25 Facts About Jake Heenan

Jake Heenan was born on 17 March 1992 and is a rugby union player from New Zealand.

Jake Heenan played for Connacht from 2013 to 2018, winning a Pro12 title with the side in 2016.

Jake Heenan was integral in the Bears first European trophy with Challenge Cup victory over Toulon.

Jake Heenan captained the New Zealand under-20s at the 2012 Junior World Championship.

Jake Heenan was born in Whangarei, and grew up on a farm outside the city with his father and brother, while his mother lived in Auckland.

Jake Heenan graduated from Whangarei Boys' High School and went on to study at Unitec Institute of Technology in Auckland.

Jake Heenan has worked as an ambassador with Dochas don Oige, a community-based training service for troubled youths in Galway on the back of his own experiences growing up.

Jake Heenan was part of the Northland Rugby Union's academy as a teenager and was the captain of his school's team.

Jake Heenan signed with Auckland, following successes with the New Zealand schoolboys team.

Jake Heenan was part of the Blues development programme and played for the Blues under-18 team when they won the national competition.

Jake Heenan joined former Blues coach Pat Lam, who had been appointed as the team's head coach.

Jake Heenan made his debut for the side on 7 September 2013, coming off the bench against Zebre in the Pro12.

Jake Heenan's first start came in an Irish provincial derby with Ulster, where Heenan played the full 80 minutes.

Jake Heenan made his Heineken Cup debut on 11 October 2013, starting against Saracens.

Jake Heenan was named as Connacht's player of the month for October 2013, only one month after his debut.

Jake Heenan played the full match at openside flanker for Connacht as they produced one of the biggest shocks in the history of the competition, beating four-time champions Toulouse in the pool stages in the Stade Ernest-Wallon.

Jake Heenan made a total of 12 league and six European appearances in his first season, but missed the second half of the season after suffering a shoulder injury against Saracens in January 2014.

Jake Heenan returned in February 2015, but broke down again against Cardiff Blues in March which ruled him out for the rest of the season.

Jake Heenan suffered further injury setback during the off-season and had further surgery on his shoulder.

Jake Heenan went on to make 11 appearances in the Pro12 however, including playing the full 80 minutes in the Grand Final as Connacht won the competition for the first time.

Jake Heenan was announced by English Premiership contenders Bristol as having signed for the 2018 season since has played 58 times with 25 points.

Jake Heenan is a former New Zealand schools player and played for the New Zealand under-20s.

Jake Heenan captained the under-20s at the 2012 Junior World Championship, where the team lost to South Africa in the final.

Jake Heenan became qualified to play for Ireland in June 2016 after completing three years of residency in the country.

Jake Heenan has dual passport and thus qualifying for England and New Zealand.