John Cooney is currently a scrum-half for Ulster and scored 139 points in the 2022-23 United Rugby Championship season. In his career – which has also included spells at Leinster and Connacht – Cooney has amassed 11 caps for Ireland, scoring seven points in the process. Known for his analytical approach to kicking, he has told Rugby world in the past: “We’re pushing the boundaries with our environment. They say the more curious you get, the more curious you get. I’ve talked to other teams and they don’t seem to have any similarity with the things we’ve tried with kicking routines and the different things we’ve tried.”