Ivan Soroka (born 1 October 1994) is a rugby union player born in Ukraine, and who grew up in Ireland. He plays as a prop. Soroka previously played for Irish provincial side Connacht in the Pro14. Soroka joined Connacht for the 2016–17 season, having spent the preseason on trial with the team.
| Date of birth | 1 October 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Place of birth | Kyiv, Ukraine | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 110 kg (17 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Belvedere College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | UCD | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Alex Soroka (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Early life
editSoroka was born in Kyiv. He grew up in Dublin and attended Belvedere College, playing for the school's rugby team in the Leinster Senior Schools Cup and has since coached the team.[1] While playing for Belvedere, Soroka also played for Leinster at under-age level.[2]
Rugby career
editAmateur career
editSoroka played at amateur club level for UCD, Clontarf in the All-Ireland League. He won an under 20 Interprovincial championship in 2013, Leinster Senior Cup in 2015 and an AIL title in 2016 with the team.[3][4]
Connacht
editSoroka trained with provincial side Connacht in the 2016–17 preseason, being part of the team's squad for a friendly with Montpellier.[5] In October 2016, it was announced that he had signed a one-year contract with the side, his first professional team. On 1 April 2017, Soroka made his debut for Connacht off the bench in the loss to Zebre.[6]
International
editSoroka was born in Kyiv, but has never represented any Ukrainian side. He is qualified to play for Ireland internationally, but did not represent any Irish under-age teams. Soroka has however played for the Irish national club team.[7]
References
edit- ^ "Tony Ward's Leinster school-by-school guide". Irish Independent. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ "LEINSTER U-20S DEFEAT LEICESTER ACADEMY..." Leinster Rugby. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ "Clontarf win the Leinster Senior Cup". Clontarf FC. 20 January 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ "Clontarf Claim Second Title After Thrilling League Final". Irish Rugby. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ "Kelleher wears 15 for Connacht as O'Brien selected in second row". The42. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ "Connacht announce 4 contract extensions plus the addition of a Ukrainian-born prop". The42. 3 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- ^ "Smyth try helps Ireland club side defeat French counterparts". Irish Times. 12 February 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.