, while holding a day job in insurance. The final was his 60th Ulster cap.[8]
Joined Belfast Harlequins in 1999. He retired from senior rugby in 2003, but in 2005 was recalled to the Harlequins first team due to injuries at scrum-half, and helped them to the All-Ireland League final,[10] which they lost to Shannon.[11]
In 2005 he organised, and appeared in, an Ulster European Cup Reunion XV to against Clogher Valley in the first match on their new pitch.[12]
Represented the Irish Rugby Legends at the World Rugby Legends Festival in South Africa in 2006.[13]
Total Ulster caps: 62