Nick Timoney (born 1 August 1995) is an Irish rugby union player, who plays in the back row for Ulster and Ireland. He is regarded as a "hybrid" player, an athletic forward with the pace of a back.^[3] He was named in the 2021–22 United Rugby Championship Dream Team.^[4]

In his youth, Timoney played number eight for Blackrock College in Dublin, helping his team win the 2013 Leinster Schools Senior Cup, and captaining his school during the successful 2014 season.^[5][6] He then played for St Mary's RFC in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League.^[7] He played for Leinster's age-grade teams up to under-20 level, and won eight caps for the Ireland under-20s, appearing in all three back row positions in the 2015 under-20 Six Nations and the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship, but was not offered a place in the Leinster academy.^[6] He turned down an offer from Pau in the French Top 14,^[3] and joined Ulster's academy on a two-year contract ahead of the 2015–16 season.^[6] He made his first senior start towards the end of the 2016–17 season,^[8] with director of rugby Les Kiss remarking that he had had a "very good year".^[9] He played as a forward for the Ireland national rugby sevens team that played in the 2017 Sevens Grand Prix Series and took first place in the 2017 Moscow Sevens.^[10]

He made 20 appearances for Ulster in the 2017–18 season, scoring five tries and making 222 tackles,^[11] and was named Young Player of the Year and Academy Player of the Year in the Ulster Rugby Awards.^[12] He was awarded his first senior contract in February 2018.^[13] In the 2018–19 season he made 27 appearances, and was the team's leading tackler with 303.^[14] In the 2020–21 season he made 17 appearances, making 212 tackles and 13 turnovers.^[15] After Marcell Coetzee's departure in March, he became the team's regular number eight,^[3] and was named Rugby Writers' Player of the Year in the Ulster Rugby Awards.^[16] In June 2021 he was called up to the senior Ireland squad for the Summer tests,^[17] and scored a try in his debut in a 71–10 victory over the United States on 10 July.^[18]

In the 2021–22 season, with the arrival of South African number eight Duane Vermeulen, he has primarily played at openside flanker.^[19] He captained Ulster for the first time on 20 February 2022 in an away win against Scarlets,^[20] and made his 100th appearance for the province in the second leg of the Champions Cup round of 16 tie against Toulouse in April the same year.^[21] He led the United Rugby Championship in tackles with 274, 64 ahead of Ulster teammate Alan O'Connor in second place.^[22] He also led the European Rugby Champions Cup in tackles at the end of the pool stage with 78,^[23] and was nominated for Ulster's men's player of the year award.^[24] He was called up to the Ireland squad for their 2022 tour of New Zealand.^[25]