The Lynagh Brothers

By Felix Payne

I first came across the Lynagh brothers when I saw a picture of Louis in the corridor, alongside a poster saying that he played for Harlequins. I remember being so amazed that less than a year ago, he was at this school.

I was very interested in him, and when I saw that he had been signed for Italy and had moved to Benneton Rugby (an Italian club), I was flabbergasted at how in just five years he had gone from being a Hampton school boy, to an international rugby player.

I had to find more about him.

I first looked at Louis’ brothers. I was intrigued when I saw that his younger brother Tom played for Queensland Reds. I then looked at Nick Lynagh, who also went to Hampton, and in 2024, was signed for the Harlequins senior academy.

This was a trio of extreme talent. I soon found out the source. Their father is an ex-Australian rugby player. At the end of his career, Micheal Lynagh had 72 caps for Australia and had been captain for two years (from 1993 to 1995). 

The mum of the Lynaghs is from Italy, so they had a three-way passport. Italy, UK, and Australia

Louis

Louis was born in Treviso, Italy, which is also where both of his brothers were born. The Lynagh family moved to England when Louis was 4 and he attended Hampton School. He joined the Harlequins academy when he was 13 years old, making his debut for the professional team in 2019 against Leicester tigers and marking the occasion with a try. 

Louis then signed a two-year contract with the Italian Benneton Rugby from 2024-2025. Lynagh also represented the England U16 team and in the summer of 2018, was part of the U18 side that toured South Africa. 

In the September of 2021, he received a call up from the England head coach Eddie Jones for the Summer training camp although he was not capped. And then in February 2024, he received a call up from the head coach of the Italian team, Gonzalo Quesada, to play in the next Six Nations tournament. 

He played on the wing for his debut match against Scotland where he scored a try helped Italy to a win. Now he is still playing for Benetton in the United Rugby Championship, as well as the Italian national team. This young player has a long road ahead of him, with great prospects in his future. Now onto his brother, Nick Lynagh, who earlier this year received his first contract with the Harlequins senior academy. 

Nick

He was a standout talent from a young age, as he started playing for the Hampton 1^st XV when he was only in fifth year, although in the last few months he has been hampered by injuries. Hampton school was very proud of him and his brother Louis, for they both graduated from Hampton to Quinns. 

When they announced his arrival in the setup, Harlequins said that they were excited by him and stated him as another incredibly talented Lynagh brother. Mr Beatie (head of rugby at Hampton) said “Everyone one at Hampton is delighted for Nick.  A talented winger and he has been a big part of rugby at Hampton since joining in third year, and we look forward to seeing him develop as a player with Harlequins.”

Nick also stated that he was incredibly grateful for the opportunity and that he realised that this had been a dream for him since his childhood. He is much admired, and he is a great prospect for Harlequins. These two Hamptonians will stay in the school’s memory. And the third brother. Tom Lynagh. 

Tom

Tom is the only brother that did not attend Hampton; he attended Epsom college in Surrey. Originally, Tom was a member of Harlequins, alongside his brother Louis. It was when he was 17 that he faced a life-changing decision: he received an offer from the Queensland Reds. He had played so much great rugby in England, but they had spotted his talent and potential in Australia, and he accepted the offer. Tom had a great time with them and was soon named in the junior Wallabies squad in 2023. He had made the right decision.

In the words of Paul Burke, former Harlequins fly half and Lynagh’s director of rugby at Epsom, “he had great opportunities in England, but he followed his heart and did what he wanted to do”. He added, “It was a big step out of his comfort zone without his mum and dad and establishing himself into a new environment”. He committed to the green and gold of the Wallabies even though he was still eligible to play for Italy or England, following in the great footsteps of his father.

He made his Australia debut when he came off the bench against Wales on the 6^{th of} June 2024. On just his third match for Australia, he got hurt by an illegal hit from Tom Curry, but showed his potential and calm nature and didn’t make a big deal of it. Joe Schmit, the Australian head coach, made a bold move to start Lynagh in the opening Lions test in Brisbane, but he clearly had an eye on the future of Australian rugby and Tom developing as a player. 

Tom said after that game, “This is something that I have always wanted to do. I am living in the dream.”

 Tom is still playing for Australia, and exactly like his siblings, he has a very bright future indeed.

But now I still have some questions that are lingering in my mind. How do we explain the remarkable success of the three brothers? Is it because of their dad or is there more to it? Michael Lynagh was a legend of the game and played many games for Australia, Benneton and Saracens. He was a great player and has strongly influenced his three sons, playing a massive role in their development as players. 

But is that all?

Louis is very complimentary about and grateful to Hampton school rugby. In a talk with his dad (at Hampton), he said that he had so many memories, with his favourite one against Dulwich school, with a stunning try at the end of the match to beat their arch-rivals. He added that he felt happy coming back to Hampton and present himself in front of hundreds of Hamptonians.

His brother Nick said, “I am so grateful for my amazing life at Hampton and for all the others that helped me along the way.” Tom Lynagh also had a great time at Epsom college. He played in the 1^st XI for rugby, football and cricket. Epsom’s director of rugby Paul Burke, praised him as a “great and humble kid.” After leaving school he has maintained strong ties with the school and when a tragedy at Epsom happened in 2023, he stated that he was shaken and devastated. He reached out to many old teachers and friends. When he made his test debut for Australia, Epsom college proudly promoted and celebrated it.

So, the question is, is the secret of their talent their heritage, or the superb schools they went to?