ANDREW TRIMBLE, one of an exciting new breed of Irish backline talents, has seen his graph continue to rise in recent seasons with both Ulster and Ireland.

A Theology degree student, having previously studied at the Coleraine Institute, Trimble is a strong-running centre who was capped initially by Ireland Schools and Under-21s. An injury to Paul Steinmetz (jaw) helped him get his chance in the Ulster midfield in the autumn of 2005 and he has made the most of it, scoring a total of 18 tries in 41 games for the province, including two memorable efforts against Toulouse in last season's Heineken Cup.

Trimble, whose dashing runs bring back memories of 1990s hero Simon Geoghegan, made his senior debut for Ireland against Australia in November 2005, and he scored a brace of tries the following week against Romania.

Comfortable on the wing or at centre, he took his Test tally to six tries in 16 outings for Ireland by touching down against Scotland recently. 2006 was Trimble's best year to date as he was crowned Ulster Rugby Player of the Year and also scored Test tries against France, New Zealand and South Africa.

In 2007/08 Trimble was part of the Ireland Rugby World Cup squad and featured for Ireland both on the wing and in the centre. He did not take part in the 2008 Summer Tour in order to fully rehab.