Andrew Browne

Andrew Browne (born 21 January 1987) is a rugby union player from Ireland. Browne is a versatile forward, able to play as a flanker or a lock. Browne most recently played professionally for Irish provincial side Connacht Rugby. His older brother Damian Browne is also a rugby player, and formerly played for Connacht and Leinster.

Early life Browne was born in Galway and grew up in Renmore. He attended St. Joseph's Patrician College, commonly known as The Bish. Browne played rugby for local clubs Our Lady's Boys Club and Galwegians. When was growing up his brother Damian, who is seven years older than him, played for Connacht, but the older Browne left the team in 2004, almost three years before Andrew made his own debut.

Browne studied at NUI Galway.

Career Connacht A product of the province's academy, Browne made his senior debut for Connacht in the 2006–07 Celtic League, coming on as a replacement against the Cardiff Blues on 7 April 2007, in a match that finished level, at 16 points apiece. He made one further appearance in the league that season, also as a replacement.

Browne made his first ever European appearance in the 2007–08 European Challenge Cup, coming on as a replacement against El Salvador. He also made his first start for Connacht during the season, lining out against Edinburgh in the 2007–08 Celtic League on 21 March 2008. In addition to this, Browne started one other game and made three appearances from the bench in the league that season.

Browne played in only two games in the 2009–10 European Challenge Cup as Connacht reached the semi-finals.

The following season saw Browne once again playing regular first team rugby for Connacht. He played in all six of the team's games in the 2010–11 Challenge Cup, but Connacht failed to progress from their group. He made a total of 16 appearances in the league that season, 13 of these coming as starts.

Elwood left his post at the end of the 2012–13 season and was replaced by Pat Lam. In Lam's first season in charge, Browne made 18 appearances in the league, starting 11 times.

Browne suffered from injury issues in the 2014–15 season, which limited the number of appearances he made.

International Browne has represented Ireland internationally at youth level, playing for the country at Under 19 and Under 20 level. He was part of the Irish team that won the Grand Slam in the U20 Six Nations in 2007. The grand slam winning team was coached by Browne's future Connacht coach Eric Elwood. Browne has also played for the second tier international "A" side, known as the Ireland Wolfhounds.

Coaching Career Browne worked as player development officer with Connacht and became part of the coaching team of the Ireland national under-20 rugby union team in 2024. In October 2025 he took over as head coach from Neil Doak . Under his leadership, Ireland won the Triple Crown in the 2026 Six Nations Under 20s Championship.