Mick Doyle
Ireland
player portrait
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

Test career
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

Career statistics
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
Profile

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

Latest Articles
Flying fruit and bottles at Lansdowne Road (Mar 9, 1900) Leicester undone by the mystery 16th man (Jan 23, 1900)
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Feb 10, 1966
Mick Doyle
Mick Doyle
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