Tim Dukelow

Timothy Lawrence Dukelow (born December 13 1988) is an Irish rugby union forward. His favoured position is number 8 but he has also been known to play blindside and openside flanker and even second row.

Early Life

Tim Dukelow was born in Kilkenny City and has French and Irish roots. The name Dukelow was actually changed from the french name Duclois when his ancestors moved from France to Bantry. Little is known of his early years in rugby. He made the last 30 for selection for the Leinster schoolboys while still in secondary school but was eventually cut at the last hurdle. It is widely believed that Dukelow was a superior underage hurler to his former Tullaraon teammate and current Kilkenny senior inter-county hurler Tommy Walsh. He was however forced to choose between his two great sporting loves and the young Dukelow chose rugby union.

Playing Style

Tim is naturally a very strong player and claims himself to have done less than 10 weight session in the gym in his life. This is quite remarkable comsidering he is a professional rugby player with Cork Constitution in Ireland. Another of "The Dukes" attributes is his deceptive speed and agility around the fringes and in open play.

Outside of Rugby

Dukelow is currently a third year medical student in University College Cork. Because of this he finds it hard to commit a lot of time to his rugby. Still, he somehow manages to train and compete at a high level.

Injuries

Throughout his playing career "Timbo" has been hampered by an injury to his left knee. This has plagued him for quite some time now. This injury coupled with a hectic college schedule has prevented Tim taking his game to the next level. Another theory for his plateau in developement is that he is overweight at 17stone. This is relatively heavy for a 6'2 player.