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Ian James T. Keatley (born 1 April 1987) is an Irish rugby union player. He plays primarily as a fly-half, but can also play as a centre or fullback.
In the following season, Keatley continued to be a regular player for Connacht. He played in all 18 of Connacht's 2009–10 Celtic League games, 13 of these appearances coming as starts. In the 2009–10 Challenge Cup, Keatley played in all of Connacht's group games, starting in four and coming on as a replacement in the other two. Connacht won all of their group games to enter the knockout as top seeds. Keatley started in the province's quarter-final win over Bourgoin, kicking two conversions and a penalty. In the semi-final, Connacht faced a RC Toulonnais side featuring Jonny Wilkinson. Keatley kicked all of Connacht's points in the game, as the province were beaten 19–12. Keatley scored a total of 208 points for Connacht over the 2009–10 season.
In the 2010–11 season, Keatley's former coach from the Ireland Under-20 team, Eric Elwood, took over as Connacht coach. With the expansion of the competition to include 12 teams, Keatley featured in all 22 of Connacht's 2010–11 Celtic League games, with just two of his appearances coming as a replacement. In the 2010–11 Challenge Cup, Keatley started all six of the team's games as they failed to qualify for the knock-out stages, finishing second in their group to eventual champions Harlequins. He scored a total of 295 points for the province throughout both competitions.
After his three seasons with Connacht Rugby, Keatley was the province's record points scorer, with a total of 688 points. He left Connacht at the end of the 2010–11 season, joining another Irish province, this time going to Munster Rugby.
Keatley signed a two-year contract extension with Munster in January 2013. He won the Man-of-the-Match award in Munster's opening 2013–14 Pro12 victory against Edinburgh Rugby on 7 September 2013. He kicked 14 points in Munster's 19–15 win against Leinster Rugby on 5 October 2013, a game in which he also won the Man-of-the-Match award. Keatley won another Man-of-the-Match award in Munster's 18–14 away win against Dragons on 29 November 2013, a game in which he kicked all of Munster's points. Keatley was nominated for the 2014 Munster Rugby Senior Player of the Year award on 1 May 2014.
Keatley scored 21 points in Munster's 34–23 away win against Leinster Rugby on 4 October 2014. He scored the winning drop-goal in Munster's first game in the European Rugby Champions Cup against Sale Sharks on 18 October 2014. He was the Man-of-the-Match in Munster's 38–12 away win against Dragons on 21 November 2014, scoring 13 points. It was announced on 7 January 2015 that Keatley had signed a two-year contract extension with Munster. Keatley scored 15 points, including a try, and won the Man-of-the-Match award in Munster's 35–27 win against Cardiff Blues on 17 October 2015. On 2 January 2016, Keatley scored all of Munster's points in their 9–7 win against Ulster Rugby, earning the Man-of-the-Match award.
On 1 October 2016, Keatley kicked 6 points in Munster's 49–5 win against Zebre in a 2016–17 Pro12 fixture. In doing so, he crossed the 1,000-point mark for the province. On 2 December 2016, Keatley scored the winning drop-goal in Munster's 15–16 away win against Glasgow Warriors. On 6 May 2017, Keatley made his 150th appearance for Munster during their 50–14 victory against Connacht Rugby, in which he scored 15 points off the kicking tee and won the Man-of-the-Match award. On 19 May 2017, it was announced that Keatley had signed a two-year contract extension with Munster. Keatley was Man-of-the-Match in Munster's 2017–18 Pro14 Round 5 victory against Cardiff Blues on 30 September 2017. He scored 20 points off the kicking tee in Munster's 25–16 away win against Leicester Tigers in the 2017–18 Champions Cup on 17 December 2017. In Munster's Champions Cup quarter-final against RC Toulonnais on 31 March 2017, Keatley converted Andrew Conway's 74th minute try to earn Munster a 20–19 win.
At the time of his departure from Munster for London Irish in January 2019, Keatley was Munster's second all-time highest points scorer with 1,247 in his 180 appearances for the province. He was also third on the all-time list for points scored in the United Rugby Championship with 1,428, and fifth on the list for appearances with 196.
Keatley joined Scottish club Glasgow Warriors in January 2021 on a contract for the remainder of the 2020–21 season, providing fly-half cover for the injured Adam Hastings and Peter Horne. Keatley said of the move: "This club is a top-quality outfit and I'm relishing the chance to be able to play alongside some of its top-quality talent.".
Keatley replaced Ross Thompson in the Warriors' match against Zebre on 6 March 2021, becoming Glasgow Warrior No. 325 and scoring 3 conversions in Glasgow's 31–20 bonus point win over the Italian side. Keatley was released by Glasgow at the end of the 2020–21 season.
Keatley was drafted into Ireland's training squad for the 2013 Six Nations Championship on 21 January 2013. Keatley played for Ireland Wolfhounds in their friendly against England Saxons on 25 January 2013. Keatley was named in the Emerging Ireland squad to take part in the 2013 IRB Tbilisi Cup on 19 May 2013. He started against Georgia in Emerging Ireland's first game of the tournament on 7 June 2013, scoring 15 points in his sides 20–15 victory. Keatley also started the 19–8 defeat against South Africa President's XV on 11 June 2013. He scored 22 points against Uruguay in Emerging Ireland's 42–33 victory on 16 June 2013, a win which secured his side a second-place finish at the tournament.
In January 2014, Keatley was included in the provisional 44-man squad for the 2014 Six Nations Championship. He came off the bench for Ireland Wolfhounds in their friendly against England Saxons on 25 January 2014. Keatley was again selected in the Emerging Ireland squad when it was announced on 26 May 2014. He started against Russia in their first 2014 IRB Nations Cup match on 13 June 2014, scoring a try and four conversions. Keatley came off the bench in their second game against Uruguay on 18 June 2014, scoring 3 points. He started in the 31–10 win Romania on 22 June 2014, a win that secured the 2014 IRB Nations Cup for Emerging Ireland.
Keatley was named in the Ireland squad for the 2014 autumn internationals on 21 October 2014. He came off the bench in the 49–7 win against Georgia on 16 November 2014. He was named in the Ireland squad for the opening rounds of the 2015 Six Nations Championship on 1 February 2015. He started in the first game against Italy on 7 February 2015, scoring 14 points in Ireland's 26–3 win. In January 2017, Keatley was added to the Ireland squad for the 2017 Six Nations Championship as injury cover for Johnny Sexton. Having been selected in the squad for the 2017 Autumn Internationals, Keatley came off the bench against Fiji on 18 November 2017 and scored the winning penalty in Ireland's 23–20 victory.
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