Michael Rice (born 27 January 1984) is an Irish hurling selector and hurler who plays for Kilkenny Intermediate Championship club Carrickshock. He was a member of the Kilkenny senior hurling team for 12 years, during which time he usually lined out at midfield. Rice is currently a selector with the Kilkenny under-20 hurling team.
Playing career
Carrickshock
After much success at underage levels, including several minor and under-21 championships, Rice quickly joined the Carrickshock senior team.
In 2004 Rice won a county intermediate championship medal with Carrickshock following a narrow 0–14 to 1–10 defeat of Mooncoin. He later won a Leinster intermediate winners' medal as Carrickshock defeated St Patrick's of Wexford by 2–16 to 0–7 in the inaugural provincial decider. Power's side were subsequently defeated by Kildangan in the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Hurling Championship decider.
Kilkenny
Minor and under-21
Rice first played for Kilkenny as a 17-year-old member of the minor team during the 2001 Leinster Championship. He made his first appearance for the team on 27 June 2001 in a 1–14 to 1–06 defeat of Dublin. On 8 July 2001, Rice won a Leinster Championship medal after lining out at right wing-back in Kilkenny's 3–16 to 1–09 defeat of Wexford in the final.
Rice was appointed captain of the team for the 2002 Leinster Championship. He won a second successive Leinster Championship medal on 7 July 2002 following Kilkenny's 2–15 to 2–08 defeat of Wexford in the final. On 8 September 2002, Rice captained Kilkenny to an All-Ireland final meeting with Tipperary. Lining out at midfield, he ended the game with a winners' medal following the 3–15 to 1–07 victory.
On 11 June 2003, Rice made his first appearance for the Kilkenny under-21 team when he lined out at midfield in a 2–18 to 0-10 Leinster Championship defeat of Offaly. He won a Leinster Championship medal on 16 July 2003 after again lining out at midfield in a 0–12 to 1–04 defeat of Dublin in the final. On 21 September 2003, Rice won an All-Ireland medal after Kilkenny's 2–13 to 0–12 defeat of Galway in the final.
Rice was dropped from the starting fifteen for the 2004 Leinster Championship. In spite of this he won a second successive Leinster Championship medal, albeit as a non-playing substitute, on 14 July 2004 following Kilkenny's 1–16 to 2–03 defeat of Wexford in the final. On 18 September 2004, Rice was again named amongst the substitutes when Kilkenny faced Tipperary in the All-Ireland final. He was introduced as a substitute for James Fitzpatrick and collected a second successive winners' medal after scoring a point in the 3–21 to 1–06 victory.
On 20 July 2005, Rice won a third successive Leinster Championship medal after being reinstated to the starting fifteen for Kilkenny's 0–17 to 1–10 defeat of Dublin in the final. He was again named at midfield when Kilkenny faced Galway in the All-Ireland final on 18 September 2005. In his last game in the under-21 grade, Rice ended on the losing side following a 1–15 to 1–14 defeat.
Senior
Rice was drafted onto the Kilkenny senior panel in advance of the 2005 National League. He was an unused substitute throughout the campaign but collected a winners' medal on 2 May 2005 following Kilkenny's 3–20 to 0–15 defeat of Clare in the final. Rice retained his position as a member of the panel for the 2005 Leinster Championship. He won a Leinster Championship medal as a non-playing substitute on 7 July 2005 after a 0–22 to 1–16 defeat of Wexford in the final.
On 13 February 2006, Rice made his competitive debut for Kilkenny when he came on as a 53rd-minute substitute for Michael Fennelly and scored three points in a 1–26 to 1-13 National League defeat of Laois. He made his Leinster Championship debut on 10 June 2006 when he came on as a 48th-minute substitute for Martin Comerford in a 1–23 to 1–09 defeat of Westmeath. On 2 July 2006, Rice started the Leinster final at left wing-forward and ended the game with a second successive winners' medal after a 1–23 to 2–12 defeat of Wexford. The All-Ireland final on 3 September 2006 saw Rice drop to the substitutes' bench once again, however, he ended the game with a winners' medal after a 1–16 to 1–13 defeat of Cork.