Luca Anthony Hoole (born 2 June 2002) is a Welsh professional footballer who plays as a full-back or centre-back for Bristol Rovers and the Wales national under-21 football team.
![]() Hoole playing for Bristol Rovers in 2022. | |||
Personal information | |||
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Full name | Luca Anthony Hoole[1] | ||
Date of birth | (2002-06-02) 2 June 2002 (age 20) | ||
Place of birth | Newport, Wales[2] | ||
Position(s) | Full-back, centre-back | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Bristol Rovers | ||
Number | 30 | ||
Youth career | |||
2014–2019 | Bristol Rovers | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2019– | Bristol Rovers | 29 | (1) |
2020 | → Taunton Town (loan) | 0 | (0) |
National team‡ | |||
2019 | Wales U19 | 2 | (0) |
2022– | Wales U21 | 1 | (0) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:24, 9 May 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11:21, 15 June 2022 |
Hoole attended Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw, a Welsh language school in Pontypool.[3] In 2014, Hoole joined the Bristol Rovers academy.[4] In April 2018, Bristol Rovers confirmed Hoole had signed a scholarship with the club.[5] On 3 September 2019, Hoole made his debut for Bristol Rovers in a 1–1 EFL Trophy draw against Plymouth Argyle.[6]
On 30 October 2020, Hoole joined Taunton Town on a one-month loan deal.[7] Taunton played one match, a match that Hoole was not registered in time to feature in, before football was suspended on account of the lockdown measures brought in for COVID-19.[8]
After impressing for the club in pre-season, Hoole made his league debut on the opening day of the 2021–22 season, impressing in the right-back position during a 2–1 away defeat to Mansfield Town.[9] On 29 January 2022, Hoole received a first sending off of his career as he received two bookings in the space of five first-half minutes as ten-man Rovers scored a last-minute winner to defeat Walsall.[10] In February 2022, Hoole signed a new two-year extension to his contract.[11] Following a 4–0 thrashing of Stevenage, Rovers' manager Joey Barton said that Hoole had made the right-back position his own having dipped in and out of the team earlier in the season.[12] On 26 February 2022, Hoole scored a first senior goal with the opener in a 1–1 draw with Exeter City.[13] Hoole's first senior season ended with Rovers overtaking Northampton Town on the final day of the season to gain automatic promotion by goals scored, a dramatic 7–0 victory over Scunthorpe United securing this feat.[14]
Ahead of the 2022–23 season, Hoole featured for the club in pre-season in a less familiar centre-back role, impressing as Rovers defeated Championship side Stoke City.[15] For the first match of the new season, Hoole continued in this role with defensive partner James Connolly as Rovers fell to a late 2–1 defeat against Forest Green Rovers.[16]
On 13 November 2019, Hoole made his debut for Wales under-19's in a 3–0 win against Poland U19.[17]
In May 2022, Hoole was called up to the Wales U21 team for the first time for the final 2023 U21 European Championship qualifiers against the Netherlands and Gibraltar.[18][19] Hoole made his debut in the second of the two matches, coming off of the bench with fifteen minutes left as Wales finished their campaign with a 2–0 win.[20]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Bristol Rovers | 2019–20[22] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 |
2020–21[23] | League One | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
2021–22[24] | League Two | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 32 | 1 | |
Career total | 29 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
Bristol Rovers F.C. – current squad | |
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