Leinster Rugby v Dragons

ISSUE 13 | LEINSTER RUGBY OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME 

MICHAEL 

MILNE 

VAKH 

ABDALADZE 

ROSS 

BYRNE 

Ryan 

James 

JUN 

11 

20 

21 

KICK OFF 20:15

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FOR 

ACTION 

A sea of blue 

rising since 1879.

#LEIVDRA 

Newstead Building A, UCD, 

Belfield, Dublin 4 

Telephone: 

012693224 

Fax: 

012693142 

E-mail: 

information@leinsterrugby.ie 

www.leinsterrugby.ie 

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT 

President: John Walsh 

Chief Executive: Michael Dawson 

Honorary Secretary: Stuart Bayley 

Honorary Treasurer: Michael McGrail 

RUGBY MANAGEMENT 

Head Coach: Leo Cullen 

Senior Coach: Stuart Lancaster 

Head of Rugby Operations: 

Guy Easterby 

Assistant Coach: Robin McBryde 

Backs Coach: Felipe Contepomi 

Kicking Coach: Emmet Farrell 

Contact Skills Coach: Hugh Hogan 

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www.leinsterrugby.ie | 3 | From The Ground Up

JOHN WALSHWEL COME 

We extend a warm welcome to 

rugby fans joining us at the RDS 

Arena for our final game in the 

Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup 

against Welsh visitors Dragons. 

Our recent clashes with Dragons have 

resulted in Leinster victories with a 35- 

29 win in their historic Rodney Parade 

grounds in February of this year and a 

35-5 win at the RDS in October 2020. 

The ‘local derbies’ element to the 

competition has provided some 

outstanding games with very close 

outcomes. The excellent coverage of 

these games has been a major bonus 

for us fans who have been unable to 

attend to give our players our passionate 

support. 

Thank you to eir Sport for all you have 

done for the coverage of the games. 

This is the last Leinster Rugby game to 

be shown on your channel and we wish 

your staff and team the very best of 

luck for the future with eir Sport winding 

down. We have enjoyed immensely the 

coverage and the professionalism that 

you have brought to the Guinness PRO14 

and you will be missed. 

On behalf of Leinster Rugby we welcome 

the Dragons Management team of David 

Buttress (Chair), Dean Ryan (Director of 

Rugby) and Rhodri Williams (Captain) 

and travelling squad to the RDS. 

The restructured 2020/21 season has 

been a difficult one for Dragons but with 

Dean Ryan at the helm and young Welsh 

talent coming through better days are 

only around the corner. 

As we bring the curtain down on the 

2020/21 season, I’m sure that Dean 

Ryan and Williams will be motivating 

their players to avail of the opportunity 

to deliver a fitting performance against 

the reigning Guinness PRO14 Champions 

Leinster in our home here at the RDS. 

“Oh hard times come again no more” 

I am doubtful that since Leinster’s 

foundation in 1879 if we have ever 

encountered a 15-month period that 

has decimated our domestic rugby 

programmes to the extent that it has 

during this Covid pandemic. 

As the nationwide vaccination 

programme is making significant progress 

we are more optimistic than ever that 

there is a possibility that we can get 

back playing soon. We have effectively 

lost two playing seasons that involved in 

excess of 10,000 club and school fixtures 

that have impacted on our 73 clubs, 

120 schools and 13 third level colleges/ 

universities. 

The pandemic also brought into focus the 

important role that sport plays in our lives 

and communities both in terms of physical 

and mental wellness. 

All involved in Leinster Rugby are very 

appreciative of the Irish Government’s 

support for sporting organisations during 

this pandemic period and in particular 

to the financial support that they have 

allocated to the sector (€85 million to 42 

sporting organisations which included a 

sum of €18 million for distribution to the 

Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster 

provinces). 

A total of 59 Leinster based clubs have 

availed of approximately €2 million in 

grants and this is most appreciated by all 

as we face the challenge of re-energising 

and re-financing our domestic game, 

which serves as the bedrock from where 

our success has been achieved. 

During 20 seasons of representing my 

club, Naas RFC, on the various Leinster, 

IRFU and Area Committees I have to state 

that Leinster Rugby has always strived to 

be an inclusive and progressive outward 

looking sporting organisation. 

Leinster have had considerable success 

in developing the game of rugby in its 

many formats throughout our 12-county 

province. “From The Ground Up” is 

not a clever marketing statement that 

Leinster Rugby has adopted but it outlines 

our total belief that in order to have 

a progressive and sustainable rugby 

game in place we must establish a solid 

foundation from which to build on. 

Success is not a destination but a 

continuous journey and Leinster’s success 

record is the envy of many as we have 

developed and continue to expand our 

mini, youths, schools, U-20, third level 

colleges and mixed-ability programmes 

for boys and girls, men and women. 

To accomplish these progressive 

programmes Leinster Rugby has in excess 

of 300 elected individuals who serve on 

our 21 Leinster Committees and on the 

five Area Committees. These volunteers 

are so generous with their time and 

expertise in giving back to our sport the 

benefit of their knowledge and I wish to 

acknowledge and thank them on behalf 

of Leinster Rugby for their support during 

the past two seasons. 

A special word of thanks to Leinster’s 

Inclusivity Committee Members (Chaired 

by Moira Flahive) for the outstanding 

work that they have undertaken against 

the background of the pandemic in 

engaging with all our stakeholders in 

Leinster and in bringing forward several 

key amendments to our bye-laws for 

consideration at our recent Annual 

General Meeting. 

I am pleased to report that these changes 

received overwhelming acceptance by 

all our delegates. This will result in three 

additional Leinster Rugby clubs gaining 

direct representation on the Executive 

Committee for 2021/22. 

We extend a welcome to Railway Union 

(Founded 1905), Suttonians (1924) 

and Wicklow (1963) as they join the 

18 existing Energia All-Ireland League 

club delegates, as well as additional 

club, schools, youths, women’s rugby 

delegates that will see our Executive 

Committee expanded to 45 members, 

who serve all the stakeholders of Leinster 

Rugby. 

Wishing you and all associated with 

Leinster and Dragons Rugby the very best 

for the future. 

John Walsh 

PRESIDENT, LEINSTER RUGBY 2020/21 


Leo Cullen 

HEAD COACH WELCOME 

THE DAY HAS 

FINALLY COME! 

IT’S BEEN A 

LONG WAIT 

BUT TODAY WE 

ARE OVERJOYED 

TO HAVE OUR 

SUPPORTERS 

BACK AT THE 

RDS ARENA. 

YOU ARE ALL 

SO WELCOME 

AND THANK 

YOU FOR YOUR 

PATIENCE AND 

SUPPORT THESE 

PAST LONG 

MONTHS. 

WE’D ESPECIALLY 

LIKE TO 

WELCOME OUR 

SPECIAL GUESTS, 

100 FRONTLINE 

WORKERS FROM 

ST VINCENT’S 

UNIVERSITY 

HOSPITAL, WHO 

HAVE RISKED 

SO MUCH 

TO KEEP OUR 

COMMUNITY 

SAFE AND WELL. 

A warm welcome also to Dean Ryan 

and his Dragons team for this, the final 

game of the season. Every club has 

had to battle through adversity this 

season and we feel a lot of solidarity 

with our fellow players and coaches, 

understanding more than ever how 

much we all rely on one another to 

keep the wheels turning. 

It’s almost a year now (22 June 2020) 

since we returned to training after the initial 

lockdown. So much work has gone into getting 

us to where we are today, and so many people 

have played a part in that journey. Thanks 

to everyone at the IRFU for helping us get so 

many games played, and to all the tournament 

organisers who had to juggle with scenarios 

none of us could ever have anticipated. 

Thanks to all the media for keeping the 

spotlight on our sport and helping to maintain 

awareness and interest among the rugby 

public. And thanks to our sponsors, especially 

our premium partners, Bank of Ireland, for their 

wonderful backing. 

Most importantly, thanks to our loyal supporters 

who stuck with the team throughout the dark 

days, keeping our spirits up with messages 

of support, and whose return to action this 

evening is the reward we’ve all been waiting 

for. It’s really gratifying how many of you 

have signed up as Season Ticket Holders for 

the year ahead and we are beyond grateful 

to have some of you here in the flesh with us 

today. 

In that sense, even though it’s the final game of 

the season, tonight feels like a new beginning. 

However, it also marks the end for a few 

players, most notably Michael Bent and Scott 

Fardy who have both decided to retire after 

this evening’s game. 

Benty and Fards, on behalf of the entire 

group, we wish you and your respective 

families health, happiness, and every success 

in the future. You have both been exceptional 

servants to the club and it’s been a pleasure 

having you around. I’m sure the fans who are 

here this evening will give the boys a proper 

send-off. 

To other players who are moving on to new 

challenges such as Rowan Osborne, Hugh 

O’Sullivan, Cian Kelleher and Greg McGrath, 

we wish you the very best and thank you for 

everything you have done for the club. Every 

player has contributed in their own way to the 

legacy of the team. 

Since we restarted last summer, we’ve had 

16 players make their Leinster debuts which is 

a brilliant reflection of the work that goes on 

all around the province. Our game has faced 

significant challenges at all levels, but we hope 

that the future will be bright and we can get out 

and about among clubs and communities to 

continue promoting and growing the game that 

we love so much. 

We would like to wish our Lions trio the best of 

luck on tour this summer. We were all gutted 

to hear that Andrew Porter will miss the tour 

through injury and I’m sure you join me in 

wishing him a speedy recovery. Good luck also 

to the Irish squad who will meet up soon to 

take on Japan and the United States at the start 

of next month. 

We also have a number of staff that will be 

departing and taking on new challenges and 

we would like to wish every one of them the 

very best for the next steps in their careers. 

There is one person who has contributed 

perhaps more than anyone else, our esteemed 

baggage master, the great John O’Hagan. 

Hago has been taking care of me since 1996 

when I was a player for the Leinster U-20s and 

he has been there every step of the way in 

my Leinster career, cleaning up many messes 

along the way! Johnny, we love you dearly and 

thank you for the most amazing memories over 

the last 25 years. 

This evening marks the end of a strange and 

unforgettable 2020/21 season. In spite of the 

difficulties, the group has managed to share 

some great experiences and we look forward 

to starting afresh after the summer break. 

Thank you all so much for your support, your 

kind messages, your interest and your love of 

Leinster Rugby. 

We can’t wait to see you at a packed RDS next 

season as we go in search of a fifth European 

star and a fifth consecutive PRO rugby title! 

Enjoy the game. 

Leo 


JOANN 

HOSEY 

PROVINCIAL DIRECTOR 

BANK OF IRELAND DUBLIN 

A VERY WARM WELCOME TO THE 1,200 OF YOU LUCKY ENOUGH TO 

BE IN THE RDS ARENA THIS EVENING FOR THIS GUINNESS 

PRO14 RAINBOW CUP GAME AGAINST DRAGONS. 

This match is a huge step forward 

for Leinster Rugby and everyone 

associated with the club, as it 

welcomes supporters into the RDS 

Arena for the first time since the 

onset of the pandemic. 

The game is the first of the test sporting 

events announced by the Government, 

and everyone hopes that these test events 

go well in the coming weeks and that all 

the organisations charged with hosting 

them will have safe outcomes. 

I would like to express a sincere thank 

you to Mick Dawson, Kevin Quinn and 

the wider Commercial and Marketing 

team. They have put in a huge amount of 

time and effort over the last 15 months 

to keep Leinster Rugby on track and 

ensuring the games went ahead behind 

closed doors. 

The whole team showed great foresight 

in submitting a plan to Government for 

a test event like this evening’s, and it’s 

brilliant to see such a return on all that 

effort. 

Credit also must go to the frontline 

workers from St. Vincent’s University 

Hospital who are at the RDS Arena this 

evening as guests of Leinster Rugby. 

Their tireless efforts kept us all safe over 

the last 15 months, which has not gone 

unnoticed, and it is a wonderful gesture 

from Leinster Rugby to have them present 

at the first game back. 

Thank you to Leo Cullen and his staff, 

and to Johnny Sexton and all the players 

for their performances over the season to 

lift our spirits. 

There were ups and downs throughout 

the campaign, always providing 

compelling entertainment no matter 

which way the ball bounced. I hope that 

all the players enjoy their summer break, 

and I want to wish the best of luck to 

the players touring South Africa with the 

British and Irish Lions this summer and 

in the two Tests with Ireland for those 

selected by Andy Farrell. 

As for the Leinster Rugby Women’s team, 

Covid-19 put paid to their chances of 

getting out on the pitch, but we must 

recognise all the Leinster players and 

in particular Sene Naoupu and Linda 

Djougang who played so well for Ireland 

in the recent Women’s Six Nations. 

To the players and coaches leaving 

Leinster Rugby this summer, thank you 

for all that you have done. We would 

love to say farewell in person in front of 

a packed RDS, but rest assured we will 

all catch up in the future when it is safe 

to do so. 

Finally to the boys and girls all over 

Leinster getting ready to put their school 

books down and take part in the Bank of 

Ireland Leinster Rugby Summer Camps 

and School of Excellence programmes. 

We are delighted to play our part in 

bringing these camps to life and we hope 

you enjoy every minute of them! 

Good luck to Leinster tonight and 

hopefully see you all at the RDS Arena 

next season! 

JH 


Did you 

know? 

• Leinster Rugby have 

lost three of their last five 

matches in all competitions 

and have been overturned 

at the RDS Arena on 

three occasions in 2021, 

by Connacht in January, 

Ospreys in March, and 

Munster in April. 

• Dragons have lost their 

last three matches in the 

Guinness PRO14 Rainbow 

Cup since beating Scarlets 

52-32 at Rodney Parade in 

Round 1. 

• The Welshmen have 

won three times on the road 

this season, on trip to Treviso 

in November, Glasgow in 

December, and Ospreys in 

March. 

• Dragons have not 

beaten an Irish province 

since a 21-8 victory against 

Connacht in September 

2017. 

• Leinster have won their 

last nine encounters with 

Dragons since the Men from 

Gwent’s 23-13 victory at 

Rodney Parade in January 

2016 whilst Dragons most 

recent success visiting an 

Irish province was 16-14 

against Leinster at the RDS 

Arena in February 2015. 

#LEIVdra 

Overall Guinness 

PRO14 head to head 

record: 

35 26 9 0 

PLAYED Leinster won Leinster lost DRAWs 

COMPARISON 

Last 3 PRO14 results: 

LEINSTER 

8 May - Connacht (A) 

W 50-21 

14 May - Ulster (H) 

W 21-17 

4 Jun - Glasgow (A) 

L 12-15 

Pool N: 

7th - W2 D0 L2 - 10pts 

WLLWWL 

(16pts) 

Hugo Keenan 3 

Hugo Keenan 15 

PRO14 

2020/21 

PRO14 

form 

Top try 

scorer 

Top points 

scorer 

DRAGONS 

9 May - Cardiff Blues (A) 

L 16-17 

16 May - Ospreys (H) 

L 26-42 

29 May - Glasgow (H) 

L 16-27 

Pool N: 

10th - W1 D0 L3 - 7pts 

WWWLLL 

(15pts) 

4 Jonah Holmes 

45 Sam Davies 

Date Venue L D Leinster scorers Dragons scorers 

Fri 24 Nov 17 RDS Arena 54 10 Ross Byrne(5C) Max Deegan(T) Cathal 

Marsh(C) Jamison Gibson-Park(T) Josh 

Murphy(T) Jordan Larmour(T) Rory 

O'Loughlin(T) Penalty Try(T) Isa Nacewa(2T) 

Sat 15 Sep 18 RDS Arena 52 10 Noel Reid(C) Tadhg Furlong(T) Scott Fardy(T) 

Sean Cronin(T) Jamison Gibson-Park(2T) Jordan 

Larmour(T) Johnny Sexton(6C/P) Josh van der 

Flier(T) 

Sat 1 Dec 18 Rodney Parade 59 10 Ross Byrne(5C) Ciaran Frawley(2C) Scott 

Penny(T) Scott Fardy(T) Bryan Byrne(T) Dave 

Kearney(2T) Caelan Doris(T) Hugo Keenan(T) 

Jimmy O'Brien(2T) 

Fri 1 Nov 19 RDS Arena 50 15 Michael Bent(T) James Lowe(2T) Harry 

Byrne(T/5C) Dave Kearney(2T) Ronan 

Kelleher(T) Hugh O'Sullivan(T) 

Fri 2 Oct 20 RDS Arena 35 5 James Lowe(2T) Ross Byrne(3C) Ryan Baird(T) 

Garry Ringrose(T/C) Jordan Larmour(T) Johnny 

Sexton(C) 

Fri 19 Feb 21 Rodney Parade 35 29 Ross Byrne(4C) Peter Dooley(T) Scott Penny(T) 

Josh Murphy(T) Penalty Try(T) Dan Sheehan(T) 

James Benjamin(T) Gavin Henson(C/D) 

Jordan Williams(T) Arwel Robson(C) Josh 

Lewis(P) 

Rhodri Williams(T) Jason Tovey(C/P) 

Jordan Williams(T) Sam Davies(C/P) Owen 

Jenkins(T) 

Ashton Hewitt(T) 

Luke Baldwin(T) Sam Davies(2C/5P) Josh 

Lewis(T) 


Ryan 

james 

IT IS HARD TO KNOW 

WHAT TO MAKE OF 

THE SEASON JUST 

GONE WITH NO 

SUPPORTERS AND 

THE SHADOW OF 

COVID-19 NEVER TOO 

FAR AWAY FROM ANY 

FIXTURE. 

AND YET, HERE 

WE ARE. 

EIGHTY MINUTES 

AWAY FROM ITS 

CONCLUSION. 

From The Ground Up | 12 | www.leinsterrugby.ie


For the 59 players that pulled on 

a Leinster jersey to date, they 

know that they contributed 

to a record fourth Guinness 

PRO14 title in a row. It is a 

remarkable achievement. 

There have been highs and there 

have been lows. 

European delight, to European despair. 

It’s all been there. And while it has 

been a season of huge change and 

uncertainty, there is one thing that hasn’t 

changed. 

By the end of this evening, this band of 

brothers, the 2020/21 band, will never 

be in a dressing room together again. 

As sure as night follows day, every 

season has that same sense of finality. 

“It really is one of the tough things about 

being a professional rugby player,” 

reflects James Ryan, the young Leinster 

and Ireland lock forward. 

“These players, they become like your 

family. You spend so much time with them 

and so much of your energy and your 

day is with them, ups and downs with 

them and then it’s over. Players move on 

and you have to get used to life without 

them. 

“Look at Ferg and Rob, they are gone a 

year now but again you still miss them 

because they were such key figures 

in there. I still miss them around the 

changing rooms. 

“It is quite a brutal reality like that, once 

next week finishes up and the last training 

session is done, that’s it. Lockers will be 

cleared out and your mates move on.” 

Ryan, may only be 24-years-old but 

he has been around this set-up and the 

environment long enough now to know 

good eggs when he sees them. 

Fergus McFadden and Rob Kearney 

were good ‘uns. 

And he knows that in Scott Fardy and 

Michael Bent, Leinster Rugby are saying 

goodbye to two of the finest. 

Only this week, Stuart Lancaster when 

discussing Fardy’s legacy referred to 

him as the ‘forwards Isa Nacewa’, while 

last week, Robin McBryde was equally 

effusive in his praise of the quiet and 

unassuming Bent and the lasting legacy 


he will have left on the young crop of 

props in particular. 

Ryan isn’t of a mind to disagree with 

either evaluation. 

“I think you know you have a pretty 

special player when they add as much 

value off the pitch as they do on it and 

that’s the way Fards is. He’s such a big 

character around the place and that 

again is one of the worst things about 

being a pro. 

“What is he? 36? Going on 37? And yet 

I’d consider him a mate and that’s again 

what’s so special about Fards. 

“Culturally he gets it and he did from 

day one. Regardless of your place here, 

young or old, you could be new into 

the Academy, or a member of staff, or 

having played hundreds of times, he 

treats everyone the same. It’s a great trait 

to have. 

“Fards has just had such an influence 

on all of us in here, and on my career 

as well. So it is gutting to lose people 

like that but it’s why it is such a driver for 

us this week to give them that send-off 

in front of the 1,200 supporters we will 

have at the RDS on Friday.” 

What is it about the former Australian 

forward that makes him stand out from 

the rest though? 

“One thing I like about him is that he is 

quite old school. 

“The modern game is really detail 

orientated and patterns, calls, plays and 

it has to be like that, of course, but there 

is also another element to the game and 

he had this ability to just strip all that 

back and just narrow the focus for us as 

a group. 

“That might sound quite basic but it’s then 

how you do it. And when. You do it with 

your actions, yes, but Fards also had the 

ability to choose his moments and his 

words and you listen. 

“So he’d say, ‘Look you know all of 

that, all of the detail, but now let’s focus 

on this, let’s get aggressive, let’s get 

physical’ or whatever, so his messaging 

was always good but his emotional 

intelligence too. 

“Knew when the group needed a kick 

up the ass, or when maybe the group 

or individual needed a lift, or a lighter 

moment. 

“That leadership piece just came naturally 

to him and the rest of us just tried to learn 

as much as we could from him and how 

he went about his business.” 

Of course, Ryan owes his European 

debut to Fardy, or should that be the 

Fardys! 

On the morning of the Montpellier match 

in the RDS Arena in 2017, Penelope 

Fardy went into labour and later that day 

August Fardy was born. 

But with Fardy ruled out, Ryan went from 

travelling extra, to starting lock. 

“He actually reminded me about that 

for a good two to three years after that 

game! He enjoyed that. His role in my 

debut. Where would I be without him? 

“But yeah, massive game for me at the 

time and all I had to eat before that game 

was some porridge because I went from 

24th man to starting in Europe for the first 

time. I didn’t have time to prep maybe 

as I would now and there was definitely 

a bit of panic that morning when Leo 

told me. 

“So yeah, Fards enjoyed that one. His 

role in catapulting my career forward! 


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He kick started it all and then I was lucky 

enough to play in plenty of games and 

European games with him. 

“He’s someone you just loved to play 

with. Loved to go into battle with.” 

You get the sense that Fardy will be a 

tough act to follow, but with nearly 160 

games for the club, Michael Bent’s status 

within the club is also nailed on. 

Ryan, as a lock forward, has spent plenty 

of time up close and personal with his 

tighthead prop in training and during 

games so again is well placed to assess 

Bent’s impact on the club. 

“Benty has given so much to the club and 

I know he has been here nearly 10 years 

but I suppose I can only talk about what 

I have seen in my time here and he has 

been brilliant. 

“He is definitely different in character 

to Fards but over the last few years in 

particular he has become a real strong 

but quiet influence in the pack. 

“He has become an anchor in our team 

and in our scrum now for so long that it 

is hard to think of a dressing room or a 

training session without him there.” 

The public perception of Bent is very 

different to the man that Ryan has 

soldiered with. 

“He’s become a real influence as I 

mentioned and a pillar of our forward 

pack but also on the art of scrummaging! 

He loves the scrum! Like nobody that I 

have ever come across! 

“So it is great to have a character like 

that in the team. Someone who absolutely 

loves what he does, is passionate about it, 

and is not shy in telling you what’s what. 

“He has such a wealth of knowledge and 

experience that he is comfortable holding 

people to account and he does that really 

well. If you’re not pushing hard enough 

behind him, he’ll let you know pretty 

quickly! 

“So like Fards and talking about traits, 

it’s a great trait to have. Direct, let’s you 

know what he’s thinking and gives it to 

you straight. 

“BENTY HAS GIVEN SO MUCH TO 

THE CLUB AND I KNOW HE HAS 

BEEN HERE NEARLY 10 YEARS BUT 

I SUPPOSE I CAN ONLY TALK ABOUT 

WHAT I HAVE SEEN IN MY TIME HERE 

AND HE HAS BEEN BRILLIANT.” 


“A big character on the pitch but also in 

the changing room. Well able to have 

some craic and to give and take the 

slagging that goes on.” 

You get the sense that Ryan could talk 

about the two retirees for quite some time 

if you let him and no doubt there is more 

than a story or two there to be told also. 

It is also then easy to understand why 

motivation for this evening’s game against 

the Dragons won’t be difficult either. 

The loss against Glasgow Warriors and 

the lost opportunity to maybe compete 

for another trophy hurt, but not giving a 

proper send-off to those teammates would 

hurt even more. 

“Last week was disappointing for us. 

We just weren’t accurate enough. We 

did plenty of stuff well in terms of the 

breakdown and our tackles, our carries, it 

was all very positive but the flip of that is 

we had four, five, six entries into their 22 

when we came away with nothing. 

“So when you come up against a good 

team, that are motivated, and you don’t 

take those chances, more often that not, 

you’ll regret it and that was the case last 

week. 

“Obviously the loss then took away any 

chance of being in the running this week 

but that doesn’t diminish the motivation. 

“For a start there will be 1,200 

supporters there! Which is huge! 

“Then there are players wanting to put 

their hand up for Ireland selection or 

look at Vakh (Abdaladze) making his 

first appearance of the season off the 

bench after all the injuries he has had, 

it’s brilliant. 

“And then as a wider group we want 

to send the players that are leaving 

off in the right way and with a positive 

experience from their last game at the 

RDS. Fards, Benty but also CK (Cian 

Kelleher), Rowan (Osborne), Hughie 

(O’Sullivan) and Greg McGrath who 

are leaving at the end of the season. 

Everyone wants to make sure that the day 

or the evening is as enjoyable as possible 

for them. 

“So there may be nothing tangible in 

terms of the Rainbow Cup at stake but 

that won’t diminish our drive and focus 

this week.” 

Not for the first time, he mentions the 

supporters being back. 

As well as Official Members, there 

will also be 100 frontline workers from 

St. Vincent’s University Hospital in 

attendance as guests of Leinster Rugby. 

There will also be, for the first time since 

February 2020, family members at the 

game. 

“I was only talking to Hugo Keenan 

about this last week. He has played 11 

games for Ireland and his family have yet 

to see him play live! Nuts! 

“Lads that have made debuts this season 

or like Dev and celebrating his milestone 

or winnng the PRO14, all special days 

that we have tried to make as special as 

possible as a group but you want to also 

celebrate those moments with your family 

and close friends. 


“I WAS ONLY 

TALKING TO HUGO 

KEENAN ABOUT THIS 

LAST WEEK. HE HAS 

PLAYED 11 GAMES 

FOR IRELAND AND 

HIS FAMILY HAVE 

YET TO SEE HIM 

PLAY LIVE!” 

“It will be great to have that back again 

and hopefully then for the two Ireland 

games during the summer as well. Small 

steps towards bigger things next season 

hopefully and even more people in at the 

RDS and the Aviva.” 

There has been a lot of talk, naturally and 

understandably, about the lack of crowds 

and the impact on teams and home teams 

in particular. 

What has he missed the most? 

“A few things really. 

“The warm up and just that build up of 

noise that starts slowly but just you feel it 

rising with you. Walking out of the tunnel 

and again seeing that wall of blue in the 

RDS or in the Aviva Stadium for the big 

European games. 

“Walking out and 50,000 supporters 

there in blue. Those are the moments you 

play for and that the supporters make. 

“Covid has tested us in different ways 

and challenged us to find our energy 

source from different sources, but getting 

them back, will be brilliant, we’ve missed 

them.” 

With all the talk about others, there has 

been little time to talk about his own 

mini-milestone of 50 caps which he will 

win tonight against the Dragons to add 

to his 35 Ireland caps since his debut in 

September 2017. 

He has collected a Champions Cup, 

a Grand Slam, four PRO14 titles and 

countless other accolades in that time. 

Not a bad haul for a player just getting 

going. 

He will hope too to have a fruitful 

summer with Ireland - “I think the Japan 

game is important in the context of 

what happened in 2019” - and if an 

opportunity knocks with the British and 

Irish Lions, he’d more than happily take 

that too. 

But right now, like the rest of the 23 that 

will face Dragons this evening, what’s 

ahead and down the line, can wait its 

turn. 

Instead, it’s about one more game, one 

more performance for the team, and if he 

can do that for them, he’ll be more than 

happy. 


GUINNESS PRO14 RAINBOW CUP 

SCOTSTOUN STADIUM 

4 JUNE 2021 

REF: FRANK MURPHY 

15 

12 

Adam Hastings; Kyle Steyn, 

Nick Grigg, Sam Johnson 

(Stafford McDowall 23), Cole 

Forbes (Nikola Matawalu 

63); Ross Thompson, George 

Horne; Aki Seiuli (Tom 

Lambert 57), Fraser Brown 

(George Turner 53), Enrique 

Pieretto (D’arcy Rae 69); Rob 

Harley (Kiran McDonald 46), 

Scott Cummings; Ryan Wilson, 

Rory Darge, Matt Fagerson 

(Tom Gordon 51). 

SCORERS: 

TRIES: Matt Fagerson, 

Kyle Steyn. 

CON: Ross Thompson. 

PEN: Ross Thompson. 

Hugo Keenan; Cian Kelleher 

(Jordan Larmour 64), Garry 

Ringrose, Rory O’Loughlin, 

Jimmy O’Brien; Ross Byrne, 

Luke McGrath; Ed Byrne 

(Peter Dooley 54), Rónan 

Kelleher (Dan Sheehan 68), 

Michael Bent (Andrew Porter 

45); Ross Molony, James 

Ryan; Josh Murphy (Ryan 

Baird 55), Josh van der Flier 

(Scott Penny 74), Caelan 

Doris. 

SCORERS: 

TRIES: Luke McGrath, 

Cian Kelleher. 

CON: Ross Byrne. 


“WE’RE 

A LITTLE 

FRUSTRATED 

ALL AROUND. 

THERE WAS 

PLENTY 

OF GOOD 

INTENT BUT 

WE WEREN’T 

GOOD ENOUGH 

IN LOTS OF 

AREAS.” 

Leo Cullen 


IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE YOUR STORY, PLEASE CONTACT 

WOMENSPRO@LEINSTERRUGBY.IE OR CHECK OUR SOCIAL 

MEDIA CHANNELS... 

Leinster Women’s Rugby 

LeinsterWomensRugby 

@LeinsterWomen 

womenspro@leinsterrugby.ie 

LEINSTER RUGBY 

U-18 Girls Squad Announced 

The Leinster Rugby U-18 Girls 

squad has been announced for the 

coming season following a series 

of trials. 

Over the course of three Sundays in May, 

close to 120 players from schools and 

clubs right across the province, whom 

were identified and put forward by their 

area development coaches, took part in 

three on-pitch screening sessions. 

These sessions were all held in Cill 

Dara RFC in compliance with IRFU and 

Government COVID guidelines and were 

supported by Leinster Rugby domestic 

staff. 

Congratulations to all the girls who took 

part and best of luck to those selected to 

participate and represent their clubs at 

provincial level. 

COACHING 

TEAM: 

Michael Bolger 

(Head Coach) 

Emily McKeown 

(Assistant Coach) 

Niall Kane 


Padraig Mahon 


Samantha Wafer 

(Manager) 


LEINSTER RUGBY U-18 GIRLS SQUAD: 

Katie Whelan 

(Enniscorthy RFC) 

Dannah Kearney 

(Tullow RFC) 

Jen Madden 

(Wicklow RFC) 

Vicky Kinlan 

(Wicklow RFC) 

Ciara Boland 


Mia Kelly 


Robyn Johnston 

(Wicklow RFC) 

Grainne Flynn 

(Arklow RFC) 

Leah Murphy 

(Wicklow RFC) 

Ava Kavanagh 

(Arklow RFC) 

Aoife Wafer 


Alice Brennan 

(Kilkenny RFC) 

Jane Neill 

(Arklow RFC) 

Aoife Dalton 

(Tullamore RFC) 

Gemma Faulkner 

(Mullingar RFC) 

Isobel Clerk 


Caoimhe Guinan 


Leah Tarpey 


Sophie Treanor 


Emma Larkin 

(Portlaoise RFC) 

Ava Gleeson 

(Port Dara RFC) 

Taragh Kirwan 


Alanna Fitzpatrick 


Sarah Delaney 


Erin King 

(Naas RFC) 

Ruth Campbell 

(Naas RFC) 

Hannah Wilson 


Koren Dunne 


Alison Kelly 


Eadaoin Murtagh 


Jade Gaffney 

(Navan RFC) 

Abby Moyles 

(Navan RFC) 

Cara Martin 

(Navan RFC) 

Aoife Purcell 

(Dundalk RFC) 

Caoimhe Coleman 

(Balbriggan RFC) 

Caoimhe Stewart 

(Ardee RFC) 

Ava Govern 

(Ardee RFC) 

Eva Sterritt 

(Greystones RFC) 

Grace Adams 

(King’s Hospital) 

Emma Tilly 

(MU Barnhall RFC) 

Brooke Fagan Merrigan 

(Clontarf FC) 

Maebh Keegan 

(Clontarf FC) 

Anna Brennock 

(Bisto) 

Amy O'Mahoney 

(Greystones RFC) 

Kate Edgehill 

(King’s Hospital) 

Laoise Devlin 

(Bisto) 


FOLLOW ALL THE ACTION ON 

PRO14.RUGBY 

YOUR GUINNESS 

PRO14 HOME 

LATEST NEWS, LIVE MATCH 

CENTRES, STATS & MORE 

VISIT NOW 

WWW.PRO14.RUGBY

Tallaght Rfc 

BY EMMA LOUISE DOYLE 

TALLAGHT RUGBY CLUB WAS SET UP IN 2002 

AS PART OF THE ‘TALLAGHT PROJECT’, AN IRFU 

INITIATIVE DESIGNED TO INTRODUCE RUGBY 

IN NON-TRADITIONAL AREAS. 

The club has been going from 

strength to strength in recent 

years despite the adversity they 

face having no home ground or 

clubhouse facilities. 

Initially starting with the running of 

underage teams and focusing on the 

introduction of the game into schools in 

the area, Tallaght then set up their first 

Senior men’s team in 2006. 

In Tallaght’s first season in 2006/07 

they only played a few cup games but 

in 2007/08 they entered the J4 Metro 

League. Aside from a couple of seasons 

of Sunday rugby in the Leinster League, 

Tallaght then competed in the Metro 

League. 

They had some success winning the John 

Madden plate in 2011 and 2015 but 

they had endured a winless season in 

the league before Tom Leigh took over 

as head coach at the beginning of the 

2015/16 season. 

Missing out on league victories in 

2017/18 spurred the Tallaght men on to 

consecutively win league titles in Division 

6/7 of the Leinster Metro League in 

2019/20 under the wings of Leigh and 

new backs coach Gary Brennan. 

With numbers in continuous growth in 

the men’s division of the club, Tallaght 

now have two Senior men’s teams who 

compete in Division 3 of the Leinster 

League and Division 9 of the Leinster 

Metro league respectively. 

In 2013, Tallaght started an U-12 joint 

boys and girls team which has since 

expanded to include minis teams which 

cater for both boys and girls from ages 

five through to 12. 

This was started by Philip (Bisto) Preston, 

Tallaght Person of the Year 2015, who 

sadly passed away in 2016. Most 

recently the youth division has further 

expanded to accommodate an U-16 

girls team. This team was established by 

retired Senior women’s player and coach 

Aileen McGovern following the success 

of the girls ‘Give It A Try’ initiative. 

Tallaght also have U-16/18 boys and a 

number of U-18 girls who have joined 

forces with local clubs (St Mary’s, Old 

Belvedere) to form the ‘Bistos’. Along 

with the fantastic guidance provided 

by Leinster Community Rugby Officers 

Robert Mullen and Glenn Predy, the 

youth division of the club is only set to 

grow and their continued support is 

greatly appreciated. 

Tallaght women’s rugby team started 

out as a development social team in 

2011 made up of wives and girlfriends 

of Senior men players (and of course 

ladies encouraged to play by Women’s 

Development officer Martina Fitzpatrick). 

With the level of competitiveness and 

passion the team gave to each game, 

they soon progressed and now compete 

in Division 4 of the Leinster Metro 

Division. Tallaght RFC strives to provide 

a fun, diverse and inclusive environment 

throughout and testament to this is the 

fact that the women’s rugby team were 

invited to participate in the Union Cup 

held in DCU in 2019. 

The Union Cup is Europe’s biggest LGBT+ 

inclusive rugby tournament and in 2019 

for the first time ever women’s teams were 


EVERY FIXTURE 

EVERY TRY 

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ALL IN 

ONE APP

invited to compete in the inaugural Anne 

Louise Gilligan Cup. 

It was such a pleasure for the team to be 

part of the tournament’s history and even 

had the opportunity to have one of their 

games televised. 

From one side of the whistle to the other, 

Tallaght RFC has also encouraged 

members and players alike to become 

Leinster Rugby and IRFU affiliate referees. 

Most notably Audrey Fulham transitioned 

from the second row to become a widely 

respected Leinster Rugby Referee. 

From refereeing tag rugby tournaments, 

youth matches to Senior level and even 

rubbing shoulders as a touch judge for 

Nigel Owens, her career is flourishing 

and the club is immensely proud of her 

achievements. 

Not having ‘dream’ facilities such as 

a clubhouse or the simple pleasure of 

having grounds to call their own doesn’t 

dampen the spirit of the club. 

Tallaght are allocated two pitches from 

local council authorities for which they 

are very grateful as it allows them to 

function as a club and provide a muchneeded 

outlet for youths and adults alike 

in the area. 

Equipment and changing facilities are 

housed in two shipping containers which 

run alongside four makeshift lampposts 

that run off a generator. The lighting 

for the pitch doesn’t cover a full pitch, 

meaning training is focused inside a 

smaller area during winter months. A 

second container houses a few benches 

where Tallaght’s players get changed 

before and after sessions. 

There are no showers and no heating. 

Instead on matchdays, Tallaght hire out 

the use of a local community centre in 

Firhouse and Tallaght Community School 

to facilitate visiting teams. 

Unfortunately, in recent times the club has 

suffered consecutive bouts of vandalism 

including one of the pitches being 

callously destroyed and rendered useless. 

Seeking more secure grounds for their 

players, members and supporters Tallaght 

have launched a fundraising campaign 

for their ‘Forever Home’ which has 

garnered massive support from both the 

rugby and wider community. 

They have also received backing from a 

few familiar faces in rugby along the way 

with their #TforTallaghtRFC campaign to 

help raise awareness of the fundraiser. 

Supporters such as Mike McCarthy, 

Lindsay Peat, Reggie Corrigan and 

even Ellis Genge formed the letter “T” in 

solidarity with the club as they embark 

on their ambitious journey to obtain their 

own grounds. 

Head to the link below to see how 

you can support them or pop over 

to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to 

follow their journey. 

https://gofund.me/1caf79fa 

Facebook: 

Tallaght RFC 

Instagram: 

Tallaght_Rugby 

Twitter: 

@TallaghtRFC 


Leo 

Kids 

the Lion's 

Corner 

spot the 

differences 

ANAGRAMS 

Can you un-jumble 

the names of these 

academy players? 

COLA OF 

MERCY 

EEL SHIM 

VERTICALS 

GUESS 

WHO? 

Can you name these 

three academy 

players? 

ANSWERS 

ANAGRAMS 

Cormac Foley 

Michael Silvester 

GUESS WHO? 

Patrick Patterson 

Michael Milne 

Liam Turner 


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solutions for office, 

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QUEST10NS 

with... 

Adam Byrne 

1. What do you remember about your 

first day at Leinster Rugby? 

My first experience with the Senior 

team was surreal! Walking out to 

the pitch with Brian O’Driscoll and 

Gordon D’Arcy... I’ll never forget 

it! And everyone just being very 

welcoming and friendly but still 

expecting me to do my job in the 

training and letting me know if I 

messed up! A good balance for any 

young pro! 

2. What has been your most 

memorable moment playing with 

Leinster Rugby? 

I think my first start at the RDS. I’d 

made my debut at a young age but 

had a tough run with injury after 

that. So when Leo gave me my 

‘second debut’ a year or two later 

I was even more nervous! There’s 

a great photo of me and Josh (van 

der Flier) hugging after I scored and 

he’s just as happy as I am because 

he knew how much it meant to me. 

3. If you had to pick a teammate to 

be CEO of Leinster Rugby, who would 

it be? 

Rob Kearney has just moved on 

but it would have been him. James 

Tracy would do a great job too 

I reckon. 

4. What piece of advice would you give 

to your 18-year-old self now? 

Don’t take anything for granted and 

enjoy every moment as much as 

you can! 

5. What is a clever life-hack that 

you use? 

I try to always find a positive in 

every situation. Sometimes it can be 

hard but I’ve found it keeps me in a 

good mood! 

6. Who were your top five artists on 

Spotify Wrapped 2020? 

Drake, Dermot Kennedy, The 

Weeknd, Dave, Ed Sheeran 

7. What's the best nickname you've 

heard? And what's the origin? 

Rory O’Loughlin has a few 

nicknames but ‘Beans’ is one my 

personal favourites. 

It started on an Ireland Sevens trip 

where he ate all the beans in the 

canteen for breakfast and there was 

none left for the rest of the team! 

8. What fictional TV/book character 

would you most like to meet in 

real life? 

David Brent from the Office. 

9. If you could know the absolute 

truth to any question, what would 

you want to know? 

Jeez that’s a tough question... leave 

it with me! 

10. What have you been watching on 

Netflix/TV lately? 

Not a big TV person but the the 

Michael Jordan documentary was 

brilliant and then The Undoing and 

Top Boy! 



DISCOVER THE 

SPIRIT WITHIN. 

“ THE INDOMINABLE SPIRIT OF OUR PEOPLE 

IS THE VERY SOUL OF OUR WHISKY” 

Product available to purchase at 

WWW.LOCHLOMONDWHISKIES.COM 

@lochlomondmalts @lochlomondwhiskies 

THE SPIRIT OF PRO14 RUGBY 

Enjoy Responsibly

Inclusive rugby 

starts in Wexford Wanderers RFC 

BY DEBORAH CARTY 

On a beautiful sunny morning 

on Saturday, May 1, minis rugby 

returned to Wexford Wanderers 

– but this time for Return to Rugby 

there was an extra team starting 

– Wexford had an inclusive team 

on the pitch. 

The idea came from Tony Connolly, the 

club chairman, and Colin Mernagh, 

minis co-ordinator, himself a parent of a 

special needs child, who believed that 

the club had plenty to offer the children 

of Wexford by starting an inclusivity 

programme about 18 months ago. 

However, with Covid the idea was on 

hold, but after sport started to reopen 

and Colin could see his children Jack 

and Izzie back to playing sport while 

his daughter Annie (a huge rugby and 

Johnny Sexton fan) was left sitting at 

home with nothing to do, he decided to 

take action. 

With the full backing of the club, and a 

meeting with Stephen Gore, the Spirit 

Officer with Leinster Rugby, they decided 

to do a six-week introduction course to 

see if there would be much interest from 

players and volunteers/coaches for it. 

Any worries or fears that there wouldn’t 

be much interest were soon allayed on 

that Saturday morning when a whopping 

25 children from ages 7-14 years 

showed up for the training session and 

almost as many volunteers to help coach 

with Corey Carty, Leinster CRO, Graham 

Barry, Club CCRO and Stephen Gore 

also in attendance to give their support 

and help the new coaches and volunteers 

to prepare for the training session. 

Speaking about the initiative, Colin 

said: “We have kids of every ability and 

different needs but we have exceptional 

volunteers to help with the team and 

a special mention must go out to Des 

Dempsey, Colm Ó Corcora and Bronagh 

Hogan for all their help. 

“We train on Saturday mornings with the 

rest of the minis so the team feels included 

in the club. We feel it is important that 

the parents and kids feel part of the 

club and not an add-on and I hope we 

achieved that. 

“It is important to remember that most 

kids with special needs don’t take part 

in team field sports so to give kids that 

access and hopefully develop into a 

tag rugby team that will travel as part of 

Wexford Wanderers to play other teams 

is a massive sense of achievement for the 

kids and the parents.” 

Stephen Gore commented: “The Leinster 

Rugby Inclusion program each year 

is growing, with Wexford Wanderers 

starting this month the program is now at 

23 clubs. 

“Wexford’s couldn’t have gotten off to 

a better start with 25 players showing 

up for the first session and loads of 

volunteers to help with delivering the 

session. It was fantastic to see the energy 

the coaches brought to make sure 

that each player took part and more 

importantly had fun and enjoyed the 

session. 

“Wexford have taken another massive 

step to show that they are a fully inclusive 

club.” 

If your club is interested in setting up an 

inclusion section, please contact your 

provincial Spirit Officer Stephen Gore 

at stephen.gore@leinsterrugby.ie who 

can explain the guidelines to setting up 

a section and also what supports such 

as coach education, clinic session and 

equipment could be available to you to 

aid with setting up the program. 


2020/21 squad 

VAKH ABDALADZE - #1263 

DOB 6 FEBRUARY 1996 

From KUTAISI, GEORGIA 

Height 1.85M (6’ 1”) 

Weight 117KG (18st 6lbs) 

Position PROP 

Club CLONTARF FC 

Leinster Debut 2 DECEMBER 2017 

Honours IRELAND U20S (2 caps) 

MICHAEL BENT - #1212 

DOB 25 APRIL 1986 

From HAWERA, NEW ZEALAND 

Height 1.85M (6’ 1”) 


Position PROP 

Club DUBLIN UNIVERSITY FC 


Honours IRELAND (4 caps) 

ED BYRNE - #1222 

DOB 9 SEPTEMBER 1993 

From CARLOW 

Height 1.80M (5’ 11”) 


Position PROP 

Club UCD RFC 

Leinster Debut 9 FEBRUARY 2014 


ROSS BYRNE - #1236 


From DUBLIN 

Height 1.88M (6’ 3”) 


Position OUTHALF 

Club UCD RFC 

Leinster Debut 4 SEPTEMBER 2015 


WILL CONNORS - #1264 


From DONADEA, KILDARE 

Height 1.94 (6’ 4”) 


Position BACK ROW 

Club UCD RFC 



RYAN BAIRD - #1278 

DOB 26 JULY 1999 

From DUBLIN 

Height 1.98M (6’ 6”) 


Position SECOND ROW 


Leinster Debut 27 APRIL 2019 


ADAM BYRNE - #1213 


From KILDARE 

Height 1.93M (6’ 4”) 


Position WING / FULL BACK 

Club UCD RFC 


Honours IRELAND (1 cap) 

HARRY BYRNE - #1280 


From DUBLIN 

Height 1.88M (6’ 2”) 



Club LANSDOWNE 



JACK CONAN - #1223 


From BRAY, WICKLOW 

Height 1.93M (6’ 4”) 


Position NO. 8 

Club OLD BELVEDERE RFC 



SEÁN CRONIN - #1202 

DOB 6 MAY 1986 

From LIMERICK 

Height 1.80M (5’ 11”) 


Position HOOKER 

Club ST. MARY’S COLLEGE RFC 

Leinster Debut 28 OCTOBER 2011 



MAX DEEGAN - #1256 

DOB 1 OCTOBER 1996 

From DUBLIN 

Height 1.93M (6’ 3”) 


Position NO. 8 

Club LANSDOWNE FC 



CAELAN DORIS - #1268 


From MAYO 

Height 1.94M (6’ 4”) 




Leinster Debut 28 APRIL 2018 


SCOTT FARDY - #1257 


From SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 

Height 1.98 M (6’ 6”) 

Weight 111 KG (17st 7lbs) 


Club UNASSIGNED 


Honours AUSTRALIA (39 caps) 

TADHG FURLONG - #1220 

DOB 14 NOVEMBER 1992 

From WEXFORD 

Height 1.85M (6’ 1”) 


Position PROP 

Club NEW ROSS RFC / CLONTARF FC 

Leinster Debut 1 NOVEMBER 2013 


AND BRITISH & IRISH LIONS (6 caps) 

CIAN HEALY - #1142 

DOB 7 OCTOBER 1987 

From DUBLIN 

Height 1.85M (6’ 1”) 


Position PROP 


Leinster Debut 5 MAY 2007 



DAVE KEARNEY - #1158 

DOB 19 JUNE 1989 

From LOUTH 

Height 1.81M (5’ 11”) 






CIAN KELLEHER - #1234 

DOB 7 AUGUST 1994 

From DUBLIN 

Height 1.85M (6’ 0”) 


Position WINGER/FULL BACK 




PETER DOOLEY - #1230 

DOB 4 AUGUST 1994 

Birthplace OFFALY 

Height 1.85M (6’ 1”) 


Position PROP 




JACK DUNNE - #1276 


From DUBLIN 

Height 2.02M (6’ 7”) 



School ST. MICHAEL’S COLLEGE 




CIARÁN FRAWLEY - #1265 

DOB 4 DECEMBER 1997 

From DUBLIN 

Height 1.92M (6’ 3”) 

Weight 95.6KG (15st 1lbs) 


Club UCD RFC 



JAMISON GIBSON-PARK - #1247 


From GREAT BARRIER ISLAND, NEW 

ZEALAND 

Height 1.76M (5’ 9”) 


Position SCRUM HALF 

Club UNASSIGNED 



ROBBIE HENSHAW - #1251 


From ATHLONE 

Height 1.91M (6’ 3”) 


Position CENTRE / FULL BACK 

Club BUCCANEERS RFC 




HUGO KEENAN - #1253 


From DUBLIN 

Height 1.85M (6’ 1”) 


Position FULL BACK 

Club UCD RFC 



RÓNAN KELLEHER - #1277 

DOB 24 JANUARY 1998 

From DUBLIN 

Height 1.85M (6’ 0”) 







JORDAN LARMOUR - #1258 


From DUBLIN 

Height 1.78M (5’ 10”) 


Position WING 




JAMES LOWE - #1262 


From NELSON, NEW ZEALAND 

Height 1.88M (6’ 2”) 



Club CLONDALKIN RFC 



ROSS MOLONY - #1233 

DOB 11 MAY 1994 

From DUBLIN 

Height 2.00M (6’ 6”) 



Club UCD RFC 



ROWAN OSBORNE - #1281 


From EADESTOWN, KILDARE 

Height 1.71M (5’ 7”) 





Honours IRELAND SCHOOLS 

JIMMY O'BRIEN - #1272 


From KILDARE 

Height 1.84M (6’ 0”) 


Position CENTRE 

Club NAAS RFC 



RORY O'LOUGHLIN - #1248 

DOB 21 JANUARY1994 

From DUBLIN 

Height 1.88M (6’ 2”) 



Club OLD BELVEDERE RFC 



CIARAN PARKER* - #1288 

DOB: 5 OCTOBER 1995 

From: STOCKPORT, ENGLAND 

Height: 1.88M (6’ 2”) 

Weight: 120KG (18st 10lbs) 

Position: PROP 

Club: UNASSIGNED 

Leinster Debut: 23 OCTOBER 2020 

Honours: ENGLAND U20S 

*on loan from Jersey Reds September – December 2020 

DAN LEAVY - #1231 

DOB 23 MAY 1994 

From DUBLIN 

Height 1.91M (6’ 3”) 


Position FLANKER 

Club UCD RFC 



LUKE McGRATH - #1206 


From ONTARIO, CANADA 

Height 1.75M (5’ 9”) 



Club UCD RFC 



JOSH MURPHY - #1261 


From DUBLIN 

Height 1.96M (6’ 5”) 



Club UCD RFC 



CONOR O'BRIEN - #1260 


From WESTMEATH 

Height 1.90M (6’ 3”) 






TOMMY O'BRIEN - #1283 

DOB 28 MAY 1998 

From DUBLIN 

Height 1.83M (6’ 0”) 



Club UCD RFC 



HUGH O'SULLIVAN - #1270 


From MEATH 

Height 1.79M (5’ 9”) 






SCOTT PENNY - #1271 


From DUBLIN 

Height 1.85M (6’ 0”) 



Club UCD RFC 




ANDREW PORTER - #1246 


Birthplace DUBLIN 

Height 1.84M (6’ 1”) 


Position PROP 

Club UCD RFC 



RHYS RUDDOCK - #1167 


From DUBLIN 

Height 1.91M (6’ 3”) 






JOHNNY SEXTON - #1127 


From DUBLIN 

Height 1.88M (6’ 2”) 




Leinster Debut 27 JANUARY 2006 



DEVIN TONER - #1128 


From MEATH 

Height 2.08M (6’ 10”) 




Leinster Debut 27 JANUARY 2006 


JOSH VAN DER FLIER - #1228 


From WICKLOW 

Height 1.87M (6’ 2”) 



Club UCD RFC 



GARRY RINGROSE - #1237 


From DUBLIN 

Height 1.87M (6’ 2”) 



Club UCD RFC 



JAMES RYAN - #1259 


From DUBLIN 

Height 2.04M (6’ 7”) 



Club UCD RFC 



DAN SHEEHAN - #1286 


From DUBLIN 

Height 1.91 M (6’ 3”) 






JAMES TRACY - #1211 


From KILDARE 

Height 1.85M (6’ 1”) 



Club UCD RFC 



Coaching Staff 

LEO CULLEN 

HEAD COACH 

STUART LANCASTER 

SENIOR COACH 

ROBIN MCBRYDE 

ASSISTANT COACH 

FELIPE CONTEPOMI 

BACKS COACH 

EMMET FARRELL 

KICKING COACH AND 

LEAD PERFORMANCE ANALYST 

GUY EASTERBY 

HEAD OF RUGBY OPERATIONS 

HUGH HOGAN 

CONTACT SKILLS COACH 


do.ie 

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MY 

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CMY 

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For further information contact: 

Michael Costello, Managing Partner, 

on 01 470 0130 or email mcostello@bdo.ie 

Mark Hamilton, Head of Business Development, 

on 01 470 0541 or email mhamilton@bdo.ie 

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Limited Places Remain On 

Bank Of Ireland Inclusion Camps 

LIMITED PLACES STILL REMAIN ON FIVE OF THE BANK 

OF IRELAND LEINSTER RUGBY INCLUSION CAMPS, 

WITH ALL 32 SUMMER CAMPS ALREADY SOLD OUT. 

The five inclusion camps will 

take place in Greystones RFC, 

Mullingar RFC, Navan RFC, 

Coolmine RFC and Newbridge RFC 

in July and August. 

The Bank of Ireland Leinster Rugby 

Inclusion Camps provide children with 

disabilities aged between eight and 

12 with a fun-filled three days of rugby 

during the summer holidays. 

The camps are focused on adapting 

rugby to meet the needs of camp-goers to 

maximise enjoyment and learning to play 

the Leinster Way. 

Thursdays, and are open to all children 

with additional needs aged between 

eight to 12. 

A daily COVID-19 health sign-off will also 

be required. 

The inclusion camps will be held from 

10.30am-12.30pm and run over three 

days, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and 

For a full list of Inclusion Camp venues and dates and to book your place, click here. 


Leinster Player Statistics 

SQUAD 

CAP 

NO 

DEBUT 

2020/21 SEASON FOR LEINSTER LEINSTER CAREER 

ALL GAMES PRO14 EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14 EPCR 

App Try Pts App Try Pts App Try Pts App Try Pts App Try Pts App Try Pts 

SINCE LAST TRY 

CAPS 

VAKH ABDALADZE 1263 2 DEC 17 - - - - - - - - - 0+11 1 5 0+11 1 5 - - - 10 - 

RYAN BAIRD 1278 27 APR 19 8+8 2 10 5+3 2 10 1+3 - - 11+15 5 25 8+9 5 25 1+4 - - 10 IR 3 

MICHAEL BENT 1212 1 DEC 12 13+5 3 15 11+2 3 15 1+1 - - 92+66 7 35 86+41 7 35 5+23 - - 6 IR 4 

ADAM BYRNE 1213 29 DEC 12 - - - - - - - - - 49+8 20 100 39+8 14 70 10 6 30 5 IR 1 

ED BYRNE 1222 9 FEB 14 5+8 2 10 3+5 2 10 0+2 - - 19+51 10 50 17+39 9 45 0+11 1 5 7 IR 4 

HARRY BYRNE 1280 28 SEP 19 11+2 3 96 10+1 3 91 0+1 - 5 14+9 6 154 13+8 6 149 0+1 - 5 2 - 

ROSS BYRNE 1236 4 SEP 15 11+3 1 124 5+2 - 57 3+1 1 55 69+34 6 642 54+18 2 451 12+16 4 179 4 IR 13 

THOMAS 

1285 29 AUG 20 2+7 - - 2+7 - - - - - 2+8 - - 2+8 - - - - - - - 

CLARKSON 

JACK CONAN 1223 20 FEB 14 8+4 2 10 5+3 1 5 2 - - 80+25 23 115 58+14 15 75 21+10 7 35 1 IR 20 

WILL CONNORS 1264 9 FEB 18 2+1 - - 2+1 - - - - - 17+6 2 10 16+6 2 10 1 - - 10 IR 9 

TIM CORKERY 1298 12 MAR 21 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - - - 

SEAN CRONIN 1202 28 OCT 11 5+5 1 5 4+4 1 5 - - - 120+75 42 210 75+53 25 125 43+19 16 80 7 IR 72 

MAX DEEGAN 1256 3 DEC 16 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 35+30 18 90 32+22 16 80 3+8 2 10 7 IR 1 

PETER DOOLEY 1230 31 OCT 14 12+5 3 15 10+2 3 15 1+1 - - 40+53 5 25 37+45 5 25 2+6 - - 8 - 

CAELAN DORIS 1268 28 APR 18 6 - - 3 - - 1 - - 31+8 5 25 23+6 3 15 6+2 2 10 8 IR 7 

JACK DUNNE 1276 16 FEB 19 1+7 - - 1+7 - - - - - 2+13 - - 2+13 - - - - - - - 

SCOTT FARDY 1257 2 SEP 17 12+6 1 5 9+4 - - 2+1 - - 62+17 11 55 45+10 6 30 16+6 4 20 1 AU 39 

CORMAC FOLEY 1299 24 APR 21 0+1 - - - - - - - - 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - - - 

CIARAN FRAWLEY 1265 17 FEB 18 8+1 1 19 6 - 14 1+1 1 5 17+18 4 143 15+14 3 132 1+4 1 11 5 - 

TADHG FURLONG 1220 1 NOV 13 4+2 1 5 1+1 - - 2 1 5 73+41 8 40 41+32 3 15 31+8 5 25 3 IR 49 

JAMISON GIBSON- 

1247 2 SEP 16 4+3 1 5 3+2 - - 1+1 1 5 48+52 17 85 43+28 14 70 5+24 3 15 4 IR 9 

PARK 

MARCUS HANAN 1295 19 FEB 21 0+3 - - 0+3 - - - - - 0+3 - - 0+3 - - - - - - - 

DAVID HAWKSHAW 1290 2 NOV 20 0+8 1 14 0+7 1 11 - - - 0+8 1 14 0+7 1 11 - - - 4 - 

CIAN HEALY 1142 5 MAY 07 7+3 2 10 3+2 - - 3+1 1 5 155+75 27 135 88+48 12 60 64+26 13 65 1 IR 109 

ROBBIE HENSHAW 1251 8 OCT 16 9 2 10 4 1 5 4 - - 56+1 11 55 24 4 20 31+1 6 30 1 IR 52 

DAVE KEARNEY 1158 16 MAY 09 19+1 10 50 14 8 40 2+1 2 10 147+22 51 255 118+15 44 220 25+6 7 35 7 IR 19 

HUGO KEENAN 1253 5 NOV 16 11 3 15 5 - - 4 - - 26+3 4 20 19+3 1 5 5 - - 2 IR 11 

CIAN KELLEHER 1234 16 MAY 15 11+1 8 40 9 6 30 0+1 - - 17+10 13 65 15+9 11 55 0+1 - - 1 - 

RONAN KELLEHER 1277 22 FEB 19 6+3 - - 2+1 - - 3+1 - - 19+5 9 45 12+2 8 40 6+2 1 5 12 IR 11 

JORDAN LARMOUR 1258 2 SEP 17 9+2 4 20 5 2 10 2 2 10 51+10 17 85 28+5 12 60 21+3 5 25 6 IR 29 

DAN LEAVY 1231 31 OCT 14 4+5 3 15 4+3 2 10 0+2 1 5 43+29 17 85 35+19 13 65 8+10 4 20 1 IR 11 

JAMES LOWE 1262 2 DEC 17 5 4 20 2 3 15 2 1 5 52 34 170 33 25 125 18 9 45 3 IR 6 

GREG MCGRATH 1293 2 JAN 21 0+3 - - 0+3 - - - - - 0+3 - - 0+3 - - - - - - - 

LUKE MCGRATH 1206 5 MAY 12 19+4 8 40 13+3 7 35 3+1 - - 102+48 39 195 66+42 30 150 33+6 8 40 1 IR 19 

MICHAEL MILNE 1279 28 SEP 19 1+5 - - 1+4 - - - - - 1+14 2 10 1+13 2 10 - - - 13 - 


SQUAD 

CAP 

NO 

DEBUT 


ALL GAMES PRO14 EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14 EPCR 

App Try Pts App Try Pts App Try Pts App Try Pts App Try Pts App Try Pts 

SINCE LAST TRY 

CAPS 

MARTIN MOLONEY 1300 24 APR 21 0+1 - - - - - - - - 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - - - 

ROSS MOLONY 1233 20 FEB 15 12+8 1 5 9+6 - - 0+2 - - 64+52 4 20 59+37 3 15 2+15 - - 2 - 

JOSH MURPHY 1261 3 NOV 17 14+2 3 15 9+2 2 10 1 1 5 42+7 5 25 37+6 4 20 1+1 1 5 9 - 

JAMIE OSBORNE 1294 30 JAN 21 2+4 1 5 2+4 1 5 - - - 2+4 1 5 2+4 1 5 - - - 1 - 

ROWAN OSBORNE 1281 4 OCT 19 1+5 - - 1+4 - - - - - 2+9 1 5 2+8 1 5 - - - 10 - 

CONOR O'BRIEN 1260 3 NOV 17 - - - - - - - - - 16+7 6 30 16+6 6 30 0+1 - - 9 - 

JIMMY O'BRIEN 1272 23 NOV 18 14+2 3 17 10+2 2 12 2 1 5 25+9 6 32 21+9 5 27 2 1 5 10 - 

SEAN O'BRIEN 1297 12 MAR 21 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - - - 

TOMMY O'BRIEN 1283 20 DEC 19 3+3 2 10 3+1 2 10 - - - 4+5 3 15 4+3 3 15 - - - 5 - 

RORY O'LOUGHLIN 1248 2 SEP 16 12+3 - - 9 - - 1+1 - - 63+23 21 105 54+13 18 90 7+8 3 15 29 IR 1 

MAX O'REILLY 1291 2 JAN 21 6+1 1 5 6+1 1 5 - - - 6+1 1 5 6+1 1 5 - - - 6 - 

HUGH O'SULLIVAN 1270 15 SEP 18 1+9 - 2 0+8 - 2 0+1 - - 3+27 1 7 2+24 1 7 0+3 - - 14 - 

CIARAN PARKER 1288 23 OCT 20 0+3 1 5 0+3 1 5 - - - 0+3 1 5 0+3 1 5 - - - 3 - 

SCOTT PENNY 1271 23 NOV 18 12+2 9 45 10+1 9 45 - - - 22+6 15 75 20+5 15 75 - - - 7 - 

ANDREW PORTER 1246 2 SEP 16 6+5 1 5 3+1 - - 1+3 - - 28+49 11 55 21+29 7 35 5+19 3 15 2 IR 37 

GARRY RINGROSE 1237 12 SEP 15 9 1 13 3 1 7 2 - - 83+2 26 138 47+1 15 77 32+1 11 55 9 IR 34 

RHYS RUDDOCK 1167 6 DEC 09 14+1 1 5 10+1 1 5 4 - - 143+45 11 55 106+31 9 45 36+12 2 10 4 IR 27 

JAMES RYAN 1259 2 SEP 17 9+1 1 5 4 1 5 2+1 - - 43+6 3 15 18+1 1 5 22+5 2 10 9 IR 35 

JOHNNY SEXTON 1127 27 JAN 06 5+1 - 12 4+1 - 10 1 - 2 148+25 26 1507 87+19 13 833 59+6 12 643 13 IR 99 

DAN SHEEHAN 1286 23 OCT 20 3+10 6 30 2+8 6 30 - - - 3+10 6 30 2+8 6 30 - - - 5 - 

MICHAEL SILVESTER 1289 23 OCT 20 0+2 1 5 0+2 1 5 - - - 0+2 1 5 0+2 1 5 - - - 1 - 

ANDREW SMITH 1292 2 JAN 21 1+1 - - 1+1 - - - - - 1+1 - - 1+1 - - - - - - - 

ALEX SOROKA 1296 28 FEB 21 1+1 - - 1+1 - - - - - 1+1 - - 1+1 - - - - - - - 

DEVIN TONER 1128 27 JAN 06 11+5 - - 8+4 - - 3 - - 206+59 4 20 140+40 4 20 63+18 - - 48 IR 70 

JAMES TRACY 1211 4 NOV 12 11+7 6 30 9+4 5 25 1+3 - - 57+71 14 70 49+43 12 60 7+28 1 5 1 IR 6 

LIAM TURNER 1287 23 OCT 20 4+2 - - 4+2 - - - - - 4+2 - - 4+2 - - - - - - - 

JOSH VAN DER FLIER 1228 11 OCT 14 11+2 2 10 5+1 1 5 4 1 5 75+22 11 55 43+15 7 35 30+6 4 20 7 IR 31 


ALL GAMES PRO14 EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14 EPCR OVERALL 

KICKING 

SUCCESS 

RATE 

C PG DG C PG DG C PG DG C PG DG C PG DG C PG DG ATT Career 

% 

- - - HARRY BYRNE 84.44% 33 5 - 32 4 - 1 1 - 53 6 52 5 1 1 74 79.73% 

ROSS BYRNE 86.21% 31 19 - 18 7 - 7 12 - 192 75 1 144 50 1 42 25 - 348 76.72% 

CIARAN FRAWLEY 63.64% 7 - - 7 - - - - - 51 7 - 48 7 - 3 - - 72 80.56% 

DAVID HAWKSHAW 66.67% 3 1 - 3 - - - - - 3 1 - 3 - - - - - 6 66.67% 

LUKE MCGRATH 0.00% - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1 0.00% 

JIMMY O'BRIEN 33.33% 1 - - 1 - - - - - 1 - - 1 - - - - - 3 33.33% 

HUGH O'SULLIVAN 50.00% 1 - - 1 - - - - - 1 - - 1 - - - - - 2 50.00% 

GARRY RINGROSE 66.67% 4 - - 1 - - - - - 4 - - 1 - - - - - 6 66.67% 

JOHNNY SEXTON 62.50% 3 2 - 2 2 - 1 - - 234 292 11 120 169 7 107 119 4 660 79.70% 


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They say a week is a long time in anything, and sport is no exception. 

However when it has been 

almost 15 months since the 

RDS last heard the roar of the 

faithful Leinster Blue – well 

that’s practically a lifetime for 

some! We have been extremely 

privileged and lucky over the 

last number of years that the 

end of the season has been one 

of celebration of a job well done 

and another trophy added to the 

cabinet. 

The end of this season is slightly different 

in that although there won’t be a 

Rainbow Cup title to challenge for, there 

is equal joy in Leinster being able to take 

to the field for the final game in front of 

fans. Actual fans, 1,200 of them to be 

exact and what an occasion this will be! 

Covid-19 has (and continues) to be a 

trying time on us all but from a sporting 

point of view, we have seen the impact 

this has had on stadia and players. 

Players play for the love of the game 

as well as the adoration and joy they 

bring to supporters and not having them 

at fixtures has been telling where you 

can see the atmosphere just isn’t what it 

should be. 

Friday, 28 February, 2020 was the last 

time we crossed through the turnstiles 

of the RDS and on that evening we 

defeated last week’s opponents 

Glasgow. A trip to South Africa and then 

back to the RDS against Zebre was how 

the season was planned, but we all know 

what happened next in terms of, well just 

about everything. 

Now after what has been a long road 

for all concerned (Leinster Rugby and 

fans alike) this evening’s fixture against 

Dragons is akin to a final! Fans are 

returning to the RDS and get to roar out 

both teams to the pitch. 

Both teams will be looking to end what 

has been a very long season on a high 

before some players look to summer 

tours with the British and Irish Lions as 

well as their respective international 

sides whilst others look to just take a 

well-deserved break and relax with 

friends and family. 

In the 2020/21 Guinness PRO14, we 

faced off against tonight’s opponents 

twice and both times secured victory. 

Round 1 in October saw us secure a 

35-5 victory at home in the RDS while 

the return fixture in Round 12 of the 

competition in February of this year, saw 

us again secure victory over in Rodney 

Parade but on a much tighter score-line 

of 35-29. 

The Rainbow Cup has seen both of us 

play four times with Leinster winning two 

and losing two while Dragons are one 

win and four losses. Form should never 

be taken for granted and you can be 

sure that for the last game of the season 

and especially one in front of a crowd, 

both will be looking to end on a high so 

we’re expecting some top notch end-toend 

action here. 

The end of the season whilst a welcome 

relief for some is also tinged with 

sadness for others and this season is 

no exception as we bid farewell to two 

generals of the Leinster game. Scott 

Fardy and Michael Bent announced 

their retirement earlier in the season 

and we do hope that the fans can show 

them the respect and appreciation both 

deserve. While other players were off 

on international duty, Scott and Michael 

carried many a team performance and 

ground out vital wins where necessary 

and this is often a hard feat to achieve 

and for this we can only say ‘Thank You’. 

The current OLSC Committee will also 

be wrapping up at the end of this season 

as, with brighter lights ahead of us, and 

the beginning of the return to games, 

it’s time for a new committee to take the 

reins and work with both supporters and 

Leinster Rugby alike to continue to grow 

the OLSC both at home and abroad. 

We would like to take the opportunity 

to thank all at Leinster Rugby for their 

support and guidance throughout the 

last two seasons. You know who you 

are and it’s unfair to name individuals 

as all continue to work tirelessly to bring 

supporters the game we love so well. 

None of us ever imagined it would be 

so long before we returned to the RDS 

but the clouds have lifted, the rain has 

cleared and the sky is once again BLUE!! 

If you’re in attendance tonight, please 

adhere to all guidelines and be mindful 

of others also, this is a big step for us all 

but it’s a step in the right direction. The 

OLSC will be on-hand to assist around 

the stadium and we, and all the staff at 

the RDS, ask for your patience as we all 

learn to navigate in these circumstances. 

We do ask though that once the teams 

take to the pitch, scream yourself hoarse 

as the boost the players will get will be 

like nothing we have seen before!! 

Be loud, be true, be BLUE. 

OLSC Committee 


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SUPPORTERS 

CLUB 

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now launched our online shop. Our range of supporter items include: 

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ONE FROM 

The Vaults 

Leinster 35 Dragons 5 

Guinness PRO14 | RDS Arena | 2 October 2020 | Ref: Andrea Piardi 

Leinster Rugby opened their defence 

of the Guinness PRO14 title earlier 

this season with a five-try defeat of 

Dragons at the RDS Arena. 

First half-tries from Garry Ringrose, Jordan 

Larmour and James Lowe as well as successful 

conversions from three different kickers helped 

Leinster to a 21-0 lead at the break. 

They followed that up with two further efforts, 

a Lowe second as well as another from 

replacement Ryan Baird, just minutes after his 

introduction. 

The Irish province nearly opened the scoring 

with Johnny Sexton’s grubber giving Hugo 

Keenan an outside chance at winning the race 

to the line, the full-back beating Jonah Holmes 

to the pounce, only to lose control of the ball. 

The combined work of No 8 Ross Moriarty 

from the base of the scrum and Rhodri Williams 

from the boot took play up towards halfway. 

When Michael Bent could not hold onto 

Jamison Gibson-Park’s fizzing service, Dragons 

had field position. But, Leinster’s linespeed 

forced Dragons backwards and their out-half 

Sam Davies into kicking in behind. 

Then, the Welsh club outfoxed Leinster, refusing 

to engage in a maul to swindle a turnover 

scrum for accidental obstruction. They were 

hunting points when hooker Rónan Kelleher’s 

counter-ruck led to a relieving penalty. 

A burst from Kelleher and a touch of creativity 

from Lowe down the left was eventually undone 

by Lowe’s inaccurate follow-up pass to Tommy 

O’Brien. 

Then, Lowe popped up to take Sexton’s nolook 

pass up the middle, the speed of the ball 

causing consternation. Jamie Roberts took 

O’Brien too high, for what was soon deemed 

to be a yellow card, and Garry Ringrose 

strolled over for the first try, Sexton converting 

for 7-0 in the 18th minute. 

LEINSTER: 

Hugo Keenan; Jordan 

Larmour, Garry 

Ringrose, Ciarán 

Frawley (Tommy O’Brien 

9), James Lowe; Johnny 

Sexton (Ross Byrne 23), 

Jamison Gibson-Park 

(Luke McGrath 67); Ed 

Byrne (Cian Healy 49), 

Rónan Kelleher (Seán 

Cronin 49), Michael 

Bent (Andrew Porter 

49); Scott Fardy, James 

Ryan; Rhys Ruddock, 

Josh van der Flier, 

Jack Conan (Max 

Deegan 49). 

DRAGONS: 

Will Talbot-Davies; 

Jonah Holmes, Nick 

Tompkins, Jamie Roberts 

(Adam Warren 71), 

Ashton Hewitt; Sam 

Davies, Rhodri Williams 

(Travis Knoyle 67); Brok 

Harris (Conor Maguire 

62), Elliot Dee (Richard 

Hibbard 70), Aaron 

Jarvis (Lloyd Fairbrother 

41); Joseph Davies, Joe 

Maksymiw (Matthew 

Screech 49); Aaron 

Wainwright, Harrison 

Keddie (Taine Basham 

63), Ross Moriarty. 

From the restart, Leinster went into overdrive, 

moving the ball from touchline to touchline, 

punching through 23 rapid-fire phases with 

Sexton’s long, looping pass enabling Larmour 

to touch down in the 23rd minute. Ringrose 

added the sideline conversion as Sexton was 

replaced by Ross Byrne. 

The pressure from James Ryan was enough to 

cause Joseph Davies to spill a lineout before 

Kelleher’s nuisance value hampered Rhodri 

Williams and Josh van der Flier seized on 

a loose ball. Ross Byrne’s punt forward and 

Keenan’s chase was just about foiled by the 

work-rate of Aaron Wainwright. 

The tide of possession was washing over the 

Dragons, a rare van der Flier mistake releasing 

the pressure. Lowe’s footwork, Ringrose’s mazy 

run and blurring hands created the overlap for 

Lowe to snap up the third try, Byrne converting 

from the left touchline for 21-0 on 33 minutes. 

Second row Ryan made up for conceding a 

penalty when snatching a five-metre lineout 

away from Wainwright. At last, it looked like 

Sam Davies was about to hit back from Jonah 

Holmes’ set-up until he lost his feet and the ball 

from O’Brien’s super-flexible poach. 

The Dragons had to make something happen 

or risk becoming completely detached on the 

scoreboard. They scrapped away for almost 

the length of the third quarter, making a better 

fist of gaining territory. 

Nick Tompkins took on Ringrose in contact 

and Cian Healy was penalised for Dragons to 

apply lineout pressure which Ryan shut down. 

At the other end, Leinster went up the guts of a 

maul from Sean Cronin’s throw to Scott Fardy, 

the ball transferred left for Lowe to hold-off 

Holmes into the left corner to seal the bonuspoint, 

Byrne stitching on the conversion in the 

57th minute. 

Before long, the penetration of Roberts and 

hooker Elliot Dee provided the space on the 


left for wing Ashton Hewitt to complete an 

acrobatic finish under pressure from van der 

Flier on the hour. 

Out of nothing, Ryan ripped the ball away 

from Wainwright and took off for what looked 

like a certain try until Williams clipped his heels 

with a tap tackle. 

Straight away, Baird was onto a botched 

lineout to bowl over two tacklers on his way 

to a stunning try for Byrne to tag on a fifth 

conversion. 

advantages and Keenan having to turn quickly 

to prevent further damage. 

Two more infringements meant yellow for 

Ruddock, a challenge they responded to, in 

holding their line intact. 

They kept enough in store to hammer out one 

more attack, Luke McGrath hailed down short 

of glory and Keenan denied by a foot in touch 

in what was a satisfactory night’s work. 

Hooker Cronin blasted his way out of defence, 

Ryan was the link man and Rhys Ruddock the 

chaser in the next attack. Ringrose was the 

chief creator for Larmour to go close. 

The Dragons were not quite done, the 

dancing feet of Hewitt leading to two penalty 


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Virtual Mascot 

Seán 

McCarthy 

Age: 12 

School & Class: 

Gaelscoil Naomh Pádraig 

Sixth Class 

Hobbies: 

GAA and Taekwondo 

Favourite Player: 

Johnny Sexton 


Where are 

they now? 

By Des Berry 

PAUL 

O'DONOHOE 

THEN: THE CLONTARF SCRUM-HALF 

MADE 18 APPEARANCES FOR LEINSTER 

IN THREE SEASONS FROM 2009 TO 2011. 

NOW: PAUL LIVES AND WORKS IN 

LONDON AS THE EXECUTIVE VICE- 

CHAIRMAN AT JOE MEDIA. 

The greatest day in the history of 

Leinster Rugby didn’t turn out too 

great for Paul O’Donohoe. 

The Leicester Tigers had just been 

declawed, the ‘Holy Grail’ that was the 

Heineken Cup captured for the first time 

in 2009. 

The 21-year-old had spent the whole 

occasion in his suit, taking in more than 

the sun. 

Nigel Owens’ final whistle was the 

signal for a riotous celebration, part 

outpouring of buttoned-up emotion, part 

relief to have finally turned promise into 

achievement. 

There in the middle of the party was 

O’Donohoe, the rookie scrum-half behind 

Chris Whittaker and Chris Keane. 

Two years later, he was on his way west 

to Connacht after just three seasons, 

seven starts and 18 caps. 

The seeds for his migration were sown, in 

some part, later into that ground-breaking 

evening when the entertainer inside of 

O’Donohoe landed him on the wrong 

side of coach Michael Cheika. 

He takes up the story: “Everyone was 

on cloud nine. I thought I was Floyd 

Mayweather walking around Edinburgh 

in the suit. 


“I HAD A GREAT BUNCH 

OF MATES IN A WINNING 

ENVIRONMENT. IT WAS A HARD 

DECISION TO LEAVE.” 


“We went from the stadium to the bus 

to the airport. By the time we got on the 

plane, we were all flying,” he laughs. 

“I was down the back in 39F. I had been 

doing an impression of Cheiks in the 

dressing room all year. The lads at the 

front of the plane started chanting ‘Paulie 

for Cheika! Paulie for Cheika!.’ 

“I was afraid of my life of Cheiks, so 

I kept my head down. There was no 

chance of me getting up to do it,” he 

adds. 

“Next thing, another chorus goes up 

‘Paulie for Cheika!’ I keep quiet. Then, 

Felipe Contepomi comes down: “Paulie, 

come on! Get up there!” 

“It was getting to the point where it would 

look worse if I wasn’t to do it. I got up 

and got on the mic. 

“How are ya? How f**kin’ good was 

that today, aye! They thought we were a 

pack of soft clowns. Well, we went hard 

enough today, aye!” 

It all built up to a crescendo, nailing 

down the in-your-face monologue. 

O’Donohoe was greeted with uproarious 

cheers. He was high-fiving everyone as 

he started back down the aisle. 

“On the way, I see Cheika sitting in Row 

5. He looks up and just says, ‘You’re 

going to regret that, you little s**t!” 

“I went grey, completely grey. And the 

lads were all doubled-over laughing, 

chanting ‘Cheerio! Cheerio! Cheerio!’ 

followed by ‘Paulie to Connacht! Paulie 

to Connacht!’” 

“I sat back down, my tail between my 

legs, quiet as a mouse for the rest of the 

flight.” 

O’Donohoe’s perspective on Leinster is 

framed around coming into the province 

in the middle of Cheika’s drive to turn the 

province into European champions. 

“It was a funny time. I, literally, just got 

into the senior squad when there was 

the star trio of (Denis) Hickie, (Shane) 

Horgan and (Brian) O’Driscoll and the 

perceived under-performers underneath 

them. 

“It was the ‘Ladyboys’ time in the words 

of Neil Francis, you know, ‘these boys 

don’t count’. They don’t matter. 

“To be fair, culturally, it wasn’t that 

professional. There was midweek 

drinking, all sorts going on. 

“Cheiks wasn’t technically the best coach. 

What he was very strong at was getting 

good people around him and, culturally, 

you needed his abrasive character to 

really turn the tide. 

“It was ugly at times. There were some 

tricky days and weeks and months of 

tension as change brought with it a 

cantankerous vibe around the place. It 

was key. It had to happen.” 

“There was definitely an element of ‘he 

had his favourites’ and they were treated 

a certain way. It was a smart play by him 

because he needed allies to drive the 

seismic change that was needed. 

“He wasn’t going to take on the whole 

squad by himself. He needed strong 

support from players of international ilk.” 

O’Donohoe was not long for a life in 

Blue, even though his three seasons did 

bridge the handover from Cheika to Joe 

Schmidt. 

“Joe couldn’t have done the job he did 

without Cheiks doing the job he had in 

cleaning up the stable. 

“This left Joe to sprinkle on the fairy-dust 

and detail,” says Paul. 

“Joe was phenomenal. I remember the 

technical detail he went into around 

video review.” 

The tone was set for a remarkable reign 

in the first pre-season, doing a generic 

review of one of the backs’ sessions.” 

Out of the blue, Schmidt zeroed in on 

the one man everyone thought was 

untouchable. 

“It went something like this: ‘Drico, what 

are you thinking here mate?’ 

“’How do you mean, Joe?” replies 

Brian.’” 

The temperature of the room changed. 

This just didn’t happen. 


“’Look, it is clearly never a drift (in 

defence). You’ve left your shoulder open 

on the inside.’ 

“’I see what you mean. Yeah, that is a 

completely fair point.’” 

In one short exchange, Schmidt had set 

the table for what was to come. 

“Sometimes you see someone make a 

conscious effort to take down the big 

dog. It wasn’t like that. It was just a super 

fair, technical point you couldn’t argue 

with. 

“It was this shift into everyone seen 

as equally accountable that changed 

everything,” notes Paul. 

O’Donohoe would move on to Connacht 

to continue and, ultimately, conclude 

his career, not before taking important 

experiences that are central to his 

working life today. 

“I had a great bunch of mates in a 

winning environment. It was a hard 

decision to leave,” he shares. 

“But, Ireland’s scrum-halves, Eoin Reddan 

and Isaac Boss were ahead of me. I was 

conscious of getting game time to break 

into the Ireland squad or let rugby go.” 

O’Donohoe was never going to stay on 

and test the path of the journeyman. 

“I had one really distinct memory from my 

first year at Leinster. Mal O’Kelly was one 

of the Harlem Globetrotters in the club. 

I could barely talk to the lad when I first 

graduated to the senior dressing-room. I 

was so nervous. 

“We ended up being great friends, so 

much so that we ended up going on 

holiday to South America at the end of 

the 2009 season, a 20-year-old and a 

35-year-old. 

“It was the end of his contract and, just 

like that, that was it for him, after all he 

had done. It really struck a chord with 

me. 

“By the way, Mal had a very different 

career trajectory to mine. I was never 

going to stay in the game that long.” 

A back issue may have accelerated the 

process. He finished with rugby at 26. 

There was no master plan in place. There 

was just the intuition that I knew it was 

time for something different. 

“I never identified myself as a rugby nut. 

That it was all I had. Yet, when you leave, 

it is all people know you for.” 

There was a period of recalibration, 

finding a new way forward. It took one 

or two years for O’Donohoe to navigate 

that course. 

“Along the way, there were many 

mistakes and moments in offices I 

prefer not to recount, from struggling 

to put memory sticks into computers to 

misunderstanding corporate-speak. 

“It was very difficult at times. You had to 

find out who you were, what made you 

tick away from rugby. 

“Your currency plummets. You go from 

being in a job where you are valued - 

people respect your opinion and work 

ethic - to nothing.” 

What he did have was two older 

brothers, Matthew and Damien, who 

worked in the media entertainment 

industry. 

He had access to a network of contacts 

and moved to London to begin to climb 

that ladder, eventually working his way 

into the sports media rights space with 

acquisition and distribution company 

Pitch International for three years. 

“It was a very aggressive learning curve 

in a small, agile business,” he states. 

“What I took with me from my days 

at Leinster was that culture shift from 

2007 to 2011, what it took to develop a 

winning culture from something that was 

not where it should have been. 

“I still carry that special journey and 

experience with me every day. It is a real 

advantage in understanding what elite 

professionalism requires. 

“You do have to look after your 

own house, police yourself, have the 

emotional control, try to find the one per 

cent progress.” 

O’Donohoe moved into a new venture 

with four partners, raising funds to set 

up Greencastle Capital, the fund and 

holding company for publishers JOE.ie, 

HER.ie, HerFamily.ie, Lovin Media, The 

London Economic. 

“We had a specific investment remit 

around digital media brands and 

ancillary opportunities around them from 

live events to development of new IP and 

consumer products.” 

In a fast-moving industry, O’Donohoe still 

cherishes those experiences at Leinster 

and uses many of them to chart his career 

course. 


BY DAN WALLACE 

Welcome to the final Referees 

Corner of the season. What a 

strange season it has been with 

little or no refereeing on the 

pitch but plenty of action and 

education off the pitch. It is great 

to hear that 1200 supporters will 

be allowed into the RDS for this 

game. We’re also delighted that 

IRFU and Leinster are getting to 

introduce rugby back to clubs. 

We, unfortunately, said goodbye to two 

former Presidents of the Leinster Rugby 

Referees in the last couple of weeks. It is 

with great sadness that we learned of the 

news of the passing of Jerome Counihan 

(2009/10), on May 26. 

Many of you will have been acquainted 

with Jerome throughout his time with the 

organisation and Monkstown FC and will 

have many fond memories of him. Our 

sympathies go to his wife Lorna and sons 

Jerome D. and Shane. 

We then learned of the passing of our 

oldest member, David Bell (1966/67) 

on May 31 in his 102nd year. David will 

be fondly remembered by all who knew 

him, especially those in Lansdowne FC 

and The Association of Referees (Leinster 

Branch). 

Our sympathies go to his family Paul, 

David and Cathy Anne. 

May they both Rest in Peace. 

Keeping the Show on the Road 

A massive shout out must go 

to our area representatives 

Tom Colton, John Dunne, Joe 

McDermott, Paddy Curran and 

Kevin McDermott for the great 

work that they have done in 

keeping the show on the road. 

Coupled with Seán Gallagher and 

Sam Holt they delivered every monthly 

meeting this year and helped educate 

and keep our referees focused during the 

season. In the background our Referees 

Committee and various management 

teams led by President David Robb 

and David MacDonald have helped 

tremendously with facilitating these 

meetings. Massive thanks must also go to 

Hayley Whyte in the office for her hard 

work. 

We are delighted to see the return of 

rugby across the country and with it 

the importance of our roles as a match 

official of the game. In order to ensure 

that everyone is up to speed and ready to 

embark on a new season the IRFU have 

sent a ‘Return to Refereeing’ course to all 

match officials. 

Completing this course is compulsory 

for all match officials (including referees, 

touch judges, evaluators, referee coaches 

and mentors) in order to re-commence 

officiating post-COVID-restriction times. 

It is a superb course, broken into eight 

modules that you can work through at 

your own pace. Each module contains 

interactive elements, ‘Knowledge Checks’ 

and videos, culminating in a final Course 

Quiz which you must pass in order to 

complete the course and achieve the 

IRFU Return to Refereeing certificate. 

Thankfully I passed mine and I’m ready 


for the Annual Seminar in August and the 

new season!!! 

Have you just finished playing and find 

yourself wondering how you can stay 

involved in rugby? Or maybe the recent 

pandemic has opened your eyes to 

your free time and flexibility and has 

you looking for a new challenge. Then 

perhaps refereeing is the next step for 

you. Increasingly, more and more players 

who have decided to hang up the boots 

are continuing their rugby journey by 

taking up the whistle. 

Why? Refereeing is an excellent way to 

maintain your fitness level after you retire. 

You are still getting out on the pitch and 

enjoying the game from the best seat 

in the house. Your playing experience 

will certainly also stand to you in terms 

of your ability to read the game and in 

understanding what the players are trying 

to achieve. 

All of the provincial associations/ 

societies have members who are former 

players, and they referee at all levels 

from underage right up to the Energia 

All-Ireland League. Some have even 

progressed into High Performance and 

officiate at the highest level. Andrew 

Brace, Frank Murphy, Alain Rolland and 

Joy Neville all enjoyed distinguished 

playing careers before taking up the 

whistle. 

If you only wish to referee in 

your own club or school then 

the Affiliate Referee Scheme is 

for you. The Affiliate Referee 

course can be done online and is 

available on the IRFU website. 

We will have details of upcoming 

courses over the summer. 

Want to get involved? 

Feel free to make contact with the Leinster Rugby 

Referees at hayley.whyte@leinsterrugby.ie. 

If you are interested in becoming a referee get in 

contact with us through our Facebook and Google + 

pages, our website www.arlb.ie or through twitter 

@leinsterreferee. 


LEINSTER RUGBY CHARITY PARTNER 

The Gavin Glynn Foundation 

IN IRELAND, EVERY WEEK, FOUR 

FAMILIES ARE TOLD ‘YOUR 

CHILD HAS CANCER’. 

Each year in Ireland, 

approximately 220 children are 

newly diagnosed with cancer in 

Ireland. Whilst cancer in young 

people is rare, it is still a major 

health issue in Ireland and 

worldwide. 

Despite improving survival rates, cancer is 

still the leading cause of death by disease 

beyond one year of age in the EU. 

One in five children will lose their battle 

to cancer. 

Cancers in children differ from cancers 

in adults. The most frequent childhood 

cancers are leukaemias, tumours of the 

central nervous system (CNS), brain 

tumours and neuroblastomas. 

Childhood cancer generally cannot be 

prevented or screened. 

Unfortunately, this means that most 

children are diagnosed after the disease 

has spread, making the disease more 

difficult to treat and requiring more 

intensive and therefore more toxic 

treatments. 

Improving outcomes for children with 

cancer requires early and accurate 

diagnosis, followed by effective treatment. 

ABOUT THE GAVIN 

GLYNN FOUNDATION 

The Gavin Glynn Foundation was set 

up by John and Jayne Glynn - parents 

of Gavin Glynn who passed away from 

cancer aged just four and a half years 

old, on October 21, 2014. 

During Gavin’s battle with cancer the 

Glynn family travelled to a number of 

different countries for specialist cancer 

treatment for their youngest son. 

Through this experience, they learnt 

exactly what is involved in organising 

transport, accommodation and most 

importantly - seeking out the best 

specialist care available for their son’s 

cancer. 

The Foundation understand the strain that 

this logistical organisation puts on families 

who are already dealing with huge 

anxiety and sadness. 

The Gavin Glynn Foundation believes 

that all children with cancer deserve the 

best care, wherever in the world that 

might be. 

Keeping the whole family together, 

during travel for a child’s cancer 

treatment, is essential for the wellbeing 

of the patient, as well as the parents 

and siblings and by taking the financial 

burden and stress of arranging travel 

from these families, it allows parents focus 

all their time on their child and family. 

The Gavin Glynn Foundation arrange all 

logistics and cover all costs associated 

with: 

• Transportation (e.g. Flights, Car Hire). 

• Transportation to and from the 

designated Airports. 

• Accommodation within, or close to, 

the designated medical centre. 

• Food and living expenses for the 

duration of the child’s treatment while 

abroad. 

The Foundation also funds independent 

second opinions so that patients can 

be matched with appropriately focused 

physicians and scientists worldwide and 

next generation molecular testing which 

uses genetic information to determine the 

right treatment, for the right patient, at the 

right time. 

The Gavin Glynn Foundation is the only 

registered charity in Ireland providing this 

support for families battling childhood 

cancer. 

To date, with the support of the 

Foundation’s amazing supporters, The 

Gavin Glynn Foundation has been able 

to help 150 families from all over Ireland. 

The foundation currently does not receive 

any government funding so rely on public 

donations and many fundraising events 

like triathlons, runs and sea swims. 


Stories from Families The Gavin 

Glynn Foundation have helped: 

Michelle 

Michelle is our youngest 

daughter, she has always been 

a happy active child, she is a big 

fan of GAA, she has always been 

involved in all activities. 

Suddenly we noticed some slight 

pulsation (nerve spasm) in her left arm. 

On November 11, 2020, we celebrated 

Michelle’s 10th birthday. The next day, 

she had her MRI and a few hours later 

the doctor rang, to meet us. We drove 

back to Tullamore hospital where he was 

waiting for us. He showed us the MRI and 

explained what was there and referred us 

to Temple Street Hospital straight away. 

Michelle had been diagnosed with a 

rare tumour in her spinal cord called 

‘Ganglioglioma’. 

The neurosurgeons were giving us very 

small chances because the tumour started 

from the second vertebrae until the 

seventh vertebrae. It was too close to the 

brain they were saying after surgery and 

she might never walk again or may have 

issues with breathing and she will need 

lung ventilation for the rest of her life. 

Our world had fallen apart. 

On November 24, in Temple Street 

Children’s hospital, Michelle had her 

surgery on her spine. She made great 

progress in four months of recovery. She 

had to learn how to walk again. 

We were advised to do Proton therapy 

together with oral chemotherapy in 

Germany. On April 12, 2021 we flew to 

Essen in Germany and just arrived back 

to Ireland this week. 

We cannot express how grateful we are 

to The Gavin Glynn Foundation, for all 

the help and advice. There was a time 

when we were so lost, but when we 

spoke with them it was the bright light 

at the end of the tunnel, they made our 

journey so easy and calm - organised 

flights/accommodation living expenses 

and transport for our stay in Germany. 

The Gavin Glynn Foundation – the job 

they are doing is absolutely brilliant and 

amazing, thank you from the bottom of 

our hearts! 

Lenars (Michelle’s Dad) 

Roisín 

Our whole world was turned 

upside down in February 2015 

when Roisín was 3 years old and 

her health took a turn. 

After constant visits to the GP over 

a number of weeks with no signs of 

improvement I took Roisín to Clonmel 

Hospital where they knew straight 

away how unwell she was and within 

an hour we had her diagnosis of Acute 

Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL). 

That night she was immediately 

transported to Crumlin and the next 

day began a combination of different 

chemotherapy drugs for a duration of two 

and a half years. 

In August 2017, Roisín was finally able 

to begin her childhood once again 

by starting Junior Infants. She had a 

fantastic year, making great progress 

educationally and socially. 

Just one year later in August 2018, we 

discovered that Roisín relapsed. 

The cancer had returned, and the fight 

began once again. 

Roisín, now nine, had a fairly steady road 

up until November 2020, with just three 

months of treatment left, when she had a 

sudden onset of pain in her shoulder. 

She was being treated for suspected 

Septic Arthritis which when further 

investigation took place it was discovered 

that she had actually relapsed again. 

Roisín has spent six of her nine years on 

this earth fighting. 

After a second relapse, her treatment 

options became limited. Together with 

international specialists from all different 

countries, Roisín’s consultants decided to 

put her forward to CAR T-cell therapy in 

the United Kingdom 

Thanks to The Gavin Glynn Foundation, 

Roisín travelled to the Royal Children’s 

Hospital in Manchester in November 

2020 to receive this amazing treatment 

that is not yet available in Ireland. 

We spent eight weeks in an isolation 

room in Manchester hospital where Roisín 

received the CAR T-cell treatment, and in 

April this year received the news that she 

is now cancer free. 

We are forever thankful to The Gavin 

Glynn Foundation for helping us every 

step of the way and is only ever a text 

message or a call away. 

Cora (Roisín’s Mammy) 

Caden 

Caden is a seven-year-old boy 

from Dublin who was diagnosed 

on December 4, 2019, following 

weeks of intermittent vomiting 

and headaches and persistent 

misdiagnosis with a brain tumour 

(medulloblastoma). 

Caden underwent two brain surgeries 

in Temple Street hospital to remove the 

tumour but then also needed specialist 

Proton radiation treatment in Germany. 


Survival mode really kicks in when 

cancer enters your life, you become 

consumed with it and this is where The 

Gavin Glynn Foundation have lifted a lot 

of the burden. 

Despite it being over the Christmas 

period, The Gavin Glynn Foundation 

organised flights, accommodation, 

transfers and living expenses for the six 

weeks stay in Germany. 

We didn’t have to think about the 

practicalities of such a trip at a time when 

we could not think straight. For this we 

will be eternally grateful to the Gavin 

Glynn Foundation. 

(Christine – Caden’s Mum) 

Eoin 

This is our little boy Eoin, 

who was diagnosed with 

a rare brain tumour called 

Craniopharyngioma on March 

9, 2017, shortly after his second 

birthday. 

In the few months prior to his diagnosis, 

we had noticed an issue with his vision. 

We took him to an ophthalmologist who, 

after finding no anatomical abnormality, 

ordered an MRI scan which revealed this 

horrible mass right in the centre of his 

brain, and pressing on his optic nerve. 

The decision was then made to partially 

remove the tumour surgically. The 

surgeon was quite pleased with the result 

as he had managed to remove 95 per 

cent of the tumour. 

Unfortunately, the remaining part of 

the tumour had grown again and the 

Oncology team in Crumlin Hospital have 

decided that Proton therapy is necessary 

at this stage. 

This type of treatment is not available in 

Ireland and therefore we find ourselves 

having to travel to Germany. 

And this is where The Gavin Glynn 

Foundation stepped in. From initial 

contact with the Foundation, they had 

shown nothing but kindness and immense 

support toward us. 

Receiving the news about Eoin has been 

extremely hard and it has been a very 

emotional year. John and his team have 

taken the stress of travel arrangements 

so that we could focus on our little boy 

and the tough journey that lies ahead. 

We are so humbled by the kindness and 

generosity that this organization have 

bestowed upon us and we could not 

thank them enough. 

(Bahia – Eoin’s Mum) 

Kiril 

Kiril is a four-year-old boy from 

Dublin. Kiril was growing up 

normally just like any other child. 

He never had any health issues 

at all, he was a very active and 

chatty boy until February 2021 he 

started to vomit. 

The symptoms lasted for two weeks and 

he started to complain with headaches 

and became very weak at the same time. 

Natali (Kiril’s Mum) brought him to 

University Hospital Tallaght where he had 

a CT scan. 

We then received the news about a 

silently growing brain tumour called 

Apendimoma. 

The same day Kiril was transferred to 

Temple Street Hospital and a few days 

later he went through a long surgery 

where the surgeons were able to remove 

the tumour. 

We all were so relieved as the tumour 

was removed. 

A few days later, Kiril had to have a 

second surgery after which he was 

brought into induced coma for six days 

and two days after that he had his third 

surgery. 

Kiril spent nine weeks in hospital working 

hard by learning to speak and walk 

again. 

It took a bit longer because of 

complications but we are so thankful to 

all the staff in Temple Street Hospital. 

The next stage of recommended 

treatment for Kiril was Proton therapy in 

Essen, Germany. 

Our social worker gave us the details of 

The Gavin Glynn Foundation to help with 

our trip. 

We arrived in Essen on May 10 and will 

be here for eight weeks. 

We are so grateful to The Gavin Glynn 

Foundation for taking all the stress and 

worry away from this trip. They arranged 

our flights, transfers, apartment and living 

expenses for the eight weeks’ stay in 

Germany for Kiril’s Proton Therapy. 

(Natalia – Kiril’s Mum). 

For more information about The 

Gavin Glynn Foundation and the 

families they are helping please visit 

www.tggf.ie 


KNOWING WHAT ADVICE TO TAKE 

IS ESSENTIAL IN THIS GAME. 

beauchamps.ie 

OFFICIAL LEGAL ADVISOR 

Beauchamps LLP | Riverside Two | Sir John Rogerson’s Quay | Dublin 2 | D02 KV60

TO MAXIMISE YOUR SPORTS AND EXERCISE 

PERFORMANCE THROUGH NUTRITION 

Optimum Nutrition and Leinster Rugby have partnered to help share good nutrition tips throughout 

the season to help you achieve your performance goals. Here are some simple tips and things to 

remember to help maximise your performance and help you recover quickly to come back stronger. 

Protein Rich. 

Protein provides your muscles with 

the building blocks to repair & grow. 

Carb-Up. 

Carbohydrate foods are king as they 

power high intensity play. 

Fuel-Up. 

Consume the majority of your 

carbohydrates around training to 

support fuelling and recovery. 

Recover. 

Quality rest & nutrition between 

training sessions is the key to 

recovery. Remember to: 

Repair with protein, 

Refuel with carbohydrate, 

Rehydrate with fluid. 

Hydrate. 

Dehydration can lead to a drop in 

exercise intensity & can impact your 

decision making. Drink 2-3 litres of 

fluid each day to ensure hydration. 

Game Day. 

To fuel performance on the field, 

consume a large carbohydrate rich 

meal 2-3 hours before kick-off, i.e. 

chicken & pasta, turkey bolognaise 

wraps. 

Get 20% off all Optimum Nutrition products 

using code Leinster20 on optimumnutrition.ie

IN OPPOSITION 

Dragons Rugby 

Last Time Out 

Dragons 16 Glasgow Warriors 27 

Guinness PRO14 Rainbow Cup | Cardiff City Stadium | 29 May 2021 

COUNTRY 

DRAGONS SUFFERED A 27-16 DEFEAT AT THE HANDS OF THE 

GLASGOW WARRIORS IN A HIGHLY PHYSICAL CONTEST 

AT THE CARDIFF CITY STADIUM IN ROUND FOUR OF THE 

GUINNESS PRO14 RAINBOW CUP. 

WALES 

HOME GROUND(S) 

RODNEY PARADE 

FOUNDED 

2003 

Eleven points from the boot of Sam 

Davies plus a try from Aneurin Owen 

wasn’t enough for the home side as 

they suffered a third defeat of the 

tournament. 

Glasgow managed tries from Kyle Steyn, 

George Turner, Kiran McDonald and Ross 

Thompson scored one himself as well as adding 

seven points with the boot to give the away side 

revenge after suffering two losses to Dragons in 

the Guinness PRO14 regular season. 

The away side started the better and they tried 

to set the tempo early with some quick phase 

play, but a couple of unforced errors allowed 

the Dragons to escape unscathed. 

The away side thought they had the opening 

score with Nick Grigg bundling his way over 

just 10 minutes in after some good hands from 

the Glasgow backline but it was brought back 

for a penalty against recently announced Lion 

Zander Ferguson for a forearm to the neck. 

The Warriors clearly went to Wales to be 

physical after being dominated in that area at 

the Principality Stadium in April. 

But after all Glasgow’s dominance in the 

opening minutes it was the home side who 

scored first with Owen bursting through a 

gap in midfield and crossing the whitewash 

after a strong lineout move. Davies added the 

conversion and the home side led 7-0 after 13 

minutes. 

The next few minutes were more of the same 

with Glasgow dominating territory but finding 

no way past the Dragons defence with the 

DRAGONS: 

Ioan Davies; Jonah 

Holmes, Jack Dixon, 

Aneurin Owen, Rio 

Dyer; Sam Davies, 

Gonzalo Bertranou; Brok 

Harris (Josh Reynolds 

65), Richard Hibbard 

(Elliot Dee 46), Lloyd 

Fairbrother (Aaron Jarvis 

60); Matthew Screech, 

Ben Carter (Joe Davies 

54), Ross Moriarty, Ollie 

Griffiths (Taine Basham 

60), Aaron Wainwright 

GLASGOW WARRIORS: 

Adam Hastings; Kyle Steyn, 

Nick Grigg (Rufus McLean 

60), Sam Johnson (Stafford 

McDowall 70), Cole 

Forbes; Ross Thompson, Ali 

Price (George Horne 64); 

Aki Seiuli (Tom Lambert 

64), George Turner 

(Fraser Brown 55), Zander 

Fagerson (Enrique Pieretto 

69); Rob Harley, Scott 

Cummings; Ryan Wilson 

(Kiran McDonald 60), 

Rory Darge (Fotu Lokotui 

78), Matt Fagerson. 

Words: dragonsrugby.wales 

Photos: inpho.ie 

away side’s only opportunity in the opening 

quarter coming from an ambitious Adam 

Hastings drop goal which was way off the 

mark. 

Out-half Davies extended the home side’s 

lead with a penalty off the tee, as Dragons 

continued their efficiency when entering the 

away side’s half by coming away with points. 

Glasgow did manage to get their first points on 

the board thanks to the boot of Thompson who 

slotted home a penalty off the tee to narrow the 

score to seven points. 

But that didn’t last long as some strong 

Glasgow defence forced Davies into a drop 

goal and he made no mistake as he restored 

the lead to 10 points on the half-hour mark, 

making it 13-3 with 10 to go before half-time. 

Glasgow finally got the try that their first half 

performance deserved, after some sustained 

pressure on the Dragons try line, they 

eventually got it out wide with winger Steyn 

scoring untouched in the corner. 

Thompson missed the extras, but moments later 

finished off a beautiful Glasgow team try after 

some fantastic hands by the forwards following 

a George Turner break around half-way. 

The Glasgow fly half converted his own try 

giving his side a 15-13 lead heading into 

half-time, and Dragons were down to 14 with 

captain Ross Moriarty sin-binned for a foul 

in the build-up, in a very physical contest in 

Cardiff. 

Glasgow thought they started the second half 


as they ended the first with another try after 

once again some brilliant hands from the 

Warriors but a successful captain’s challenge 

from the Dragons showed a knock on in the 

build-up. 

Moments later they did get their try with hooker 

Turner powering his way over from the back of 

a dominant driving maul, to extend the away 

side’s lead. Thompson added the conversion to 

give Glasgow a 22-13 lead. 

Glasgow thought they secured their bonus 

point try with Ali Price crossing after another 

neat backline move before the scrum half 

sniped from the ruck to get over - but it was 

again brought back for crossing in midfield. 

A nervy 10 minutes followed with Dragons 

desperately needing the next score and 

Warriors trying to keep their intensity and 

pressure on the home side. 

The home side started to up the tempo heading 

into the final quarter, but they couldn’t find a 

way through the Warriors defence, despite 

some heavy and hard carrying. 

The boot of Davies brought Dragons within 

six points after another penalty making it a 

nervous final five minutes for the Warriors. 

But Glasgow sealed a well-earned bonus point 

win with replacement McDonald putting the 

final nail in the coffin for the away side in the 

final play of the game. 


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We are also proud to continue our partnership 

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Squad | Positions 2020/21 

Director of Rugby | Dean Ryan 

Dean Ryan was appointed 

Director of Dragons Rugby in 

May 2019, joining from the RFU 

where he had been working as 

England’s Head of International 

Player Development. 

Ryan’s coaching career began at Bristol 

Rugby, the last club he played for in a 

career that included stints at Saracens, 

Wasps and Newcastle Falcons as well as 

making six appearances for England. 

From Bristol, he moved to Gloucester 

where he worked under Nigel Melville. 

He eventually graduated to Director of 

Rugby at Gloucester in 2005 and the 

Cherry and Whites lifted the European 

Challenge Cup in 2006 before reaching 

the Premiership Final in 2007. 

He also guided Worcester Warriors back 

to the top tier of English rugby in 2014. 

Captain | Rhodri Williams 

Wales international scrum 

half Rhodri Williams moved to 

Dragons in the summer of 2018 

from Bristol Bears. 

Born in Swansea, Williams started his 

rugby career with Llandovery before 

winning selection for Scarlets where he 

would play between 2011 and 2016. 

Williams won Wales Under-20 honours 

in the 2013 Six Nations. He went on to 

make his full senior Wales debut against 

Tonga on November 2013. 

Williams represented the Barbarians 

against England at Twickenham in 

May 2018 and again in the summer of 

2019, scoring a second half try as a 

replacement. 

FORWARDS 

DYLAN BARTLETT 

PROP 

TAINE BASHAM 

FLANKER 

JAMES BENJAMIN 

NO. 8 

RYAN BEVINGTON 

PROP 

LEON BROWN 

PROP 

CHRIS COLEMAN 

PROP 

JOSEPH DAVIES 

LOCK 

ELLIOT DEE 

HOOKER 

TOM DEVINE 

PROP 

LEWIS EVANS 

BACK ROW 

LLOYD FAIRBROTHER 

PROP 

BEN FRY 

BACK ROW 

LENNON GREGGAINS 

BACK ROW 

OLLIE GRIFFITHS 

BACK ROW 

BROK HARRIS 

PROP 

RICHARD HIBBARD 

HOOKER 

AARON JARVIS 

PROP 

HARRISON KEDDIE 

NO. 8 

CONOR MAGUIRE 

PROP 

JOE MAKSYMIW 

LOCK 

ROSS MORIARTY 

BACK ROW 

BRANDON NANSEN 

LOCK 

JOSH REYNOLDS 

PROP 

MATTHEW SCREECH 

LOCK 

ELLIS SHIPP 

HOOKER 

HUW TAYLOR 

LOCK 

AARON 

WAINWRIGHT 

BACK ROW 

MAX WILLIAMS 

LOCK 

LUKE YENDLE 

PROP 

BACKS 

DAN BABOS 

SCRUM HALF 

LUKE BALDWIN 

SCRUM HALF 

SAM DAVIES 

FLY HALF 

JACK DIXON 

CENTRE 

RIO DYER 

WINGER 

CONNOR EDWARDS 

CENTRE 

JOE GOODCHILD 

WINGER 

THOMAS GRIFFITHS 

CENTRE 

ASHTON HEWITT 

WINGER 

JONAH HOLMES 

WINGER 

DAFYDD HOWELLS 

WINGER 

OWEN JENKINS 

WINGER 

WILL KELLY 

FLY HALF 

TAVIS KNOYLE 

SCRUM HALF 

JOSH LEWIS 

FLY HALF 

EVAN LLOYD 

CENTRE 

ANEURIN OWEN 

CENTRE 

CARWYN PENNY 

FLY HALF 

JAMIE ROBERTS 

CENTRE 

ARWEL ROBSON 

FLY HALF 

JARED ROSSER 

WINGER 

DEON SMITH 

WINGER 

WILL TALBOT-DAVIES 

FULL BACK 

NICK TOMPKINS 

CENTRE 

ADAM WARREN 

CENTRE 

JORDAN WILLIAMS 

FLY HALF 

RHODRI WILLIAMS 

SCRUM HALF 


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Blackrock 

College RFC 

Blackrock College is thinking longterm 

when it comes to putting 

in place a programme to lift the 

participation of women at their 

club. 

Whereas many clubs are looking 

at building from the top down, the 

volunteers out in Stradbrook are most 

interested in opening their arms to the 

younger girls in the community. 

The long-term process grew out of one of 

the Irish Rugby Football Union’s initiatives 

to attract more girls to play the sport. 

“This was all triggered by the Give It A 

Try (GIAT) Programme,” says Blackrock 

College Youths Co-ordinator Killian 

O’Sullivan. 

“We were encouraged to submit 

an application and members of the 

Blackrock senior squad got involved with 

the view of hosting the programme last 

summer. 

“When we received the go-ahead, it was 

mostly run by the senior squad and it 

became a roaring success. 

“When the programme ended, the squad 

wanted to continue the good work by 

holding sessions on a Sunday morning 

for the young girls who wanted to keep 

playing rugby. 

“That is where it all started from,” he 

adds. 

“As the weeks went on, of course 

allowing for the pandemic and all the 

stoppages, the number of girls steadily 

grew as they went back to school to tell 

their friends.” 

In the meantime, the Leinster Rugby 

Women’s Development Officer Emily 

McKeown was going into nearby schools 

and hosting fun, non-contact sessions. 

This provided a double-whammy effect 

of Leinster promoting the game within the 

schools allied to those who made their 

way to Blackrock through GIAT and, 

subsequently, word-of-mouth. 

Before long, there was a considerable 

cohort of players returning to the club 

week-on-week. It didn’t go unnoticed. 

O’Sullivan and committed members 

Gavin Hegarty and Mike Conn, as well 

as Transition Year student Caoimhe 

McWilliams, turned serious thought into a 

practical proposal to seize the moment. 

“The club threw its weight behind 

supporting the girls in the form of 

providing equipment and a nice slot 

on the new all-weather pitch,” shares 

O’Sullivan. 

“It gathered momentum from there as 

parents showed the same enthusiasm as 

the girls. It was perfect as we had been 

trying to get a girls section going at the 

club for a long time. 

“We have a very successful senior team. 

But, we don’t have a youths team and we 

didn’t have a minis section, specifically 

for girls.” 

For years, there had been no joinedup 

thinking around how to make it 

worthwhile to build the ladies section 

top-to-bottom. 

“We struggled to envision how we could 

form a youths team from nothing because 

girls had made their sporting decisions 

long before they reach 18.” 

The GIAT opened their eyes to doing 

it another way, targeting the six to 12 

age groups, building from the groundup, 

rather than the top down, as part of 

a longer-term commitment to making it 

sustainable. 

In time, this can lead to a flow of players 

from minis into youths teams with the 

ultimate goal of filling up a feeder system 

into the Blackrock College senior squad, 

making a clear pathway from minis to 

adult rugby. 

“The club has been trying to reach 

out to the community for quite some 

time. Getting the girls in is such a good 

opportunity because the parents bring 

their daughters down and there is no 

shortage of volunteers to help out in any 

capacity,” says O’Sullivan. 

“Also, we have a large boys section, 

numbering into the 100s, and a lot of 

them have sisters. 


“You find the parents are bringing the 

sisters down with the brothers because 

they can’t leave them at home. Sometimes 

it is an opportunity to put the girls out on 

the field. 

“All of these elements have come 

together to give us quite a successful 

start to our minis girls section,” continues 

O’Sullivan. 

“While I have been involved in the 

set-up, the success is really down to the 

Women’s senior squad and how they 

have taken on the responsibility to turn it 

into something that can last. 

“The idea is to get the girls having fun, 

making friends and learning the skills of 

the game at a really young age, rather 

than picking it up later down the line.” 

Ireland international Hannah O’Connor 

is one of those leading the involvement 

of the senior players in giving back to 

the club. 

“It all stemmed from having some girls 

float in and out with their brothers a 

couple of years ago at very young ages,” 

she says. 

“We tried to knit that together with the 

IRFU’s Give It A Try Programme. The idea 

was to link it together in order to have 

strong stand alone girls teams, building 

into the underage teams from U-13s up. 

“We had the GIAT Programme as an 

eight-week introduction to the game 

where they go from no experience to 

actually tackling by week six, seven and 

eight which they love. 

“The first year, we had less than 10. 

The second year, we had a few more 

between 10 and 15. We found it hard to 

compete in the summer with other sports, 

like GAA and hockey. 

“This year, it has been different. The 

girls have their slot on the astro pitch at 

Blackrock on a Sunday morning. We 

have everyone from three-and-a-half to 

13 year-olds. The numbers are growing. 

There are now 30-plus girls there each 

week having a ball from 10.15am to 

11.15am. 

“We want to provide the support to get 

girls into rugby and keep them in it,” says 

O’Connor. 

“There is a five-year plan to prevent the 

fall off of girls leaving sport when they 

move into those early teenage years. 

“We want to build up from that base 

to have teams from U-13 up that travel 

around to take part in blitzes and minitournaments. 

The dream is to eventually 

have a feeder team into the senior squad. 

“We try to make sure that the girls 

from the Blackrock senior team, our 

Leinster interprovincials and our Ireland 

internationals come down and take 

sessions. 

“Hopefully, the girls will see the seniors 

and recognise a pathway in the club, see 

that they too can progress in the game, if 

that is what they want to do.” 

There is also the factor of showing young 

girls what adult friendship looks like and 

how it can be fostered through sharing 

experiences on and off the pitch. 

“They can see the fun we, the senior 

players, have together and how it is a 

great way of making friends. 

“We have adopted a rota system and 

the girls are great at throwing their hands 

up to take a session. The nature of the 

Women’s AIL is that we are from all over 

the place. I am living in Clane in Kildare. 

Some of them are coming from Meath or 

Wicklow to help out. 

“The minis see the craic we have with 

each other, how we are really good 

friends, how it is possible to make friends 

for life when you have in common a love 

of the same thing, in this case rugby.” 


These clubs have chosen Macron 

Contact us for a quotation 

CORK: Unit 8, Metro Business Park, Ballycurreen, Kinsale Road Ck04095 

T: 0866640916 

john.orourke@macronstore.com

RAINBOW LACES 

CRAIG 

Maxwell-Keys 

AS PART OF 

OUR PRIDE 

MONTH 

CELEBRATIONS, 

LEINSTER 

RUGBY 

CAUGHT UP 

WITH CRAIG 

MAXWELL- 

KEYS, RUGBY 

REFEREE, ABOUT 

THE RAINBOW 

LACES 

CAMPAIGN 

AND HIS OWN 

EXPERIENCES 

OF SHARING 

HIS SEXUALITY. 

The process of opening up, ‘coming out 

of the closet’ was not straight-forward 

for a quiet, introverted and younger 

Craig Maxwell-Keys. 

It was to his closest friends, Vanessa 

and Stephen, he turned to when the 

time came, quite simply, to be himself. 

“It was a huge conversation to have with my 

best friends,” he says. 

“I tried to have it two or three times, but always 

pulled out. With any valued relationship the 

constant fear was: ‘How will they react?’ 

“Looking back on it, my biggest regret or 

embarrassment is that I could have ever 

doubted how they would react. 

“If I’m honest, I knew deep down the 

reaction was always going to be positive and 

supportive. Yet, I still doubted them.” 

Ultimately, the support was unwavering, the 

loyalty and love of Vanessa and Stephen 

sealed by a secret shared. 

Until then, a mile-a-minute pace of life didn’t 

leave much time to sit and stew over the 

complexities of his personal life. 

Slowly, surely, Maxwell-Keys had grown to 

appreciate how an issue unresolved could 

fester into something more sinister. 

“There were certainly hard times when no one 

else knew. It was just you with your thoughts. It 

was quite dark,” he says. 

“You do question how you are going to 

navigate through it. Those thoughts can spiral 

quite quickly. 

“You do need that soundboard, that support 

system, to think it through.” 

Back then, in an overall context, he was 

experiencing life fully for the first time, seeing 

the sort of future he could have all around him. 

“It was at Leicester University where I accepted 

I was gay and I had two years working in the 

pharmaceutical sector, a field I had spent four 

years getting a degree in. 

“I was in a really positive place. I was loving 

life,” he shares. 

“To me, coming out would put me in an even 

more positive place simply because all the 

energy you spend monitoring and censoring 

your every interaction could be reinvested in 

me being more authentically me. 

“I just went from a good place to an even 

better place,” he says. 


WORDS: RYAN CORRY 


Find your escape 

this weekend

“The thing that prompted me to come out was 

slowly being surrounded with (heterosexual) 

people who had boyfriends or girlfriends, 

making their lives together. 

“They were sharing their successes together. 

But, also, when they were low, they had 

someone to turn to. 

“That is what was missing from my life. I didn’t 

want to do that on the down-low, behind closed 

doors, hiding that part of me away. 

“If I wanted to fully embrace life, I had to come 

out.” 

Eight years later, the 31-year-old has climbed 

to the upper-echelons of the rugby refereeing 

circuit in England, taking charge of last year’s 

Premiership final between Exeter and Wasps. 

He has been the perfect role model for driving 

Rainbow Laces, an initiative where participants 

wear multi-coloured laces in their boots or 

trainers, to show their support for LGBT equality. 

It has transformed from a campaign originally 

focused on homophobia in football to 

something acknowledging the challenges of the 

LGBT community across all sports. 

“I knew about Rainbow Laces from TV as a kid 

growing up, the profile coming from the Premier 

League,” states Maxwell-Keys. 

“I never wore them, even initially, when I came 

out to friends and family because I didn’t want 

that focus and that attention. 

“For me, it didn’t start a conversation with my 

family. But, it did make me more aware. That is 

where the campaign has its value.” 

It was not the trigger for Maxwell-Keys to come 

out. But, it was one more brick removed from 

the wall of silence he had built up around his 

sexuality. 

“It definitely played a part in the sense that I 

knew what Rainbow Laces was, what it was 

trying to do in the community. 

“You start to be more aware when you see 

different Pride initiatives pop up around the 

Rainbow Laces. 

“I suppose it was that slow step towards seeing 

there is a lot going on across society to raise 

the profile of the LGBT community. 

“It took me from not knowing anything, 

being oblivious and naive to what the LGBT+ 

community was, to opening the door into the 

community. 

“I NEVER 

WORE 

THEM, EVEN 

INITIALLY, 

WHEN I 

CAME OUT 

TO FRIENDS 

AND FAMILY 

BECAUSE I 

DIDN’T WANT 

THAT FOCUS 

AND THAT 

ATTENTION.” 

“I know the ‘Lace-Up With Pride’ campaign in 

Ireland is looking to make matters better too.” 

This month, AVIVA Ireland launched ‘Lace-Up 

With Pride’ in collaboration with Intersport 

Elverys to raise vital funds for the LGBTQ+ 

youth services. 

It aims to raise vital funds for BeLonG To, 

by selling rainbow shoelaces for €4 with all 

proceeds donated to the cause. 

Three years ago, the admission of his 

homosexuality to Vanessa and Stephen led to 

a release from the psychological prison he had 

been bound by. 

Two years ago, he took the advice of his boss 

Tony Spreadbury, met with fellow referee and 

LGBT+ proponent Nigel Owens before making 

his private life public. 


The Rainbow Laces were a symbol of his newfound 

freedom of expression and a sign of his 

support for those who have not yet completed 

their journey into the light. 

“As soon as I came out, I started wearing them. 

I wear them all the time. I don’t take them out,” 

he says. 

“As much as I talk about awareness, as much 

as it is Pride month, wearing them all the time 

is a constant awareness prompt for me and for 

anyone who sees them.” 

He has been lifted up by the numerous players 

who have expressed their support for his 

openness. 

“After I did my first piece for Rainbow Laces, 

two years ago, the biggest surprise was the 

number of players who went out of their way, 

pre or post-game, to come and find me for 

a one-to-one chat, just to say ‘well done’, or 

‘great work’. 

“It was quite eye-opening how honest they 

were when they came to chat to me, sharing 

stories how their friends had come out and 

how my story shed more light for them on the 

journey their friends had gone through.” 

This is not to suggest that rugby has reached a 

state of equilibrium, a place where competing 

views are accepted with complete grace and 

decency. 

“The game has come a long way. But, there is 

clearly more to be done,” he notes. 

“My focus with Rainbow Laces is to be a 

catalyst for conversation,” adds Maxwell-Keys. 

“On a wider scale, it is about how you engage 

with communities, what programmes you run. 

That is where you will see more substantial 

change over time. 

“In rugby, you often hear the result will take 

care of itself. More gay players choosing to 

come out will happen if the game has its culture 

right, driving and representing the whole of 

society that clubs are part of. 

“The moment a top-flight player comes out, the 

attention they would receive would be way 

more than I or even Nigel (Owens) gets. That 

must be pretty daunting. 

“However, there will come a tipping point 

where the media focus they will have to deal 

with will not be as great as the freedom they 

will gain from coming out.” 

This he knows from personal experience. 


www.leinsterrugby.ie | 89 | From The Ground Up 

“… THE 

BIGGEST 

SURPRISE WAS 

THE NUMBER 

OF PLAYERS 

WHO WENT 

OUT OF THEIR 

WAY, PRE OR 

POST-GAME, TO 

COME AND FIND 

ME FOR A ONE- 

TO-ONE CHAT, 

JUST TO SAY 

‘WELL DONE’, 

OR ‘GREAT 

WORK’.”

Academy squad 

2020|21 

DOB: 15 December 1999 

From: Hampshire, England 

Height: 1.88m (6’ 2”) 

Weight: 92kg (14st 5lbs) 

Position: Back Three 

School: Henley College 

Honours: Ireland U20 (1 cap) 

AARON O’SULLIVAN 

Did You Know: Aaron was signed from Wasps where 

he made two appearances for the Senior team in the 

2017/18 Anglo Welsh Cup. Aaron’s dad, Barry, had trials at 

Newcastle and his grandad, at the age of 80, completed 

five stages of the Tour de France in 2011. 

Instagram: aaron_sullivan11 

DOB: 02 March 2000 

From: Wexford 

Height: 1.99m (6’ 6”) 


Position: Second Row 

School: St Peter’s College 

Club: Clontarf FC 

Honours: Ireland U20 (8 caps) 

BRIAN DEENY 

Did You Know: Brian played youth rugby with Wexford 

Wanderers RFC. He got his first Irish cap playing for 

Ireland Under-18 Sevens. Brian played midfield for his 

school St Peter’s College in Gaelic football and reached the 

All-Ireland Colleges Final in 2017. He is currently studying 

Science in Trinity and lives in Abbey House B&B, Wexford... 

if you are looking for a room?! Instagram: brian_deeny 

DOB: 03 July 1999 

From: Dublin 

Height: 1.77m (5’ 10”) 


Position: Centre/Outhalf 

School: Belvedere College 

Club: Clontarf RFC 


& Leinster Rugby (8 caps) 

DAVID HAWKSHAW #1290 

Did You Know: David started playing rugby at Coolmine RFC before 

joining Belvedere College and won two Schools Senior Cup titles. He has 

represented Ireland U18 Schools and was selected as Ireland U20s captain 

for the 2019 Grand Slam winning campaign only to have his season cut 

short after three games. He played hurling and Gaelic football for St Brigid’s 

GAA club and also represented Dublin minors, winning a Leinster hurling 

title. Currently studying humanities in DCU. Instagram: davidhawkshaw99 

DOB: 30 November 1998 

From: Dublin 

Height: 1.72m (5’ 8”) 


Position: Scrum Half 

School: Blackrock College 

Club: UCD RFC 

Honours: Ireland U20 (1 cap) 


PATRICK PATTERSON #1274 

Did You Know: Paddy made his debut for Leinster during 

the 2018/19 season when only in the first year of the 

Leinster Academy. He also scored his first Senior try for 

Leinster off the bench against Southern Kings during that 

maiden campaign. 

Instagram: paddypatterson 

Academy squad 

2020|21 

DOB: 24 October 1999 

From: Newtownmountkennedy, Wicklow 

Height: 1.81m (5’ 9”) 


Position: Scrum Half 

School: St. Gerard’s School 

Club: Lansdowne FC 


& Leinster Rugby (1 cap) 

CORMAC FOLEY #1299 

Did You Know: Started playing rugby with Greystones 

RFC when he was nine. Growing up, Cormac did a lot of 

show jumping and he is now studying Economics and 

Finance in UCD. 

Instagram: cormacfoley6 

DOB: 05 February 1999 

From: Birr, Offaly 

Height: 1.82m (6’ 0”) 


Position: Prop 

School: Cistercian College, Roscrea 

Club: Birr RFC/UCD RFC 



MICHAEL MILNE #1279 

Did You Know: Michael has won two All-Ireland hurling 

titles, one with his school in Roscrea and another with 

Offaly Under-17s. 

Instagram: michael_milne 

DOB: 04 June 1998 

From: Dublin 

Height: 1.83m (6’ 0”) 



School: Clongowes Wood College 

Club: Dublin University FC 



MICHAEL SILVESTER #1289 

Did You Know: Started playing rugby with Wanderers 

RFC before playing in school with St. Michaels and then 

Clongowes. Played competitive tennis from the age of nine, 

winning a national championship at age 12, before focusing 

on rugby after moving to Clongowes. Graduated from 

Trinity with a BESS degree. 

Instagram: msilvester98 


From: Dublin 

Height: 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Position: Prop 





THOMAS CLARKSON #1285 

Did You Know: Thomas studies Human Health and Disease 

in Trinity College. He played underage rugby for Wicklow 

RFC before moving to Dublin to attend Willow Park 

primary school. 

Instagram: tclarkson37 

DOB: 19 October 1999 

From: Athy, Kildare 

Height: 1.88m (6’ 2”) 


Position: Back Row 

School: Clontarf FC 

Club: Old Belvedere RFC 

Honours: Ireland U20 (5 

caps)& Leinster Rugby (1 cap) 

MARTIN MOLONEY #1300 

Did You Know: Martin played hurling for Kildare and played 

GAA and basketball for his secondary school, Knockbeg 

College, and local GAA club, St Laurence’s. He played his 

youth rugby with Athy RFC. He is now studying Business 

and Law in UCD, He also enjoys working on the family farm. 

Instagram: martin_moloney 



From: Dublin 

Height: 2.01m (6’ 7”) 

Weight: 108kg (17st) 



Club: UCD RFC 


CHARLIE RYAN 

Did You Know: Charlie played youth rugby at Blackrock 

College RFC while also attending the school since Senior 

Infants. He captained Ireland to the U20 Grand Slam in 

2019 and again for the U20s World Cup. His friends call 

him Chuck! He is currently studying Business and Legal 

Studies in UCD. 

Instagram: chuck_ryan5 

Academy squad 

2020|21 


From: Belfast 

Height: 1.82m (6’ 0”) 


Position: Hooker 

School: Campbell College 

Club: Old Belvedere RFC 


JOHN McKEE 

Did You Know: John grew up in Belfast going to school 

at Campbell College where he won a Senior Cup. He was 

involved with Ulster at age grade level until moving to 

Dublin after school. He also has multiple medals from 

Northern Irish Schools Judo competitions. 

Instagram: johnmckee_ 

DOB: 21 July 2000 

From: Dublin 

Height: 1.83m (6’ 0”) 



School: St Michael’s College 

Club: Clontarf FC 



ANDREW SMITH #1292 

Did You Know: Andrew is currently studying Quantity 

Surveying and Construction Economics in TUD. In 2019, 

he won the Leinster Schools Senior Cup with St Michael’s 

College. Andrew also played Gaelic football with his local 

club - Clanna Gael Fontenoy GAA Club. 

Instagram: andrew.sm1th 

DOB: 14 July 1999 

From: Dublin 

Height: 173cm (5’ 9”) 


Position: Centre 





LIAM TURNER #1287 

Did You Know: Liam started to play rugby at the age 

of six at Blackrock College RFC. He later joined Blackrock 

College and was part of the 2018 Senior Cup winning team. 

He was also part of the Ireland U20 team that went on to 

win the 2019 Grand Slam. Liam currently studys BESS in 

Trinity College. 

Instagram: liamtn123 

DOB: 06 April 2000 

From: Dublin 

Height: 1.83m (6’ 0”) 


Position: Wing 


Club: UCD RFC 

Honours: Ireland U20 

NIALL COMERFORD 

Did You Know: Niall played both hurling and Gaelic 

football with Kilmacud Crokes for 14 years. He also 

represented Dublin in Gaelic football in the U17 Leinster 

Championship. He is currently studying Commerce in UCD. 

Instagram: niall_c123 

DOB: 31 July 2000 

From: Pittsburgh, USA 

Height: 1.90m (6’ 3”) 

Weight: 102kg (16st 1lb) 



Club: UCD RFC 



SEÁN O’BRIEN #1297 

Did You Know: Seán started playing rugby at age six 

with Greystones RFC where he played up until Under-13. 

He then played on the Junior and Senior Cup teams in 

Blackrock College. He is currently studying Economics and 

Finance in UCD 

Instagram: seanobrien456 


From: Pearse St, Dublin 

Height: 1.95m (6’ 5”) 

Weight: 104.5kg (16st 6lbs) 


School: Belvedere College 




ALEX SOROKA #1296 

Did You Know: Alex’s family moved to Ireland from 

Ukraine shortly before his birth. He was born in Cork 

before moving to Dublin. 

Instagram: alex._.soroka 

DOB: 26 March 2001 

From: Manhattan, NY 

Height: 1.95m (6’ 5”) 






JOE McCARTHY 

Did You Know: Joe started playing rugby with Blackrock 

College RFC at the age of six before moving to Willow Park 

and then Blackrock College. He was also on the Blackrock 

swim team for five years. He’s currently studying Global 

Business in Trinity College Dublin. 

Instagram: joetmmcc 


From: Enniskerry, Wicklow 

Height: 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Position: Full Back 

School: St Gerard’s School 




MAX O’REILLY #1291 

Did You Know: Max is currently in his third year of Business 

and Management in DIT. His preferred sport was soccer 

until about the age of 15, which he had played at centre 

midfield with Enniskerry FC for over 10 years and also 

for Wicklow. 

Instagram: max_oreilly 


© 2020 adidas AG 

READY 

FOR 

ACTION 

LEINSTER RUGBY 

TRAINING 20/21

Fixtures & 

results 

2020/21 

Fri 2 Oct 20:15 

Guinness PRO14 

W 35-5 

Sat 10 Oct 18:15 


W 37-25 

FRI 23 Oct 19:35 


W 63-8 

MON 2 Nov 20:15 


W 32-19 

KEENAN 

LARMOUR 1T 

RINGROSE 1T 2C 

FRAWLEY (T O'BRIEN 9) 

LOWE 2T 

SEXTON 1C (R BYRNE 23 3C) 

GIBSON-PARK (MCGRATH 67) 

E BYRNE (HEALY 49) 

R KELLEHER (CRONIN 49) 

BENT (PORTER 49) 

FARDY 

RYAN 

RUDDOCK 

VAN DER FLIER 

CONAN (DEEGAN 49 (BAIRD 62 1T)) 

KEENAN 

LARMOUR (J O'BRIEN 48) 

RINGROSE 

HENSHAW 

LOWE 1T 

R BYRNE 3C 3P (H BYRNE 79) 

GIBSON-PARK (MCGRATH 56) 

E BYRNE (HEALY 52) 

TRACY 1T (CRONIN 53) 

BENT (CLARKSON 63) 

BAIRD (MOLONY 64) 

RYAN 1T 

DORIS 

CONNORS 

CONAN 

J O'BRIEN 

T O'BRIEN 2T 

TURNER 

FRAWLEY (SILVESTER 64) 

KEARNEY 1T 

H BYRNE 9C 

MCGRATH (H O'SULLIVAN 56) 

DOOLEY (MILNE 52) 

SHEEHAN 2T (TRACY 51) 

BENT 1T (PARKER 51 1T) 

MOLONY 

TONER (DUNNE 56) 

MURPHY 1T (FARDY 69) 

PENNY 1T 

RUDDOCK (LEAVY 51) 

J O'BRIEN 1T (HAWKSHAW 71) 

C KELLEHER 

O'LOUGHLIN 

T O'BRIEN 

D KEARNEY 

H BYRNE 3C 2P 

MCGRATH 1T (H O'SULLIVAN 76) 


TRACY (SHEEHAN 54) 

BENT 1T (CLARKSON 60) 

MOLONY (FARDY 60) 

TONER 

MURPHY (DUNNE 71) 

PENNY 1T 


SUN 8 Nov 15:00 


W 26-7 

J O'BRIEN 

C KELLEHER 

O'LOUGHLIN (TURNER 59) 

T O'BRIEN (H O'SULLIVAN 65) 

KEARNEY 1T 

H BYRNE 3C (HAWKSHAW 61) 

MCGRATH 

MILNE (DOOLEY 51 1T) 

TRACY 1T (SHEEHAN 51) 

BENT (PARKER 51) 

MOLONY 

FARDY (TONER 72) 

MURPHY (LEAVY 54) 

PENNY 1T 

RUDDOCK 

MON 16 NOV 20:15 


W 50-10 

J O'BRIEN 

C KELLEHER 3T 

TURNER 

FRAWLEY 5C 

KEARNEY 1T 

H BYRNE (HAWKSHAW 54) 

MCGRATH 2T (H O'SULLIVAN 57) 

RUDDOCK (MURPHY 50) 

PENNY 

LEAVY 1T (BAIRD 58) 

FARDY 

TONER (MOLONY 68) 

BENT (PARKER 50) 

TRACY (SHEEHAN 50) 

DOOLEY 1T (MILNE 50) 

Sun 22 Nov 17:15 


W 40-5 

J O'BRIEN 1T (SILVESTER 41 1T) 

C KELLEHER 

TURNER 

FRAWLEY 

KEARNEY 1T 

H BYRNE 5C 

MCGRATH (OSBORNE 67) 




MOLONY (TONER 62) 

BAIRD 

MURPHY (PENNY 52 2T) 

LEAVY (DUNNE 70) 

RUDDOCK 

Sat 12 Dec 17:30 

Champions Cup 

W 35-14 

J O'BRIEN 1T 

KEENAN 

HENSHAW 

FRAWLEY 1T 

KEARNEY 1T 

R BYRNE 1C 1P (H BYRNE 61 1C 1P) 

MCGRATH (GIBSON-PARK 69) 

DOOLEY (HEALY 46) 

TRACY (KELLEHER 46) 


TONER (BAIRD 69) 

FARDY (RYAN 52) 

RUDDOCK 

VAN DER FLIER 1T 

DORIS (LEAVY 59 1T) 


Sat 19 Dec 13:00 

Champions Cup 

W 35-19 

Sat 2 Jan 19:35 


L 24-35 

Fri 8 Jan 19:35 


W 24-12 

J O'BRIEN (C KELLEHER 8) 

KEENAN 

RINGROSE (FRAWLEY 75) 

HENSHAW 

KEARNEY 1T 

R BYRNE 3C 3P 

GIBSON-PARK 1T (MCGRATH 56) 

HEALY 1T (DOOLEY 56) 

R KELLEHER (TRACY 56) 

PORTER (BENT 56) 

BAIRD 

RYAN 

MURPHY 1T (MOLONY 66) 

VAN DER FLIER 


O'REILLY 

SMITH 

J O'BRIEN 1C (O'SULLIVAN 62) 

O'LOUGHLIN (HAWKSHAW 56 1C) 

KEARNEY 

SEXTON (TURNER 23) 

L MCGRATH 1T 

DOOLEY (E BYRNE 51 1T) 

TRACY (CRONIN 51) 

BENT (G MCGRATH 69) 

MOLONY 

TONER (CONAN 51 (CONNORS 57)) 

BAIRD 1T 

PENNY 1T 

LEAVY (CONAN 61) 

KEENAN 

LARMOUR 

R BYRNE 1C 

R HENSHAW 1T 

KEARNEY 1T (J O'BRIEN 80) 

SEXTON 1C 

GIBSON-PARK (L MCGRATH 60) 

HEALY (E BYRNE 56) 

CRONIN 1T (TRACY 56 1T) 


FARDY (MOLONY 66) 

J RYAN 

RUDDOCK (CONAN 62) 

VAN DER FLIER 

DORIS 

Northampton 

Saints v 


Friday 

January 15 

Franklin's Gardens 

postponed 

Sat 23 Jan 19:35 


W 10-13 

Sat 30 Jan 19:35 


W 25-52 

Fri 19 Feb 19:35 


W 29-35 


v Montpellier 

Friday 

January22 

RDS Arena 

postponed 

KEENAN 

LARMOUR 1T 

RINGROSE 

HENSHAW 

J O'BRIEN (GIBSON-PARK 58) 

SEXTON 2P (R BYRNE 53 1C) 

L MCGRATH 


CRONIN (R KELLEHER 50) 

PORTER 


J RYAN 

RUDDOCK (CONAN 68) 

CONNORS (VAN DER FLIER 59) 

DORIS 

O'REILLY 1T 

C KELLEHER 1T 

TURNER (J OSBORNE 46) 

FRAWLEY (HAWKSHAW 71 1T) 

KEARNEY 

H BYRNE (6C 1P) 

L MCGRATH 1T (H O'SULLIVAN 67) 

DOOLEY (E BYRNE 54) 

TRACY 1T (CRONIN 54) 

FURLONG (CLARKSON H-T) 

MOLONY 

BAIRD 

MURPHY 

LEAVY 1T (FARDY 77) 

CONAN (DUNNE 60) 

O'REILLY 

C KELLEHER 

O'LOUGHLIN 

R BYRNE 4C (HAWKSHAW 77) 

KEARNEY 

H BYRNE (J OSBORNE 63) 

L MCGRATH (R OSBORNE 67) 

DOOLEY 1T (HANAN 65) 

TRACY (SHEEHAN 57 1T) 

CLARKSON (G MCGRATH 65) 

MOLONY (TONER 57) 

BAIRD 

MURPHY 1T (FARDY 67) 

PENNY 1T 

CONAN 


Fixtures & 

results 

2020/21 

Sun 28 Feb 17:30 


W 40-21 

Sat 6 Mar 19:35 


W 19-38 

Fri 12 Mar 17:45 


W 31-48 

Fri 19 Mar 20:15 


L 19-24 

J O'BRIEN 

C KELLEHER 1T (O'REILLY) 

J OSBORNE 

O'LOUGHLIN 

KEARNEY 

H BYRNE 1T 2C (HAWKSHAW 33 2C) 

L MCGRATH 1T (R OSBORNE 75) 

DOOLEY (G MCGRATH 74) 

CRONIN (SHEEHAN 59 1T) 


TONER 

FARDY 

MURPHY (SOROKA 57) 

VAN DER FLIER 

PENNY 2T (DUNNE 74) 

O'REILLY 

C KELLEHER 

J O'BRIEN (J OSBORNE 73) 

O'LOUGHLIN 

KEARNEY 

R BYRNE 5C 1P 


E BYRNE 1T (DOOLEY 57) 

TRACY (SHEEHAN 57 1T) 

BENT 1T (CLARKSON 57) 

TONER (DUNNE 73) 


RUDDOCK 1T 

VAN DER FLIER 1T 

PENNY 

O'REILLY 

C KELLEHER 1T 

J O'BRIEN (J OSBORNE 52) 

O'LOUGHLIN 

KEARNEY 3T 

H BYRNE 4C 1P (CORKERY 65) 

L MCGRATH 1T (H O'SULLIVAN HT 1C) 

DOOLEY 

SHEEHAN 2T (TRACY 55) 

CLARKSON (BENT 55) 

MOLONY 

DUNNE 

MURPHY 

PENNY (TONER 65) 

SOROKA (S O'BRIEN 48) 

O'REILLY 

O'LOUGHLIN 

J OSBORNE 1T 

FRAWLEY 2C (CORKERY 79) 

KEARNEY (SMITH 64) 

H BYRNE 2T 

R OSBORNE (O'SULLIVAN HT) 

DOOLEY (HANAN 62) 

CRONIN (PENNY 74) 


MOLONY 

TONER 

FARDY (SHEEHAN 46) 

PENNY (DUNNE 63) 

MURPHY (O'BRIEN 19) 

Sat 2 Mar 17:00 

Guinness PRO14 final 

W 16-6 

sat 10 apr 17:30 

Heineken Champions Cup 

W 22-34 

Sun 2 May 15:00 

Heineken Champions Cup 

L 32-23 

KEENAN 

LARMOUR 

O'LOUGHLIN 

HENSHAW 

KEARNEY 

R BYRNE 3P 1C (SEXTON 60) 

L MCGRATH (GIBSON-PARK 76) 



PORTER (FURLONG 53) 

TONER 

FARDY (BAIRD 60) 

RUDDOCK (MOLONY 74) 

VAN DER FLIER 

CONAN 1T 

round of 16 


v RC Toulon 

friday 

2 april 

RDS Arena 

cancelled 

KEENAN 

LARMOUR 2T 

O'LOUGHLIN 

HENSHAW 

LOWE 1T (KEARNEY 79) 

SEXTON 1C (BYRNE 27 1C 5P) 

L MCGRATH (H O'SULLIVAN 79) 



FURLONG (PORTER 55) 

FARDY (BAIRD 50) 

TONER (MOLONY 70) 

RUDDOCK 

VAN DER FLIER 

CONAN 

KEENAN 

LARMOUR (O'LOUGHLIN 75) 

RINGROSE 

HENSHAW 

LOWE 

R BYRNE 1T 2C 3P 

L MCGRATH 



FURLONG 1T (PORTER 56) 

TONER (FARDY 71) 

RYAN 

RUDDOCK (BAIRD 28) 

VAN DER FLIER 

CONAN 


Sat 24 Apr 19:35 

Rainbow Cup 

L 3-27 

LARMOUR 

KEARNEY 

RINGROSE (T O'BRIEN 58) 

O'LOUGHLIN 

LOWE 

H BYRNE (HAWKSHAW 5 1P) 

H O'SULLIVAN (FOLEY 65) 

E BYRNE (DOOLEY 57) 

SHEEHAN (CRONIN 57) 


MOLONY 

RYAN (FARDY 60) 

BAIRD (MOLONEY 71) 

PENNY 

MURPHY 

Sat 8 May 19:35 

Rainbow Cup 

W 50-21 

KEENAN 3T 

C KELLEHER 1T 

RINGROSE 

FRAWLEY (O'LOUGHLIN 36) 

KEARNEY 

R BYRNE 5C (LARMOUR 55) 


DOOLEY (E BYRNE 54) 


PORTER 1T (FURLONG 54) 

MOLONY 1T 

FARDY 1T 

MURPHY (BAIRD 63) 

PENNY 

CONAN (VAN DER FLIER 24) 

Fri, 14 May 20:15 

Rainbow Cup 

W 21-17 

J O'BRIEN (O'LOUGHLIN 42) 

LARMOUR 

RINGROSE 3C 

HENSHAW 1T 

KEARNEY (T O'BRIEN 31) 

R BYRNE 

L MCGRATH 

HEALY 1T (MILNE 51) 

CRONIN (R KELLEHER 48) 

FURLONG (BENT 64) 

BAIRD (TONER 66) 

RYAN 

MURPHY (CONAN 48 1T) 

VAN DER FLIER 

DORIS 

Fri, 4 Jun 20:15 

Rainbow Cup 

L 15-12 

KEENAN 

C KELLEHER 1T (LARMOUR 64) 

RINGROSE 

O'LOUGHLIN 

J O'BRIEN 

R BYRNE 1C 

L MCGRATH 1T 

E BYRNE (DOOLEY 54) 

R KELLEHER (SHEEHAN 68) 


MOLONY 

RYAN 

MURPHY (BAIRD 55) 

VAN DER FLIER (PENNY 74) 

DORIS 

ROUND 

06 

LEINSTER V 

DRAGONS 

friday 

june 11, 2021 

RDS Arena 

ko 20:15 


At Sword we know how important the Game is. 

We know how important your memories are ....so relax 

and enjoy yourself, you're in safe hands. 

LEINSTER RUGBY FANS .... Secured by the team at Sword 

Dublin: 01-6688220 

info@swordsecurity.com 

www.swordsecurity.com 

Securing Sports Fans around the World.

Coronavirus 

COVID-19 

Coronavirus 

COVID-19 

Public Health 

Advice 

Stay safe. 

Protect each other. 

Continue to: 

Wash 

your hands well 

and often to avoid 

contamination. 

Cover 

your mouth and nose 

with a tissue or sleeve 

when coughing or 

sneezing and discard 

used tissue safely 

Distance 

yourself at least 

2 metres (6 feet) away 

from other people, 

especially those who 

might be unwell 

Avoid 

crowds and 

crowded places 

Know 

the symptoms. If you 

have them self isolate 

and contact your GP 

immediately 

COVID-19 symptoms include 

> high temperature 

> cough 

> breathing difficulty 

> sudden loss of sense of smell or taste 

> flu-like symptoms 

If you have any symptoms, self-isolate to 

protect others and call your GP for a 

COVID-19 test. 

#holdfirm 

For more information 

www.gov.ie/health-covid-19 

www.hse.ie 

Ireland’s public health advice is guided by WHO and ECDC advice

Hugo Keenan 

Jordan Larmour 

Garry Ringrose [C] 

Rory O’Loughlin 

Jimmy O’Brien 

Ross Byrne 

Jamison Gibson-Park 

15 

14 

13 

12 

11 

10 

9 

FULL BACK 

RIGHT WING 

OUTSIDE CENTRE 

INSIDE CENTRE 

LEFT WING 

FLY HALF 

SCRUM HALF 

Josh Lewis 

Owen Jenkins 

Aneurin Owen 

Jamie Roberts 

Rio Dyer 

Sam Davies 

Rhodri Williams [C] 

Cian Healy 

Rónan Kelleher 

Michael Bent 

Ryan Baird 

James Ryan 

Scott Fardy 

Scott Penny 

Caelan Doris 

James Tracy 

Michael Milne 

Vakh Abdaladze 

Devin Toner 

Josh van der Flier 

Luke McGrath 

Harry Byrne 

Cian Kelleher 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

LOOSE HEAD PROP 

HOOKER 

TIGHT HEAD PROP 

SECOND ROW 

SECOND ROW 

BLINDSIDE FLANKER 

OPENSIDE FLANKER 

NUMBER 8 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

Brok Harris 

Elliot Dee 

Aaron Jarvis 

Joe Davies 

Ben Carter 

Harrison Keddie 

Ollie Griffiths 

Ross Moriarty 

Richard Hibbard 

Josh Reynolds 

Chris Coleman 

Joe Maksymiw 

Taine Basham 

Gonzalo Bertranou 

Jack Dixon 

Ioan Davies 

Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU, 54rd competition game) 

Assistant Referees 1: Chris Busby (IRFU) 

Assistant Referees 2: Eoghan Cross (IRFU) 

TMO: Brian MacNeice (IRFU) 


FULL MATCH REPLAYS 

NOW AVAILABLE 

WITH XTRA 

MEMBERSHIP. 

SIGN UP FOR FREE AT 

PRO14.RUGBY

MAKE IT A GAME 

YOU’LL REMEMBER. 

MODERATE YOUR DRINKING. 

MAKE YOUR NEXT PINT TAP WATER. 

SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE 

#GUINNESSCLEAR

Leinster Rugby v Dragons

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