From scrum to sun: Irish rugby player swaps pitch for Mallorca as he joins Love Island

Rugby Union player Conor Phillips from Dooradoyle, County Limerick is set to appear on the latest season of the popular dating show Love Island.

The 25-year-old professional rugby player has said he is looking for a "dominant woman" who is "a bit of a go-getter."

Conor Phillips will join the 2025 line-up for the reality show which films in Mallorca following the exit of islander Kyle Ashman.

Speaking about the type of woman he's looking for, Conor said: "Someone who is really sure of themselves, ambitious, a bit of a go-getter and good craic."

READ NEXT: 'She was always there' - Tributes paid to Louis Walsh’s late mother Maureen at touching funeral

Despite this, he added: "I don’t like to answer to anyone else. I like to do my own thing. It’s something I’m working on for a relationship. Hopefully I’ve improved!"

When asked if Maya Jama would hire or fire him based on his flirting skills, Conor said: "Definitely hire. I ask girls if they want to go halves on a baby. It doesn’t work, but it gets them laughing. It’s an ice-breaker, not a serious question of course!"

His biggest ick is someone being too needy, or needing to do everything together. "I like someone to be independent and do their own thing and then we come together and do our thing."

According to the Limerick man, his secret hobby is singing. "My go to is Mario’s ‘Let Me Love You’. I’ve sang in front of a lot of people before. If it’s your first rugby match you have to get on the bus and sing -they loved it!"

He was a Grand Slam winner with the Ireland U20s in 2019 and is also an Ireland 7s international, featuring in the Sevens World Series. Conor made his senior debut for Munster against Zebre at Musgrave Park in October 2022. He was released by Munster in recent years and has been playing in the All-Ireland League with Terenure in Dublin.

Conor will replace Kyle Ashman, who decided to quit the reality show just days before the launch after The Sun reported that Kyle had been involved in a violent attack in February.

He was one of two people arrested by police, but was subsequently released with no further action, and has since confirmed to MailOnline that he had no involvement in the incident.

Love Island returns to screens this Monday, June 9 at 9pm on Virgin Media Two and Virgin Media Play.