Ireland Rugby Social: Ian McKinley, the Irish-born former Italian fly-half, speaks to Gavin Andrews and Conor Murray

Former Italian fly-half Ian McKinlay joins Gavin Andrews and Conor Murray on the latest episode of Irish Rugby Social on BBC Sport NI.

McKinley, a former Ireland U20 player who came through the Leinster academy, has won nine caps for the Azzurri despite losing the sight in his left eye in an accident while playing for University College Dublin (UCD) in 2010.

The Dubliner was initially forced to retire in 2011 when he was 21, but returned to action with the help of goggles in 2014 and played for Italy in the 2019 Six Nations Championship.

McKinley retired for the second time in 2021 after stints with Leonorso, Viadana, Zebre and Benetton.

“When you think about a lot of freak injuries that happen, it just happened to be a piece of metal (a nail) and an eye,” McKinley said.

“When you’re on a rugby field, things happen in a split second. If I got into the details, I was in trouble. I was illegal and trying to snatch the ball from someone on the ground. Classic stuff from half the pitch.”

“I went for the rip and found myself on my back. In that second I got a kick and a blow. I thought it was intentional because it was a direct movement. Thank God it wasn’t because you’re getting into murkier waters if that’s the case.

“But it’s one of those things. If I couldn’t come back to play for the second time, I would probably be angrier as a person and probably wouldn’t applaud the players as much, or be more critical of the players.”

“Fortunately that is not the case.”