Player

Josh van der Flier

Back-row - Leinster - Wesley College - UCD

Profile

Josh van der Flier's pathway runs through Wesley College, UCD and the Leinster Academy, and it is one of the best examples of a player growing into a role rather than being fixed in one from the start. He played scrum-half as a young player, moved into the back row at school, played across the loose forwards at UCD, and eventually became one of the best opensides in the world.

The Wesley College link is central to the profile. Van der Flier is one of the school's most important rugby alumni, and his pathway shows how a player outside the very top Senior Cup schools can still reach the highest level through good development, club rugby and university rugby. He then moved through UCD, where both his rugby and academic pathway became part of the same Belfield story.

His Leinster and Ireland rise was steady rather than sudden. Van der Flier made his Leinster debut in 2014, became a senior contract player in 2015, and won his first Ireland cap in 2016. From there he developed into a breakdown specialist with exceptional work rate, before his game expanded further as a carrier, support runner and link player.

The peak recognition came in 2022, when he was named World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year. By 2025/26, his pathway links Wesley College, UCD, Leinster, Ireland U20, senior Ireland and the British & Irish Lions. It is a profile that should be especially useful for showing users that elite rugby pathways are not confined to the biggest schools.

Linked Public Pages

• Wesley College
• UCD

Related Matches

Public Honours And Pathway Tags

• British & Irish Lions 2025