Full name Michael Gerard (Martin) Doyle
Born
October 13, 1941, Castleisland
Died
May 11, 2004, Co Tyrone (aged 62 years 211 days)
Major teams British and Irish Lions, Cambridge University, Ireland
Position Flanker
|
Span | Mat | Start | Sub | Pts | Tries | Conv | Pens | Drop | GfM | Won | Lost | Draw | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All Tests | 1965-1968 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 59.52 |
Ireland | 1965-1968 | 20 | 20 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 62.5 |
British and Irish Lions | 1968-1968 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Five/Six Nations | 1965-1968 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 53.12 |
Test debut | Ireland v France at Lansdowne Road, Jan 23, 1965 match details |
Last Test | Ireland v Australia at Lansdowne Road, Oct 26, 1968 match details |
Test Statsguru | Main menu | Career summary | Match list | Most points | Most tries | Tournament list |
Mick Doyle played for Ireland and the British Lions as a flanker before going on to success as Ireland's coach. He was also a respected and hard-hitting journalist with the Evening Herald and the Sunday Independent and, in his full-time job as a vet, a leading expert on poultry diseases.
Doyle won 20 consecutive caps for Ireland and toured South Africa with the Lions in 1968, as well as winning a Blue for Cambridge University in 1965. He then moved into coaching and guided Leinster to inter-provincial championship honours for five years in succession (1979 and 1983). From there he went on to coach Ireland to a Triple Crown and Five Nations Championship success in 1985, his side popular for their running game which he encouraged.
In New Zealand for the 1987 World Cup, he suffered a heart attack, returning to the bench before the tournament was over, and he had retired from his active role when struck down by a brain haemorrhage in 1996. He recovered from that and returned to journalism, only to be killed in a car crash in 2004.
Doyle lived the game as hard as he played it and was renowned as a raconteur. His famous "give it a lash" mantra to his players summed up his own attitude to life.
Martin Williamson
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