Conor O'Shea  Conor O'Shea () (born 21 October 1970) is an Irish rugby union coach and former player. He was the head coach of the Italy national team from 2016 to 2019. He played as a full back and occasionally at out-half and centre for Ireland, Lansdowne and London Irish. He has also coached London Irish and Harlequins, and held management positions with the English Rugby Football Union and the English Institute of Sport. O'Shea was born in County Limerick. He went to Terenure College in Dublin, which is one of the main rugby nurseries in Ireland. He was coached by the respected John McClean. He attended University College Dublin where he completed a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and began his representative career. O'Shea then completed a Diploma in Legal Studies at the Dublin Institute of Technology and a Master's of Sports Science degree in Sports Management in 1996 from the United States Sports Academy, known around the world as America's Sports University. His father, Jerome, was a famous Gaelic football player in the 1950s and won All-Ireland Championship medals with Kerry in 1953, 1955 and 1959. O'Shea started his rugby playing career at Terenure College, where he won the Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup in 1991. He briefly represented his university UCD before leaving in 1992. Upon leaving, he joined Lansdowne, and soon became a regular starter at fullback in the 1st XV. He was selected for provincial side Leinster in 1993, where in 1994 he helped Leinster secure their first Irish Interprovincial Rugby Championship title since 1984, despite the title being shared. He scored Leinster's first ever try in a professional European tournament, scoring against Italian side Milan in the inaugural Heineken Cup. Leinster topped their pool with a win over Pontypridd, but failed to progress past the semi-finals where they were defeated by Cardiff 23–14. In 1995, O'Shea moved to England so that he could play in a top division tournament, where he represented London Irish. He helped London Irish to promotion to the top division in England in his first season at the club, and helped his side to the semi-finals of the 1995–96 Pilkington Cup, losing to Leicester 46–21. In London Irish first season in the top flight division, they finished 10th, which meant they had to play in the Relegation/Promotion play–offs against Coventry - London Irish won on aggregate 42–23.