John Clune (rugby union)

John Clune

Full name	John Joseph Clune
Date of birth	(1890-04-02)2 April 1890
Place of birth	Ireland
Date of death	12 September 1942(1942-09-12) (aged 52)
Place of death	off Ascension Island
School	Blackrock College
University	Trinity College Dublin
Occupation(s)	Veterinarian
Rugby union career
Position(s) Hooker / Second row International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1912–14 Ireland 6 (0)

John Joseph Clune (2 April 1890 — 12 September 1942) was an Irish international rugby union player.

Clune was educated at Blackrock College and Trinity College Dublin. He was capped six times for Ireland, utilised as both a hooker and second row forward, making his debut against the touring 1912–13 Springboks.

After qualifying as a vet, Clune was commissioned to the Royal Army Veterinary Corps and served in Mesopotamia in World War I, then worked at veterinary hospitals in Kurdistan between the wars.

Clune was on a posting to the Indian Army during World War II and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel. On 12 September 1942, Clune was a passenger on RMS Laconia when it was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the West African coast in the South Atlantic. He was one of an estimated 1,600 people to die in the sinking.

See also

• List of Ireland national rugby union players

External links

• John Clune at ESPNscrum