Leinster vs Toulouse

ISSUE 12 | LEINSTER RUGBY OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME 

LEINSTER 

VS 

Toulouse 

SAT 14 th MAY 

AVIVA STADIUM 

KO 3PM 

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10 

24 

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: Denis Leamy 

14 

PROGRAMME CREDITS 

Editorial Team: Marcus Ó Buachalla, 

Ryan Corry & Paul Cahill 

Advertising: Gary Nolan 

Design: Julian Tredinnick, 

Ignition Sports Media 

Photography: Sportsfile 

Chief Steward: Sword Security 

Ambulance: St. John’s Ambulance 

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Event Control & Safety Services: 

Eamonn O’Boyle & Associates 

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www.leinsterrugby.ie | 3

EPCR 

WELCOME 

MESSAGE 

A very warm welcome 

to this eagerlyanticipated 

Heineken 

Champions Cup semifinal 

match with 

both clubs just one 

tantalising step 

away from a coveted 

place in the Marseille 

Final on Saturday 

week (28 May). 

FRONT PAGE 

The chance to lift this coveted 

European silverware at the iconic 

Stade Vélodrome is at stake as our 

two elite clubs go head-to-head in 

what promises to be another epic 

encounter. 

The traditional drama of the knockout 

stage has already gone up a notch this 

season, with the historic introduction of 

home and away legs in the Round of 16, 

followed by compelling quarter-finals. 

Now we are down to the last four clubs in 

the tournament. 

So, we are guaranteed high-stakes 

action featuring stars of the global game 

before the spotlight shines on our 2022 

showpiece final. Tickets have been 

selling fast for the Marseille weekend, 

and with demand increasing by the day, 

time is running out to book your place at 

epcrugby.com/finals/ for a weekend feast 

of rugby. 

We are delighted to be joined on the 

journey to Marseille by our long-standing 

title partner, Heineken, as well as by 

our official partner, DHL, who provide 

customised logistics solutions for both the 

Heineken Champions Cup and the EPCR 

Challenge Cup. 

We have also recently brought on a new 

partner in IHG Hotels & Resorts, who 

become our Official Hotels Partner and we 

are delighted to welcome IHG on board. 

We would also like to thank Tissot, the 

Financial Times, Gilbert and Kappa for 

their continuing support. 

We acknowledge the superb coverage 

provided by our TV partners BT Sport, 

beIN SPORTS, France Télévisions, Channel 

4, Virgin Media, S4C and Sky Italia whose 

output is complemented by the wide 

range of linear and OTT platforms which 

broadcast the Heineken Champions Cup 

globally. 

Following a difficult first half of the season 

which created challenges for everyone 

involved in the game, the knockout stage 

of the tournament has been a revelation so 

far, and we can confidently expect another 

thrilling contest today. 

There will be elation at the final whistle, 

and maybe some agony too, but whatever 

the outcome, on behalf of all at EPCR, 

enjoy the semi-final and best wishes to you, 

the supporters, as well as to your club’s 

players and staff. 

Yours in rugby, 

Dominic McKay 

EPCR Chairman

Every great match 

starts with 0.0

HEINEKEN ireland 

Welcome 

A very warm 

welcome 

to all the 

players, 

supporters 

and officials 

of both 

Leinster 

Rugby 

and Stade 

Toulousain 

to this Semi- 

Final clash of 

the 2021/2022 

Heineken® 

Champions 

Cup. 

I hope you all enjoyed the 

excitement of the Heineken® 

Champions Cup Quarter Final 

games last weekend. Munster 

and today’s opponents Stade 

Toulousain served up a thrilling 

encounter, one which will live 

long in the memory of all those 

who were lucky enough to be 

present. The atmosphere and 

colour generated by over 40,000 

Munster fans was truly special. 

Both teams left absolutely 

everything on the field of play 

after an epic 100 minutes of 

rugby. It was a shame there 

had to be a loser, especially 

in such dramatic and rarely 

experienced circumstances. 

Commiserations to Munster Rugby 

but huge congratulations to Stade 

Toulousain and we are delighted 

to welcome them back again to 

Dublin today. 

Sincere congratulations as well to Leinster 

Rugby who put in a superb performance 

against a formidable opponent in 

Leicester Tigers, in what was a very 

difficult Quarter Final assignment for 

them. Their dream of that illusive 5th 

Star is very much alive. Their victory 

sets up the mouth-watering prospect that 

awaits us all today in Dublin. If today’s 

game can come close to matching 

the excitement and drama of what we 

enjoyed last weekend, we are all in for 

another fantastic weekend of rugby. 

May I also extend my best wishes to 

Racing 92 and Stade Rochelais in 

tomorrow’s other semi-final. I have no 

doubt that the victors in both games 

this weekend will go on to deliver a 

memorable Heineken Champions Cup 

Final on the 28th May, in the iconic 

Stade Vélodrome, Marseille. 

We At Heineken are immensely proud to 

be a long-standing sponsor of Europe’s 

leading club rugby competition, a 

tournament that means so much to rugby 

fans in this country. Enjoy the game 

today with a cold, refreshing Heineken® 

or Heineken® 0.0% and as always, 

please do so responsibly. 

Maarten Schuurman 

Managing Director, HEINEKEN Ireland. 


john walsh welcome 

PRESIDENT, LEINSTER RUGBY 2020/22 

On behalf of Leinster Rugby, I 

am delighted to extend a warm 

Irish welcome to all rugby fans 

throughout the rugby world who 

are joining us today for what I hope 

will be a classic encounter between 

our visitors and reigning Heineken 

Champions Cup winners, Toulouse, 

and 2018 champions, Leinster. 

Those of you of a certain age 

and vintage will remember with 

fondness back to 1977 when Star 

Wars burst onto the big screen to 

fire our imagination as to what 

the future might hold for us. 

There have been several sequels 

to A New Hope and today’s 

event at the Aviva Stadium (the 

world’s oldest Test rugby venue) 

is without doubt a fitting venue 

for another Star Wars in the 

making with both sides boasting 

multi-talented players who have 

starred for their countries on the 

international rugby stage. 

Stade Toulousain’s red jersey proudly 

displays five gold stars and today 

will encounter the Leinster blue jersey 

displaying four gold stars in what 

promises to be an epic encounter 

between two of European rugby’s 

premier teams. 

Between us we have featured in a total 

of 12 Heineken Cup finals with Toulouse 

heading the leaderboard with five wins 

followed by Leinster on four wins, with 

Toulon and Saracens on three wins each. 

We welcome Toulouse led by their club 

captain Julien Marchand, Club President 

Dedier Lacroix for what is the defence 

of their win last season when they 

defeated La Rochelle 22-17 in front of 

a Covid-restricted crowd of 10,000 at 

Twickenham. 

Toulouse are also the TOP14 champions 

of 2021 (their 21st title and the most 

successful club in France’s 130-year-old 

rugby tournament). They are currently 

sixth in the TOP14 having won 13 of their 

24 league fixtures and are just seven 

league points behind the table-toppers 

Montpellier. 

Toulouse’s successes in the Heineken 

Cup date back to the initial final in 

1996 when they required extra-time to 

defeat Cardiff 21-18. Their other four 

final successes were against French 

opposition. In 2003 they defeated 

Perpignan in this very stadium. Their 

third cup win came in 2005, when they 

needed extra-time again to defeat Stade 

Francais by 18-12 in Murrayfield. 

Their 2010 win was against Biarritz, by a 

score of 21-19 having defeated Leinster 

in the semi-final. Their two Heineken Cup 

final defeats were at the hands of Wasps 

in 2004 (27-20) and Munster in 2008 

(16-13). As we now know, last week, they 

required extra-time and a penalty shoot 

out to overcome Munster in this stadium 

so perhaps Lady Luck might decide that 

she has done her duty for them! 

The Leinster squad of players 

has excelled in our United Rugby 

Championship and Heineken Champions 

Cup campaigns this season and have 

recorded a total of 18 wins from 23 

competitive fixtures played. 

Leinster’s 12 wins in the United Rugby 

Championship have placed them in pole 

position in the league table. A point to 

note is that our 511 points scored is the 

highest and that the 251 points conceded 

is the lowest in the league. Our only 

defeat at home was in the interpro derby 

loss to Ulster. 

Leinster have scored a total of 68 tries to 

date in the United Rugby Championship. 

Leinster’s six Heineken Champions Cup 

fixtures played this season have resulted 

in Leinster scoring 303 points and 

crossing the try line on 42 occasions. 

The combined total between the United 

Rugby Championship and the Heineken 

Champions Cup amounts to 814 points 

scored and 110 tries. 

Full credit has to be given to all our 

Leinster coaches and backroom staff 

8 | www.leinsterrugby.ie

To all our 

committed 

fans and 

sponsors we 

thank you for 

your most 

appreciated 

and generous 

support 

during the 

past two 

difficult 

seasons for 

all sports. 

for their dedication and vision as to the 

pathway that Leinster Rugby aspires to 

take. 

The atmosphere at the Aviva Stadium is 

a unique one. We can all recall over the 

years those many special occasions such 

as our first victory over New Zealand. No 

matter what Irish province you support, 

today’s game is deserving of your full 

support for this Leinster team whose 

players have contributed so much this 

season to an Irish Triple Crown success. 

The scene is set, the stars are here, so 

let’s enjoy what we hope will be a game 

to savour. 

To all our committed fans and sponsors 

we thank you for your most appreciated 

and generous support during the past 

two difficult seasons for all sports. 

You have travelled with us throughout our 

numerous campaigns and your presence, 

inspiration and support makes such a 

difference to Leinster Rugby. 

Go raibh míle maith agaibh, 

agus ALLEZ LES BLEUS! 

John Walsh 

President Leinster Rugby 2020-2022 


Leo Cullen 

head Coach Welcome 

A warm welcome to you all for the 

semi-final of this season’s Heineken 

Champions Cup, and in particular to 

Ugo Mola and his Toulouse team who 

are back at the Aviva Stadium for the 

second time in the last seven days. 

This is the time of the season 

we’ve been looking forward to 

all along, with big game after big 

game, reflecting the huge amount 

of work that has got us to this 

point. 

We know we have a mountain to climb 

today but what better or more exciting 

challenge than playing the five-times 

European champions, current Champions 

Cup holders and TOP14 champions for 

a place in the final? This is the sort of 

occasion you dream about. 

A massive thanks to all the Leinster 

faithful who made the trip to Leicester last 

weekend. 

10 | www.leinsterrugby.ie 

As always, there was a raucous 

atmosphere at Welford Road and our 

players got a huge emotional lift when 

they were greeted with a sea of blue 

getting off the bus. We were delighted 

that so many of you were there and it 

made victory all the sweeter in the end. 

Congratulations to Joe McCarthy who 

made his Champions Cup debut against 

Leicester in last weekend’s quarter-final. 

Not a bad day to play in Europe for the 

first time! 

We’ve had a really busy schedule 

since our last home game, including a 

whirlwind trip to South Africa where 

a number of young players got to 

experience URC action for the first 

time. Even though we lost both games, 

we managed to come home with two 

valuable losing bonus points and I think 

everyone – especially those younger 

lads – will have benefitted from the 

experience. 

Congratulations to John McKee, Brian 

Deeny and Lee Barron who all made 

their Leinster debuts in South Africa. All 

three players are currently in the Leinster 

Academy and we have high hopes that 

they will go on to have bright futures and 

long careers in the game. 

Sincere thanks to all our backroom staff 

for their hard work and dedication over 

the last few weeks. 

Behind the scenes, it’s been all hands 

on deck trying to manage that trip while 

simultaneously preparing a separate 

group back in UCD. A number of our 

Academy coaches also stepped up to the 

plate to make their Leinster ‘debuts’ and 

we hope they will all be better coaches 

for the experience. 

We’re at the business end of the season 

now with everything up for grabs. This 

is why we all got into rugby in the first 

place, to be competing for the big prizes. 

We’ve worked towards this moment for 

the past 42 weeks solidly – back when 

our pre-season started – and we hope to 

deliver a performance that will make our 

supporters proud. 

Speaking of supporters, I want to thank 

all our corporate partners and sponsors, 

led by Bank of Ireland, for their backing. 

I hope you enjoy being part of these big 

occasions because you deserve it. 

Days like today are what it’s all about 

really – playing in front of a big crowd, 

knowing your family and friends are there 

cheering you on. It inspires the team to 

give everything we have and that’s what 

we’ll do today. 

Enjoy the game. 

Leo


carla 

delaney 

DIRECTOR, BANK OF IRELAND AREA EAST 

A very quick turnaround this week as Leinster face reigning 

champions Toulouse in the Heineken Champions Cup semifinal 

at the Aviva Stadium. This competition always offers a 

unique challenge for Leo Cullen and his players, and now the 

Boys in Blue go straight from toppling the team currently 

atop the English Premiership to trying to overcome 

Munster’s most recent conquerors. 

It all makes for what promises to 

be a brilliant match kicking off at 

3pm! 

To secure the quarter-final win over 

Leicester at Welford Road took a huge 

effort, winning away in Europe always 

does. And to emerge victorious in such 

a brilliant stadium packed with noisy 

home supporters (not to mention the blue 

hoards) made it all the sweeter. 

We are proud in Bank of Ireland to 

support the team on the pitch, but we are 

also very proud of the Leinster supporters 

in the stands. I want to recognise the effort 

made by the volunteers from the OLSC to 

get so many flags over to Leicester and to 

have Welford Road turned so blue! The 

scenes on arrival for the team bus were 

pretty special, so well done to Bebhinn, 

Alan, Dave and to everyone in the OLSC 

that played their part in making the trip to 

Welford Road so memorable. 

To this weekend and the visit of Toulouse. 

They may have broken Munster hearts 

here in the Aviva last weekend, but we 

hope that’s the end of their European 

heart-breaking for this season! 

Toulouse are a giant of European rugby 

and put in another strong performance 

to edge a victory against a hugely 

motivated Munster team, who themselves 

can be extremely proud of their quarterfinal 

display. No doubt all Munster’s 

focus will now be on the URC game back 

here at the Aviva next week. But, for now, 

Leinster’s focus is solely on the European 

task at hand. 

Away from the senior team it’s been 

great to see such progress off the field 

over the last few weeks, with a number 

of competitions coming to a conclusion. 

With Covid-19 continuing (thankfully!) 

to recede from the general national 

consciousness, we hope that this is the last 

season of interruptions and that we can 

get back to completing a full programme 

of fixtures without any delays next season. 

Finally, to Leo, Johnny and all the players, 

the very best of luck today. Let’s hope we 

can all enjoy one last away day to France 

before the season is out! 

Enjoy the game. 

CD 


Ri 


Garry 

ngrose 

This isn’t 

Garry 

Ringrose’s 

first invite 

to the dance. 

At just 27 

years of age, 

he has won 

all he can 

with Leinster 

Rugby - four 

consecutive 

URC titles 

along with 

the 2018 

Heineken 

Champions 

Cup. 

the big interview 

BY RYAN CORRY 


With Ireland, he’s won a Grand 

Slam and two triple crowns in 

42 caps and was nominated for 

World Rugby’s Junior Player of 

the Year award in 2014. 

Today’s semi-final clash with Toulouse 

is to be his 99th in the blue of Leinster, 

40 of those coming in the Heineken 

Champions Cup including today. 

Leinster haven’t played today’s 

opposition since the 2019 semi-final, a 

30-12 win for Ringrose and Co at Aviva 

Stadium in a year where the two teams 

met on three occasions. 

It was first blood to Toulouse in the 

pool stages, securing a one-point 

win on the continent before Leinster 

took control of the group with a win 

at the RDS Arena in early January 

2019. 

Both teams qualified for the knockout 

stages and would meet again 

in the last four when Leinster won out 

and booked their place in the final at St 

James’ Park in Newcastle. 

That day in England’s north-east would 

end in disappointment against Saracens 

for Leinster, as it would the following 

September at today’s venue. 

The May Bank Holiday weekend 

in 2021 saw Leinster bow out at 

this stage to French opponents, 

La Rochelle and they would 

have to watch on as Toulouse 

became the first team to get 

their hands on the illusive 

crown five times. 

However, not much has changed 

for the Leinster centre since that 

day in April 2019 when the sides 

last met. 

Lessons have been learned, some 

tougher to take than others, but 

ultimately necessary. 


We had a tough 

game over in 

Leicester which 

was physically and 

mentally challenging 

so thankfully we had 

Sunday to decompress 

and turn the page as 

soon as possible. 

“I think the motivation has increased 

because of the disappointment we’ve 

faced through that time,” he says. 

“We’ve learned some harsh but valuable 

lessons. Obviously, there’s been some 

personnel changes with guys that would 

have retired. Rob Kearney and Fergus 

McFadden are two and even seeing 

someone like Dan Leavy who has had to 

retire with injury, more recently, it makes 

us appreciate these days even more. 

“I guess you enjoy the wins but it’s the 

losses that stick around a bit more but, as 

a group, we took some valuable lessons. 

That’s what drives the motivation this 

year, when you experience how tough it 

is to go and win in Europe. 

“Even preparing as best you can, it takes 

something special to progress in the 

knockout stages. It makes us appreciate 

the opportunity we have today but we’re 

acutely aware of how we need to be at 

our best. 

“From a rugby perspective, we’ve been 

trying to grow our attack to beat strong 

defences, of which I think Toulouse are 

one of the best, certainly in the TOP14. 

“Thinking back to that game, the 

scoreline, we were lucky to come out on 

the right side but I remember a chip-kick 

went through and myself and Maxime 

Medard both went for the ball and 

grounded at the same time, it was semi 

held-up and the play was called back 

but that moment could have changed the 

game dramatically. 

“The scoreline and the momentum would 

have swung and it would have been very 

different. We’ve lost to Toulouse in the 

past in the group stages but were lucky 

enough to turn it around but we’ve huge 

respect for them as a club so there’ll be 

zero complacency going into this game 

from us.” 

It’s not often that Leinster will take on 

foreign opposition in Dublin and have 

the away side play in the Irish capital 

more recently than them but that is the 

case this week following Toulouse’s 

dramatic shootout victory over Munster 

last weekend. 

Trailing by 10 points and down a man 

with just 15 minutes remaining, you could 

have been forgiven for planning an all- 

Irish semi-final on this side of the draw. 

However, Rory Arnold’s return from 

the sinbin was followed soon after by 

a converted Matthis Lebel try. Then, 

Thomas Ramos brought it level five 

minutes from time with three off the tee. 

Two 10-minute halves of extra-time went 

without troubling the scorekeepers before 

the dreaded placekicking competition. 

Toulouse would score four to Munster’s 

two and seal their progression, the 

unpredictability of that game being 

one of the factors Ringrose highlights in 

making the French giants so difficult to 

play against. 


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“I didn’t watch it before because we 

were preparing for our own game and 

didn’t get the result until after that. We 

got back late on Saturday night but I 

watched the recording of it on Sunday,” 

he adds. 

“It was an unbelievably challenging 

game for Toulouse, Munster did really 

well and made it difficult for them. 

Toulouse showed how dangerous they 

can be and I think they will even be 

challenging themselves to be better 

again and I’ve no doubt they will be 

better again. 

“It’s a long list (their threats). Certainly 

the danger that their backs pose, more 

specifically that’s something I’ll be 

dealing with. The quality they have right 

across it and the ability they have to 

score from anywhere. 

“I mean one example is how well they 

keep the ball alive in contact, they seem 

to have this sixth sense and instinct to 

read each other. 

“It doesn’t necessarily look pre-planned 

but guys have the ability to take 

opposition on and others act accordingly 

around it. When they’re in sync, they’re 

almost impossible to stop. 

“From a control perspective, they have 

two of the best half-backs in the world at 

the moment at nine and 10. They have 

the ability to win in more ways than one, 

and in tight margins they can see out 

games with those two marshalling. So, 

that’s one or two things of a few where 

I think they are very strong and very 

dangerous.” 

Of course, as mentioned by the former 

Blackrock College man, Leinster had 

their own quarter-final last Saturday 

evening. 

In front of almost 20,000 at Mattioli 

Woods Welford Road in Leicester, they 

shot down the Gallagher Premiership 

leaders, benefitting from a healthy 

20-point half-time lead when the hosts 

came out fighting for the second half. 

Ringrose mentions the visiting support 

that travelled in force to back them 

against Leicester but has once again sent 

out a call to arms for today, hoping for a 

replica of the sea of blue flags and noise 

that greeted the team arrival in England. 

“We had a tough game over in Leicester 

which was physically and mentally 


challenging so thankfully we had Sunday 

to decompress and turn the page as 

soon as possible. 

“I think everyone came into training 

a little bit sore but there’s energy, 

motivation and determination, knowing 

the level we have to get to and step up 

again to repeat the result. 

“From our perspective, we enjoy playing 

at home and love any opportunity to get 

out in front of our home supporters and 

our families and close friends. 

“That always makes it even more special 

for us. It’s a special day and we’re 

grateful to have it in the Aviva, but it 

doesn’t guarantee anything result-wise. 

Toulouse have proven time and time 

again away from home that they can do 

the job,” he adds. 

Despite not facing Toulouse themselves 

for three years now, Ringrose will still 

have come up against many of their 

contingent in French jerseys at Test level. 

And he remains familiar with them, 

however, he maintains that there is no 

crossover from Ireland duty in terms of 

the players’ thinking this week with all 

attention firmly on the Champions Cup 

and not on getting any revenge for the 

Grand Slam that wasn’t. 

“I haven’t thought about it as revenge. 

There’s the spine of both teams, a lot 

of the same guys playing against each 

other. If anything, it’ll show that a game 

of this significance will be the equivalent 

of an international Test match which, 

again, has everyone on red alert with 

regard to our preparation,” he explains. 

“We felt great being able to go and get 

a win in Leicester. As a group that was 

great for us and to progress. But we all 

know there’s areas for us to be better 

and to try and repeat a result like that, 

we need to take a step forward. 

“And I know Toulouse will be saying 

the same thing. I haven’t thought about 

it in that way because our focus is a 

European championship and putting 

another star on our jersey but we’ll 

need to be at that international level of 

intensity for this fixture.” 

The layout of the last four, three French 

teams and one Irish, on top of that Six 

Nations Grand Slam is just indication of 

where rugby is in their country right now. 

The tight margins within the league mean 

that there are still plenty of play-off 

places up for grabs and plenty of teams 

willing to go for them. 

“With the success of the Six Nations, it’s 

been carried on within the clubs. Even 

looking at the TOP 14, watching the 

games and looking at the table, I think 

it’s only eight or nine points between first 

and eighth, so it shows how competitive 

it is. 

“It’s a credit to where French rugby is at 

the moment.” 


We felt great 

being able to go 

and get a win in 

Leicester. As a 

group that was 

great for us and 

to progress. 

But we all know 

there’s areas for 

us to be better 

and to try and 

repeat a result 

like that, we 

need to take a 

step forward. 

Right now though, it’s all focused on 

Lansdowne Road today. 

The professionals have Leinster as 

favourites for the game but Ringrose 

says that there’s nothing in that. 

“Personally, and I think collectively, we 

have too much respect for Toulouse 

as a club and the history they have, 

being the most successful team in 

Europe and reigning champions in both 

competitions. 

“We’d never think about it that way 

and when it comes to finals rugby, both 

teams are going to be at their best. You 

have to be ready, games can fall on the 

smallest of moments and the smallest of 

margins. We just have to do everything 

we can in our preparation and commit 

fully to the game. 

“Hopefully that’ll be enough.” 


Action 

replay 14 23 

LEICESTER TIGERS 

Freddie Steward; Chris Ashton (Freddie 

Burns 65), Matias Moroni (Nemani 

Nadolo 44), Guy Porter, Harry Potter; 

George Ford, Ben Youngs (Richard 

Wigglesworth 58); Ellis Genge (James 

Whitcombe 75), Julian Montoya (Nic 

Dolly 72), Dan Cole (Joe Heyes 58); 

Ollie Chessum, Calum Green (Harry 

Wells 61); Hanro Liebenberg. Tommy 

Reffell (George Martin 48), Jasper 

Wiese. 

SCORERS 

Tries: Chris Ashon, Nic Dolly. 

Cons: George Ford (2). 

SATURDAY, 7 MAY 

MATTIOLI WOODS WELFORD ROAD 

ATTENDANCE: 19,066 

HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP 

LEINSTER RUGBY 

Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O’Brien (Tommy 

O’Brien 71), Garry Ringrose, Robbie 

Henshaw, James Lowe; Johnny Sexton 

(Ross Byrne 61), Jamison Gibson-Park 

(Luke McGrath 70); Andrew Porter (Cian 

Healy 61), Rónan Kelleher (Dan Sheehan 

46), Tadhg Furlong (Michael Ala’alatoa 

61); Ross Molony, James Ryan (Joe 

McCarthy 75); Caelan Doris, Josh van 

der Flier, Jack Conan (Rhys Ruddock 70). 

SCORERS 

Tries: Josh van der Flier, Robbie Henshaw. 

Cons: Johnny Sexton (2). 

Pens: Johnny Sexton (2), Ross Byrne. 


We put Tigers 

under a fair bit 

of pressure when 

they had the ball. 

In the secondhalf 

they threw 

the kitchen sink 

at us. It didn’t 

feel comfortable 

in the secondhalf 

from our 

point of view but 

we’re delighted 

to get a win. 

Leo Cullen 


GIRLS’ AGE-GRADE 

RUGBY IN LEINSTER 

In 2009, Jennie Bagnall joined 

Leinster Rugby in the role of 

Women's Development Officer. 

At the time, she was the only staff 

member solely related to the girls’ game 

and was tasked with increasing the 

participation numbers and the profile 

of women’s rugby in Leinster ‘from the 

ground up’. 

Back then, there were just seven adult 

teams and seven youth teams in the 

province, meagre numbers that would 

only increase through the work of those 

willing to roll up their sleeves. 

This season, there were over 80 youth 

teams involved in competitions, plus 25 

minis (U-8, U-10 and U-12) girls teams 

playing. 

The schoolgirls game has also increased 

dramatically with over 60 schools 

participating in the X7s secondary school 

full contact rugby tournaments. Over 800 

first-year girls in the Metro region came to 

play at one single blitz event in Seapoint 

RC earlier this season. 

The sustained impact of the various 

volunteers, from club committees to 

parents and coaches around the province 

has been the foundation on which the 

game has flourished. 

Once the framework was put in place, 

the growth in rugby for girls was driven 

by a ‘can-do’ attitude taken on by 

girls everywhere from Enniscorthy to 

Edenderry. 

“It is all positive news around rugby for 

girls in Leinster,” says Jennie, now the 

Lead Women’s Development Officer. 

“The numbers on the ground are growing 

at a high rate. The quantity and quality 

of girls' participation are constantly 

increasing. There are more clubs taking 

girls into their plans for the future, more 

events and programmes to improve skills, 

and more opportunities to simply play 

the game. 

“Specifically, in the schools, there is a 

really nice pathway evolving. It begins 

with tag rugby being introduced in 

primary schools. 

Then, we develop into a touch rugby form 

of the game going into the first year in 

secondary school, culminating in learning 

how to tackle through ‘Touch to Tackle’ 

events run by our community rugby staff, 

in order to teach the girls to play contact 

nice and safely by the end of the first 

year. 

For Juniors and Seniors, they can play the 

‘gateway’ game created by the IRFU of 

seven-a-side cross-pitch rugby. For more 

advanced Junior players and Seniors, 

there is the option of 10-a-side also in an 

inaugural girls competition administrated 

by the Leinster Schools Committee. 

“This year, I feel we are starting to 

really join all the dots of the pathways, 

starting with learning the game at a much 

younger age with a huge surge in mini 

girls over the past three years. 

“We are creating performance 

opportunities and player development 

programmes to develop the girls who 

have the potential to be involved in the 

higher-level regional competitions, like the 

new Sarah Robinson (U-18) Cup. 

“This is a platform for the girls to develop 

to the provincial standard and through 

into ‘green jersey’ level,” Jennie says. 

“Over half of the squad selected last 

month to participate in the new U-18 

Six Nations in Scotland were players 

developed in Leinster’s clubs and schools 

which shows us that what we are doing 

is working. 

“Yes, things are not perfect. We badly 

need more female-specific staff on the 

ground to continue to support this level of 

growth. We need more female coaches, 

referees and volunteers to get involved. 

“We definitely need a better way 

of promoting the developments and 

opportunities for girls publicly,” she says. 

“These are all on the agenda and we’re 

constantly making progress in the right 

direction. International Women’s week 

was key to this progress. The U-18s 

refereeing programme and Female-Only 

Coaching Courses were just two of the 

new initiatives that we will be embedding 

into our pathways for the 2022/23 

season, and beyond.” 

Unlike their male counterparts, it is the 

club game, not the schools system that is 

leading the evolution. The absence of a 

traditional mindset allows those in charge 

to structure the game the way they see fit. 

Last month, the Leinster Clubs U-14, 

U-16 and U-18 finals took place in a 

celebration of the growth of the game 

and an advertisement for the high-quality 

rugby being produced. 

“I have been involved in girls rugby for 

the last five years,” issues Gary Brickell, 

the U-14 competition coordinator. 

“Were there the same number of teams 

then that are competing now? No. There 

are 26 or 27 clubs in each age grade 

from U-14, U-16 and U-18. 

“From what I see, the girls like everything 

about rugby. They like physical contact. 

They like the training aspect. They like the 

social connection too. There are plenty 

of girls that come and try it out that don’t 


stick with it. But, the girls that do, love it. 

They really do.” 

Last month, Athy RFC hosted the festival 

of finals in the U-14 and U-16 grades, 

including the U-16 Premier, Division 1 

and Division 2 League finals and the 

U-14 Premier, Division 1, Division 2 and 

Division 3 finals. 

It was a thrilling climax to the season for 

both age categories in which the numbers 

participating are climbing year-on-year. 

At U-16, the structure of the leagues was 

very effective with two similar groups of 

eight playing seven games. The top four 

advanced from each group into a Premier 

Division and the bottom four dropped 

into Division 1. 

Then, teams in these divisions played four 

more games against new opposition and 

the points from relevant games already 

played were carried forward. 

This approach has worked out as a great 

solution to the uncertainty every year 

around where each team stands. 

Division 2 was made up of teams who 

were more developmental in standard, 

so they played a stand-alone 11-team 

league. 

It is conservatively estimated that at 

least 430 girls played across the three 

divisions, based on an average of 18 

players from the 24 teams, albeit some 

squads were considerably larger. 

At U-14, there were 110 games 

scheduled in the various divisions with 

only 15 concessions, resulting in over 86 

per cent of games played. 

There were 29 teams, containing 500 

girls, playing rugby at this level. The 

decision was made to play the Leinster 

cup and area matches before Christmas 

which worked out well. 

There is also a suggestion for each area 

to hold girls blitzes for the start of next 

season, followed by the cups in order to 

better grade the leagues to make them as 

competitive as possible. 

The Division 3, Division 2, Division 1 and 

Premier finals were run off in quarter-hour 

intervals at Athy’s home grounds in The 

Showgrounds. 

The U-18 competition was compromised 

by the late announcement of the U-18 

Girls Six Nations Festival in Scotland 

which scooped up the cream of Ireland 

talent at the grade. 

The impact of the Ireland training camps 

and the presence of the interprovincial 

sevens at Easter meant a restricted 

playing schedule, ending with Wicklow 

overcoming Port Dara in the Premier 

League final. 

“I would say 50 per cent of the girls play 

rugby only. But, there is a cross-breed of 

sports. I am in Kilkenny where some of 

the girls play camogie. The same goes for 

Enniscorthy and Wexford,” says Gary. 

“I know from talking to coaches around 

the province that girls come to rugby 

from gaelic football, from basketball and 

soccer.” 

From there, for instance, the Sarah 

Robinson Cup provides a platform for the 

girls to push for Leinster representation 

whether at Sevens or XVs. That leaves 

them one more step away from the 

international level, once again at Sevens 

or XVs. 

“We have growing numbers at the 

moment. There are, at a minimum, 1,500 

girls playing club rugby in Leinster 

between U-14, U-16 and U-18,” says 

Gary. 

“Four years ago, in Kilkenny, all we had 

to show was our U-14 girls. That was the 

full extent of our participation. 

“Now, we have U-14s, U-16s and U-18s 

as well as getting our women’s team 

going again. In fact, they managed to 

win the Leinster League Division 5 final 

recently, the first silverware won by 

women in Kilkenny.” 

It is just one example of how girls' rugby 

is thriving from the ground up. 

2021/22 LEINSTER AGE-GRADE 

GIRLS LEAGUE FINALS. 

LEINSTER CLUBS U-14 LEAGUE FINALS 

PREMIER 

Mullingar 69 Greystones 7 

DIVISION 1 

Birr and Roscrea Ravens 40 Wexford 12 

DIVISION 2 

Wicklow 31 Port Dara 14 

DIVISION 3 

Longford 24 Ardee 21 

LEINSTER CLUBS U-16 LEAGUE FINALS 

PREMIER 

Arklow and Gorey Argos 35 Navan 5 

DIVISION 1 

Enniscorthy 45 Athy 22 

DIVISION 2 

Tullamore 21 Mullingar 10 

LEINSTER CLUBS U-18 LEAGUE FINAL 

PREMIER 

Wicklow 38 Port Dara 0 

If you are interested in 

taking up rugby or you 

would like to follow our 

updates, check out our 

social media channels: 

Leinster Women’s Rugby 

LeinsterWomensRugby 

@LeinsterWomen 

womenspro@leinsterrugby.ie 


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leo 

the lion’s 

kids 

corner 

IN A BLUR! 

Can you name this 

leinster player? 

spot the difference! 

Can you find all six? 

ANAGRAMS 

Can you un-jumble the names of these players? 

MAJORING 

SKI SNOB PA 

HURRY OIL 

ON LOG 

how did you do? 

IN A BLUR? 

JAMES LOWE 

ANAGRAMS 

JAMISON GIBSON-PARK 

RORY O’LOUGHLIN 

ZOOMED IN! 

CIARAN FRAWLEY 

zoomed in! 

WHo is this leinster 

player having an 

extreme close-up? 


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AZTO 

with 

Jamison Gibson-Park 

A – Action: If you could be a superhero, 

which would you be? 

Wolverine 

B – Boyhood: Who was your favourite 

sporting idol growing up? 

Tiger Woods 

C – Childhood: What is your favourite 

childhood memory? 

Footy on a Saturday morning 

D – Dish: What’s your go-to pre-match 

meal? 

Pasta followed by pancakes 

E – Education: What was your favourite 

subject in school? 

Geography 

F – Film buff: What’s your favourite film? 

Happy Gilmore 

G – Groove: Who is the best dancer in 

the squad? 

JVDF 

H – Holiday: What’s your favourite 

holiday destination? 

Croatia 

I – Inside: Who is the worst to sit beside 

in the dressing room? 

Hugo Keenan 

J – Joker: Who is the funniest in the 

squad? 

Will Connors 

K – Kick-off: What’s your favourite time 

of the day to play a match? 

3pm 

L – Languages: How many languages 

can you speak? 

One 

M – Music: Your favourite artist and 

song right now? 

Dave - System 

N – Number: Do you have a lucky 

number? 

4 


O – Others: What’s your 

favourite sport outside of rugby? 

Rugby League specifically NRL. 

P – Pal: Who is your best mate in 

the squad? 

It would have been Michael 

Bent up until this year! 

Q – Quirky: Who has the most 

interesting fashion sense? 

Jack Dunne 

R – Red Carpet: Who is the most 

famous contact in your phone? 

Piri Weepu 

S – Superstitions: Do you have 

any matchday routines? 

Sleep 

T – Trim: What’s the worst 

haircut you’ve ever had? 

Bowl cut 

U: Under pressure: Who in the 

squad would be the best in a 

bad situation? 

Larmour 

V – Verified: How often do you 

use social media? 

Daily 

W – Worst fear: What are you 

most scared of? 

Geese 

X – X-ray: Have you ever broken 

any bones? 

Yes 

Y – Youth: Where did you grow 

up? 

Great Barrier Island, New 

Zealand 

Z – Zoo: What’s your favourite 

animal? 

Panther 


Did you know? 

• Leinster and Stade Toulousain 

will meet for the 13th time in 

the Heineken Champions Cup, only 

Munster and Castres Olympique (18) 

have faced each other more often 

in the competition; the two clubs 

are evenly split having won six 

games apiece in their previous 12 

encounters. 

• This will be the fourth time 

Leinster and Stade Toulousain 

have met in the semi-finals of the 

Heineken Champions Cup, the most 

played fixture at this stage of the 

competition (Munster v Saracens, 

3 times); Toulouse won the first 

semi-final clash between the clubs 

at Stadium de Toulouse in 2009/10, 

while Leinster have won their two 

such meetings since then. 

• Stade Toulousain (2.79) and 

Leinster Rugby (2.85) are the 

only sides to boast an average 

ruck speed under three seconds 

in the Heineken Champions Cup 

this season; in defence, only Sale 

Sharks (4.15) have slowed down 

their opponents’ rucks more than 

Toulouse (3.99). 

• Leinster have averaged the most 

metres (930) and line breaks 

(10.2) per game of any club in 

the Heineken Champions Cup this 

season, while Stade Toulousain 

have beaten the most defenders 

(31.8) and made the most offloads 

(16.4) on average. 

• Antoine Dupont has averaged 

six defenders beaten per game in 

the Heineken Champions Cup this 

season, the most of any player 

to feature more than once this 

campaign, overall only Michael 

Lowry (29) has beaten more 

defenders than last year’s EPCR 

European Player of the Year (24). 

• Thomas Ramos has made the most 

offloads of any player in the 

Heineken Champions Cup this season 

(16), while he has the best goal 

kicking success rate of anyone to 

attempt more than 10 kicks at goal 

in 2021/22 (90%, 17/19). 

• James Lowe has scored eight tries 

in the Heineken Champions Cup this 

season, more than any other player, 

while no player has made more 

line breaks than the Leinster wing 

(9, level with Michael Lowry and 

Alivereti Raka). 

COMPARISON 

PLAYED 

186 

(96 home, 90 away) 

WINS 

128 


LOSSES 

53 


DRAWS 

5 


AVERAGE POINTS 

27 

BIGGEST WIN 

89 - 7 

HEAVIEST DEFEAT 

10 - 51 

TOTAL TRIES 

43 

METRES GAINED 

5582 

PASSES 

1050 

PLAYED 

186 


WINS 

126 


LOSSES 

53 


DRAWS 

7 


AVERAGE POINTS 

26 

BIGGEST WIN 

108 - 16 

HEAVIEST DEFEAT 

17 - 77 

TOTAL TRIES 

16 

METRES GAINED 

4089 

PASSES 

851 


leinster 

squad 

2021/22 season 

Vakh Abdaladze #1263 

PROP 

DOB: 06/02/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.88m 

WEIGHT: 121kg 

Michael Ala’alatoa #1301 

prop 

DOB: 28/08/1991 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 

WEIGHT: 127kg 

7 

CAPS 

Ryan Baird #1278 

LOCK 

DOB: 26/07/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.98m 

WEIGHT: 113kg 

8 

CAPS 

Adam Byrne #1213 

WING / FULL BACK 

DOB: 10/04/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 

WEIGHT: 98.18kg 

1 

CAP 

Ed Byrne #1222 

6 

CAPS 

Harry Byrne #1280 

2 

CAPS 

Ross Byrne #1236 

13 

CAPS 

Thomas Clarkson #1285 

PROP 

DOB: 09/09/1993 

HEIGHT: 1.8m 


FLY HALF 

DOB: 22/04/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.9m 

WEIGHT: 95kg 

FLY HALF 

DOB: 08/04/1995 

HEIGHT: 1.9m 

WEIGHT: 92kg 

PROP 

DOB: 22/02/2000 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 

WEIGHT: 118kg 


Jack Conan #1223 

27 

CAPS 

7 

CAPS 

Will Connors #1264 

9 

CAPS 

Sean Cronin #1202 

72 

CAPS 

Max Deegan #1256 

1 

CAP 

NO. 8 

DOB: 29/07/1992 

HEIGHT: 1.93m 


BACK ROW 

DOB: 04/04/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.96m 

WEIGHT: 100kg 

HOOKER 

DOB: 06/05/1986 

HEIGHT: 1.78m 


NO. 8 

DOB: 01/10/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.93m 

WEIGHT: 110kg 

Peter Dooley #1230 

Caelan Doris #1268 

17 

CAPS 

Jack Dunne #1276 

Ciaran Frawley #1265 

PROP 

DOB: 04/08/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 117kg 

BACK ROW 

DOB: 02/04/1998 

HEIGHT: 1.93m 

WEIGHT: 107kg 

LOCK 

DOB: 21/11/1998 

HEIGHT: 2.03m 

WEIGHT: 120kg 

FLY HALF 

DOB: 04/12/1997 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 

WEIGHT: 98kg 

Tadhg Furlong #1220 

PROP 

DOB: 14/11/1992 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 125kg 

57 

CAPS 

13 

CAPS 

Jamison Gibson-Park #1247 

SCRUM HALF 

DOB: 23/02/1992 

HEIGHT: 1.75m 

WEIGHT: 80kg 

17 

CAPS 

David Hawkshaw #1290 

FLY HALF / Centre 

DOB: 03/07/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.75m ) 


Cian Healy #1142 

PROP 

DOB: 07/10/1987 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 


116 

CAPS 

2 

CAPS 

Robbie Henshaw #1251 

57 

CAPS 

9 

CAPS 

Dave Kearney #1158 

19 

CAPS 

Hugo Keenan #1253 

20 

CAPS 

Ronan Kelleher #1277 

18 

CAPS 

CENTRE 

DOB: 12/06/1993 

HEIGHT: 1.9m 



DOB: 19/06/1989 

HEIGHT: 1.8m 

WEIGHT: 90kg 

FULL BACK 

DOB: 18/06/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 


HOOKER 

DOB: 24/01/1998 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 105kg 


Jordan Larmour #1258 

30 

CAPS 

Dan Leavy #1231 

11 

CAPS 

WING 

DOB: 10/06/1997 

HEIGHT: 1.78m 

WEIGHT: 90kg 

FLANKER 

DOB: 23/05/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 


for full squad profiles 

please click here 

James Lowe #1262 

12 

CAPS 

Nick McCarthy #1241 

Luke McGrath #1206 

19 

CAPS 

Michael Milne #1279 


DOB: 08/07/1992 

HEIGHT: 1.88m 

WEIGHT: 105kg 

SCRUM HALF 

DOB: 25/03/1995 

HEIGHT: 1.8m 


SCRUM HALF 

DOB: 03/02/1993 

HEIGHT: 1.75m 


PROP 

DOB: 05/02/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 115kg 

Jimmy O’Brien #1272 

Conor O’Brien #1260 

Josh Murphy #1261 

Ross Molony #1233 

LOCK 

DOB: 11/05/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.96m 

WEIGHT: 113kg 

FLANKER 

DOB: 17/02/1995 

HEIGHT: 1.98m 

WEIGHT: 110kg 

CENTRE 

DOB: 06/02/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 

WEIGHT: 100kg 

CENTRE 

DOB: 27/11/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 88kg 

Tommy O’Brien #1283 

Rory O’Loughlin #1248 

1 

CAP 

Scott Penny #1271 

Andrew Porter #1246 

43 

CAPS 

CENTRE 

DOB: 28/05/1998 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 95kg 

CENTRE 

DOB: 21/01/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.88m 


FLANKER 

DOB: 22/09/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 104kg 

PROP 

DOB: 16/01/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 



Garry Ringrose #1237 

42 

CAPS 

Rhys Ruddock #1167 

27 

CAPS 

James Ryan #1259 

43 

CAPS 

Johnny Sexton #1127 

105 

CAPS 

14 

CAPS 

CENTRE 

DOB: 26/01/1995 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 

WEIGHT: 96kg 

BACK ROW 

DOB: 13/11/1990 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 


LOCK 

DOB: 24/07/1996 

HEIGHT: 2.03m 

WEIGHT: 115kg 

FLY HALF 

DOB: 11/07/1985 

HEIGHT: 1.88m 

WEIGHT: 90kg 

Dan Sheehan #1286 

HOOKER 

DOB: 17/09/1998 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 


7 

CAPS 

Devin Toner #1128 

LOCK 

DOB: 29/06/1986 

HEIGHT: 2.11m 

WEIGHT: 127kg 

70 

CAPS 

James Tracy #1211 

HOOKER 

DOB: 02/04/1991 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 106kg 

6 

CAPS 

Josh van der Flier #1228 

FLANKER 

DOB: 25/04/1993 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 

WEIGHT: 103kg 

40 

CAPS 

Coaching 

Staff 

2021/22 season 

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 

DENIS LEAMY 

CONTACT SKILLS COACH 


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Try Leinster’s Next Big Dish 

from Mao At Home today

One of the all time greats of 

County Carlow Rugby Club, 

Bob Fennell from Ballickmoyler, 

passed away in early May 2022 

in his 86th year. 

Bob Fennell was a key member of the 

Carlow team which won the Provincial 

Towns Cup in 1957, 1961 and 1965. 

His half-back partnership with Peter O 

Gorman at number nine was described 

by many as the best paring that ever 

donned the Carlow black and amber 

jersey. 

Bob’s day job was in maths teaching at 

The High School in Rathgar, Dublin but 

all his life he commuted every weekend 

to Carlow to fulfil his passion for Carlow 

rugby. 

In the early days this commuting was on 

a 50cc scooter. Sometimes he carried his 

6’ 5” clubmate Shirley Gillespie on the 

scooter as well. 

Although a natural leader both on and 

off the field, Bob, because he was living 

in Dublin, never took on captaincy or 

formal administration positions with 

Carlow. Yet he was constantly helping 

and advising his team-mates, especially 

new players. 

Bob Fennell RIP 

BY JOHN SHIRLEY 

Tommy Doyle, who shared the Towns 

Cup victories with him, described Bob as 

the “epitome of a really good clubman, 

a team player and thorough gentleman. 

As an astute kicking outhalf he would 

control games. His cross kicks were spot 

on and led to many tries for Carlow. Also 

he was equally adept with both feet and 

frequently we won games with a late Bob 

Fennell drop-kick. ” 

Martin Byrne, 1992 Towns Cup winner 

with Carlow, said; “As a newcomer to 

rugby, Bob took me under his wing and 

explained not just the rules but also the 

skills and positioning.” 

When Carlow were trying to get youth 

teams going Bob brought down youth 

teams from The High School to provide 

opposition for the fledgling Carlow sides. 

In The High School, Bob was rugby 

coach and manager as well as Vice- 

Principal. He guided future rugby 

internationals such as Philip Orr and John 

Robbie in the game. In 1973, The High 

School won the Leinster Senior Schools 

Rugby Cup for the one and only time. 

In gratitude for Bob’s contribution to the 

school, The High School recently named 

a new Denis O’Brien-sponsored rugby 

pitch after the Carlow out-half. 

Bob’s nephew William Fennell, a Towns 

Cup winner in 1977, described his uncle 

as a “an out and out Carlow rugby 

man who continued to play rugby till 

he was about 50 and after that was a 

constant and knowledgeable supporter 

at matches. 

“He was an all round sportsman and 

during the summer also commuted to 

Carlow to play cricket in Bagenalstown, 

along with his sons, Russell and Nigel.” 

There are many stories of Bob’s kindness 

and generosity. Once when he was 

dropping a neighbour to the boat to 

England, (again on his scooter) Bob 

noticed the man had no overcoat. He 

removed his own and handed it to the 

emigrant. Gladly the emigrant hit better 

times but never forgot Bob’s gesture and 

called to him on return visits to Ireland. 

Bob is survived by his wife Doris (nee 

Meredith) daughter Annalee, sons, 

Russell and Nigel, and their families. 


ENERGIA MEN’S ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE 

FINALS 

DEACONroundup 

BY ROBERT 

The weekend of April 30 saw the 

play-offs for both the title and 

promotion spots for this season’s 

Energia Men’s All-Ireland Leagues 

take place, and what a weekend 

of club rugby it turned out to be. 

Of the five divisions that make up the All- 

Ireland League, three of the finals were 

contested between Leinster clubs, Clontarf 

and Terenure in Division 1A, Greystones 

and Blackrock in Division 2B, while 

Enniscorthy played Skerries in Division 

2C. Naas represented the province in the 

final of Division 1B. 

In Division 2C, Enniscorthy who had led 

the league all season entertained Skerries 

who had finished in second place. Both 

clubs had come through tough semi-finals, 

Enniscorthy accounting for Tullamore 12- 

9, while Skerries won a close encounter 

at home against fellow seasiders Bangor 

winning 32-29. 

Enniscorthy, with home advantage in 

the final, pulled away in the second half 

to eventually run out winners by 41-14, 

despite the best efforts of a gallant 

Skerries team. Enniscorthy will now play 

in Division 2B next season. 

The Division 2B final was also between 

two Leinster clubs, old rivals Greystones 

and Blackrock. Greystones, who had 

led the league all year had defeated 

Galway Corinthians 19-14 at home in the 

semi-final, while Blackrock, by finishing 

third, had to travel to Belfast Harlequins 

where they came away with a creditable 

29-17 victory. 

The final played in Dr Hickey Park turned 

out to be an epic encounter where 

Blackrock staged an unforgettable 

comeback after being 17 points down 

to score with the last play of the game 

to win by 25-23. It proved to be a gutwrenching 

end for Greystones after an 

excellent league campaign. Blackrock 

will now ply their trade in Division 2A 

next season. 

Naas travelled to Limerick to contest 

the final of Division 1B against the 

Munster men from Shannon. Naas, who 

had finished fourth in the league, had 

accounted for table-toppers Old Wesley 

in the semi-final in an exciting encounter 

in Energia Park where they held on to 

run out winners by a 38-37 score-line. 

Shannon took on and beat Cork rivals 

Highfield by 25-19 in the second semifinal. 

The final drew a large crowd to Coonagh 

in Limerick where Shannon did not 

disappoint the home fans with a strong 

display winning 30-15, and as a result 

are promoted to Division 1A for next 

season. 

On Sunday, 1 May, the attention turned 

to the Aviva Stadium for the Division 

1A final between Clontarf and Terenure, 

again an all-Leinster affair, and what a 


match it turned out to be. The semifinals 

had seen league leaders Clontarf 

overcome fourth place Cork Constitution 

29-13 in Castle Avenue. Terenure, 

with home advantage, accounted for 

Lansdowne by the narrow margin of 

20-18. 

A record crowd for an All-Ireland League 

final of just short of 6000 were treated 

to a wonderful contest and the vocal 

support of both sets of supporters was 

relentless throughout. 

Clontarf seeking to win the competition 

for the third time survived a frantic finish 

by their southside rivals holding on to win 

by 29-23. Terenure fought gallantly to the 

end but could not breach a stout Clontarf 

defence who held out to be crowned 

worthy champions. 

The Division 1A final proved a fitting 

occasion to what was an outstanding 

season of AIL rugby which witnessed 

increased attendances across all five 

divisions. In a season that started with 

so much uncertainty the standard and 

quality of the Energia All-Ireland League 

showed, yet again, what our clubs have 

to offer the game, long may it continue. 

Congratulations to all clubs. 


compiled by stuart farmer 

media services limited 

Leinster Player 

Statistics 

SQUAD 

CAP 

NO 

DEBUT 

2021/22 SEASON FOR LEINSTER LEINSTER CAREER 

ALL GAMES URC EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14/URC 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+5 1 5 0+4 1 5 0+1 - - 0+17 2 10 0+16 2 10 0+1 - - 2 - 

MICHAEL ALA'ALATOA 1301 25 SEPT 21 12+9 2 10 11+4 1 5 1+4 1 5 12+9 2 10 11+4 1 5 1+4 1 5 9 WS 7 

RYAN BAIRD 1278 27 APR 19 5+4 1 5 4+3 1 5 1+1 - - 17+19 7 35 15+14 7 35 2+5 - - 4 IR 8 

LEE BARRON 1308 23 APR 22 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - - - 

ADAM BYRNE 1213 29 DEC 12 6+2 4 20 6+2 4 20 - - - 55+10 24 120 45+10 18 90 10 6 30 5 IR 1 

ED BYRNE 1222 9 FEB 14 7+7 2 10 7+5 2 10 0+2 - - 26+58 12 60 26+45 11 55 0+13 1 5 1 IR 6 

HARRY BYRNE 1280 28 SEPT 19 6+4 - 12 6+4 - 12 - - - 20+14 6 166 20+13 6 161 0+1 - 5 13 IR 2 

ROSS BYRNE 1236 4 SEPT 15 13+7 3 152 11+3 2 109 2+3 1 40 83+41 9 802 69+21 4 580 14+19 5 219 7 IR 13 

THOMAS CLARK- 

1285 29 AUG 20 3+4 - - 3+4 - - - - - 5+12 - - 5+12 - - - - - - - 

SON 

JACK CONAN 1223 20 FEB 14 8 2 10 3 - - 4 2 10 88+25 25 125 62+15 16 80 25+10 9 45 6 IR 27 

WILL CONNORS 1264 9 FEB 18 1+1 - - 1+1 - - - - - 18+7 2 10 17+7 2 10 1 - - 12 IR 9 

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

CHRIS COSGRAVE 1305 26 MAR 22 1+1 - - 1+1 - - - - - 1+1 - - 1+1 - - - - - - - 

SEAN CRONIN 1202 28 OCT 11 3+6 3 15 3+6 3 15 - - - 123+81 45 225 79+60 28 140 43+19 16 80 3 IR 72 

MAX DEEGAN 1256 3 DEC 16 7+11 6 30 7+7 6 30 0+4 - - 42+41 24 120 39+29 22 110 3+12 2 10 4 IR 1 

BRIAN DEENY 1306 23 APR 22 2 - - 2 - - - - - 2 - - 2 - - - - - - - 

PETER DOOLEY 1230 31 OCT 14 3+7 - - 3+7 - - - - - 43+60 5 25 41+54 5 25 2+6 - - 18 - 

CAELAN DORIS 1268 28 APR 18 11 2 10 5 2 10 5 - - 43+8 7 35 31+6 5 25 11+2 2 10 8 IR 17 

JACK DUNNE 1276 16 FEB 19 2+3 - - 2+3 - - - - - 4+16 - - 4+16 - - - - - - - 

CORMAC FOLEY 1299 24 APR 21 1+2 - - 1+2 - - - - - 1+3 - - 1+3 - - - - - - - 

CIARAN FRAWLEY 1265 17 FEB 18 12+5 2 31 10+2 1 26 2+3 1 5 29+23 6 174 26+16 4 158 3+7 2 16 6 - 

TADHG FURLONG 1220 1 NOV 13 8+1 2 10 3+1 - - 4 2 10 81+42 10 50 45+34 3 15 35+8 7 35 2 IR 57 

JAMISON GIBSON-PARK 1247 2 SEPT 16 7+4 4 20 3+2 - - 3+2 4 20 56+56 21 105 47+30 14 70 8+26 7 35 2 IR 17 

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

DAVID HAWKSHAW 1290 2 NOV 20 0+3 1 13 0+3 1 13 - - - 0+11 2 27 0+11 2 27 - - - 2 - 

CIAN HEALY 1142 5 MAY 07 4+9 2 10 3+5 2 10 1+3 - - 160+84 29 145 93+53 15 75 65+29 13 65 4 IR 116 

ROBBIE HENSHAW 1251 8 OCT 16 7 4 20 3 1 5 3 2 10 63+1 15 75 28 6 30 34+1 8 40 1 IR 57 

DAVE KEARNEY 1158 16 MAY 09 3+1 1 5 3+1 1 5 - - - 150+23 52 260 124+16 45 225 25+6 7 35 2 IR 19 

HUGO KEENAN 1253 5 NOV 16 12 4 20 6 1 5 5 3 15 39+3 8 40 28+3 5 25 10 3 15 3 IR 20 

RONAN KELLEHER 1277 22 FEB 19 7+2 4 20 2+2 3 15 4 1 5 27+7 13 65 16+5 11 55 10+2 2 10 5 IR 18 

JORDAN LARMOUR 1258 2 SEPT 17 9 6 30 6 4 20 3 2 10 61+10 25 125 37+7 18 90 24+3 7 35 1 IR 30 


SQUAD 

CAP 

NO 

DEBUT 


ALL GAMES URC EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14/URC EPCR 

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

SINCE LAST TRY 

CAPS 

TEMI LASISI 1304 12 MAR 22 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - - - 

DAN LEAVY 1231 31 OCT 14 4+3 - - 4+3 - - - - - 47+32 17 85 39+22 13 65 8+10 4 20 8 IR 11 

JAMES LOWE 1262 2 DEC 17 9+2 11 55 5+1 3 15 3+1 8 40 61+2 45 225 39+1 28 140 21+1 17 85 2 IR 12 

JOE MCCARTHY 1303 29 JAN 22 5+1 - - 5 - - - - - 5+1 - - 5 - - - - - - - 

NICK MCCARTHY 1241 19 DEC 15 3+7 1 5 3+7 1 5 - - - 9+37 5 25 9+31 5 25 0+6 - - 6 - 

LUKE MCGRATH 1206 5 MAY 12 12+8 1 5 10+4 1 5 2+3 - - 114+57 40 200 79+47 32 160 35+9 8 40 5 IR 19 

JOHN MCKEE 1307 23 APR 22 2 - - 2 - - - - - 2 - - 2 - - - - - - - 

MICHAEL MILNE 1279 28 SEPT 19 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 1+16 2 10 1+16 2 10 - - - 15 - 

MARTIN MOLONEY 1300 24 APR 21 2+4 - - 2+4 - - - - - 2+5 - - 2+5 - - - - - - - 

ROSS MOLONY 1233 20 FEB 15 16+3 1 5 10+3 - - 5 1 5 80+55 5 25 72+40 4 20 7+15 1 5 12 - 

JOSH MURPHY 1261 3 NOV 17 7+4 - - 3+4 - - 4 - - 49+11 5 25 44+10 4 20 5+1 1 5 20 - 

JAMIE OSBORNE 1294 30 JAN 21 10+2 - - 10+2 - - - - - 12+6 1 5 12+6 1 5 - - - 13 - 

CONOR O'BRIEN 1260 3 NOV 17 1 - - 1 - - - - - 17+7 6 30 17+6 6 30 0+1 - - 10 - 

JIMMY O'BRIEN 1272 23 NOV 18 13+1 8 42 8 3 17 4+1 5 25 39+10 15 79 32+9 9 49 6+1 6 30 4 - 

SEAN O'BRIEN 1297 12 MAR 21 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 0+3 - - 0+3 - - - - - - - 

TOMMY O'BRIEN 1283 20 DEC 19 6+6 3 15 6+4 3 15 0+1 - - 10+11 6 30 10+9 6 30 0+1 - - 2 - 

RORY O'LOUGH- 

1248 2 SEPT 16 8+1 1 5 8+1 1 5 - - - 72+24 22 110 65+16 19 95 7+8 3 15 3 IR 1 

LIN 

MAX O'REILLY 1291 2 JAN 21 2 - - 2 - - - - - 8+1 1 5 8+1 1 5 - - - 8 - 

SCOTT PENNY 1271 23 NOV 18 10+1 6 30 10+1 6 30 - - - 33+7 22 110 33+7 22 110 - - - 2 - 

ANDREW PORTER 1246 2 SEPT 16 9+1 3 15 4+1 2 10 4 1 5 37+50 14 70 27+31 10 50 9+19 4 20 4 IR 43 

GARRY RINGROSE 1237 12 SEPT 15 12 2 10 6 2 10 5 - - 96+2 29 153 58+1 18 98 37+1 11 55 4 IR 42 

RHYS RUDDOCK 1167 6 DEC 09 13+6 1 5 12+3 1 5 1+2 - - 156+51 12 60 118+34 10 50 37+14 2 10 13 IR 27 

ROB RUSSELL 1302 3 OCT 21 2+2 - - 2+2 - - - - - 2+2 - - 2+2 - - - - - - - 

JAMES RYAN 1259 2 SEPT 17 4 - - 3 - - - - - 48+6 3 15 25+1 1 5 22+5 2 10 14 IR 43 

JOHNNY SEXTON 1127 27 JAN 06 6+2 - 72 2+1 - 22 3+1 - 40 154+27 26 1579 89+20 13 855 62+7 12 683 21 IR 105 

DAN SHEEHAN 1286 23 OCT 20 4+8 7 35 3+3 4 20 1+4 3 15 7+18 13 65 6+13 10 50 1+4 3 15 5 IR 7 

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

ALEX SOROKA 1296 28 FEB 21 1+1 - - 1+1 - - - - - 2+2 - - 2+2 - - - - - - - 

DEVIN TONER 1128 27 JAN 06 6+7 - - 6+4 - - 0+3 - - 212+67 4 20 146+46 4 20 63+21 - - 62 IR 70 

JAMES TRACY 1211 4 NOV 12 7+5 4 20 7+4 4 20 0+1 - - 64+77 18 90 57+48 17 85 7+29 1 5 5 IR 6 

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

JOSH VAN DER FLIER 1228 11 OCT 14 11+1 6 30 5+1 1 5 5 4 20 86+24 17 85 50+18 8 40 35+6 8 40 1 IR 40 

KICKING 


ALL GAMES URC EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14/URC EPCR OVERALL 

SUCCESS 

RATE 

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

% 

- - - HARRY BYRNE 66.67% 6 - - 6 - - - - - 59 6 58 5 1 1 83 78.31% 

ROSS BYRNE 86.11% 49 13 - 33 11 - 16 1 - 245 88 1 187 61 1 58 26 - 426 78.17% 

CIARAN FRAWLEY 100.00% 3 5 - 3 5 - - - - 54 12 - 51 12 - 3 - - 80 82.50% 

DAVID HAWKSHAW 66.67% 4 - - 4 - - - - - 7 1 - 7 1 - - - - 12 66.67% 

JIMMY O'BRIEN 100.00% 1 - - 1 - - - - - 2 - - 2 - - - - - 4 50.00% 

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

JOHNNY SEXTON 82.50% 27 6 - 8 2 - 17 2 - 261 298 11 128 171 7 124 121 4 700 79.86% 


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ig picture 

7 May 2022 

Josh van der Flier, right, and 

Jonathan Sexton of Leinster 

celebrate a turnover during 

the Heineken Champions Cup 

Quarter-Final match between 

Leicester Tigers and Leinster at 

Mattoli Woods Welford Road 

Stadium in Leicester, England. 


Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile 


THE GREATEST WEEKEND IN RUGBY 

27-28 MAY, STADE VÉLODROME

offical leinster supporters club 

Welcome to what we hope come the 

final whistle around 5/ 5:15pm, will 

indeed have been a Super Saturday 

for Leinster as we welcome Toulouse 

for the first of the weekend’s 

semi-final fixtures in the 2021/22 

Heineken Champions Cup. 

We last took to the field here 

around a month ago, when on 

Good Friday we secured victory 

over our interprovincial rivals 

Connacht (56-20) which saw us 

take our place in the last eight. 

Last weekend in that game played in 

Mattioli Woods Welford Road, we 

overcame Leicester Tigers 23-14 to 

secure our place here today. Our visitors 

for today are no stranger to the Aviva 

and they’ve even managed to take to the 

field here more recently than we last did, 

just last week (Saturday) to be exact! 

For them, and only the second time in the 

history of the competition, the result was 

secured after a place kicking competition 

and our other interprovincial rivals 

Munster fell at that hurdle in what was a 

cauldron of red. 

Our aim today is to make sure that the 

cauldron atmosphere is replicated, 

however in the colour of blue! For 

those of you who were in Leicester last 

weekend, there was something very 

special and heart-warming about seeing 

Leo getting off the coach in the car park 

and the smile that spread across his face 

when he saw the #SeaOfBlue that was 

there to greet him and the team. 

Covid restrictions have had on away 

fixtures. 

That welcome last week no doubt brought 

a tear to a few eyes and we hope that 

today will be no different. A number of 

the OLSC Committee travelled over to 

the game last weekend and at numerous 

times over the course of the day, both 

before and after the game, there was 

nothing but praise for you the fans who 

were in attendance and we thank you 

for this. 

We work to ensure we can assist as many 

fans as we can to get to games, and last 

week certainly showed that when the 

blue travels, it travels in large numbers 

and is loud. Very Loud! It’s been said 

before numerous times and especially by 

Leo in his pre-match notes that the team 

acknowledge and appreciate how much 

this means to them and what a boost it 

gives them. 

Back to this afternoon though and there’s 

not much point dwelling on the past 

history and results between ourselves 

and Toulouse as they could be debated 

and rehashed over for hours. Last week 

we made a fast start, even leading 20-0 

at half-time before running out winners 

23-14. 

finished 24-all with Munster missing a last 

gasp penalty to secure victory. The rest 

we all know about and the final score-line 

brings Toulouse back to the Aviva. 

The lessons for us to take from their 

victory is that they are resilient (well, you 

don’t secure five stars on sheer luck and 

chance) and if you don’t shake them, they 

will continue to sniff and wait for their 

opportunity to pounce and this is exactly 

what they did last week. 

The ‘home’ crowd last week did their 

utmost to roar their team to victory 

however it wasn’t to be but for us, this is 

our home away from home and we know 

that a big performance is needed, from 

us and the team! 

Last week was a tight affair and we 

expect no different this week but what 

we do know as evidenced in the past is 

that we can come away with the victory 

when we need it most when the crowd 

is behind the team and let’s make sure 

today is no different. 

This is where we want to stamp our mark 

on the competition and lay out our stall 

and announce to the remaining teams 

that we mean business and want to 

become the second European, and first 

Irish, team to secure an illustrious fifth star. 

We’d love for the road to Marseille to be 

paved blue, and wouldn’t you …. 

As always we’re thankful for the support 

we as a committee get from Leinster 

Rugby, Bank of Ireland and all the 

Corporate Sponsors, and as always we 

encourage you to show your support 

through our social media channels. 

Be loud, be true, be blue 

It was a special moment for all involved 

given the last two years and the impact 

Toulouse on the other hand went into the 

break all square (14-apiece) before it 

Yours in Rugby, 

Your OLSC Committee 


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GETTING 

We check social media 

for the latest views 

and thoughts across 

SOCIAL 

the 12 counties 



GETTING 

SOCIAL 


WHERE ARE 

THEY NOW? 

CIARAN CLARKE 

THEN: Ciaran 

played for 


more than 30 

times between 

1991 and 1999. 

NOW: The 

53-year-old 

lives with his 

partner Sonya 

Mooney and son 

James (18) in 

Rathfarnham, 

working as a 

Pharmaceutical 

Representative 

for Pinewood 

Healthcare. 


December 30, 1995. 

Ciaran Clarke isn’t blessed with 

unimpeachable memory. He can’t 

be precise about how many caps 

he wore for Leinster - somewhere 

in the low 30s - or how many tries 

he put his name to in blue. 

But, he has always held the detail of this 

date, the first Heineken Cup semi-final 

when Leinster came up short against 

Cardiff Blues at Lansdowne Road in front 

of an official crowd of 7,350. 

And not for the disappointment of the 23- 

14 defeat to the storied Welsh club. 

“I broke my hand in the game. I’m not 

sure how it happened. It might have been 

trodden on,” he says. 

“Anyway, the ambulance got stuck when 

it left the wrong way, the underneath of 

it catching on a cement grid. The air had 

to be let out of the tyres to get it over the 

hump. 

“I was left sitting in the Meath Hospital 

in my Leinster gear. After I was seen and 

let go, I made my way back in a taxi to 

Lansdowne Road hours later. There was 

no one there. 

“I had to get someone to let me into the 

stadium to get my car. My pal Joe Lynch 

was getting married the same day and 

I drove one-handed in my Leinster gear 

on icy roads to The Glenview Hotel in 

Wicklow at night. 

“Looking back on it now, you have to 

laugh. I don’t remember much about my 

rugby. But, I remember that day all too 

well.” 

Ciaran was known for his big left boot 

and an athletic frame that made for 

a high ceiling coming out of Terenure 

College where he lost in the 1987 

Leinster Schools Senior Cup final and 

was ruled out in 1988 with a broken 

collar-bone. 

Ciaran played for Leinster as an amateur, 

semi-professional in 1996/97 and 

1997/98 and full-time professional in 

1998/99. 

By late 1991, Leinster head coach Ciaran 

Callan sat down in an old-fashioned 

system with five selectors to give the 

22-year-old his debut against Ulster. 

This was back when there wasn’t a 

weight in sight at Leinster sessions and the 

priority was around organisation for the 

game at the weekend. 

“It was very different back then. We were 

a combination of professional and semiprofessional 

players. 


“As a pro, you might go in early in the 

morning for a weights session at 8am, 

finish by 10am. Then, you are twiddling 

your thumbs, hanging around all day 

waiting for a pitch session in the evening 

because some of the players had to put in 

a day’s work in between. 

“You are still training in the dark in the 

middle of winter even though you are a 

professional,” he adds. 

Ciaran’s greatest moment for Leinster 

came against a galaxy of Wallaby stars 

in a tour match at Lansdowne Road in 

1992. 

“I never played against Australia in my 

five internationals for Ireland. So, I won’t 

forget the day we played them when they 

had Michael Lynagh, David Campese, 

Jason Little, Tim Horan and John Eales. 

“I do look back with pride on the fact that 

I played for Leinster.” 

One year later, Ciaran was at full-back 

for Ireland when Mick Galwey’s famous 

try sealed a 17-3 win over a multitalented, 

bruising England side looking to 

complete a Grand Slam. 

However, the appearances for Leinster 

and Ireland were limited due to suffering 

a ruptured cruciate ligament playing 

for Terenure against Sunday’s Well in 

October 1993, months after his first three 

Ireland caps. 

“I played seven years of rugby with no 

cruciate in my right knee which sounds 

ridiculous now. I had my knee replaced 

18 months ago because of it,” he reveals. 

“When it happened, I had seen players 

who had opted for an operation. Some 

had better results than others. The 

surgeon told me I had to have surgery. I 

said: ‘No’. 

“There was no guarantee of getting 

back. I just didn’t fancy it. It wasn’t like it 

is today when a player could be back in 

eight months. 

“It had a drastic effect on my game. I 

wore a big brace. I kept tearing bits of 

cartilage. I would plant my foot, turn 

quickly and the knee would wobble. 

“I played a lot of my Leinster caps and 

my last two Ireland caps in that condition. 

You didn’t announce it back then. There 

was no social media. The scrutiny wasn’t 

the same. I never really talked about it 

publicly. 

“I worked incredibly hard to keep my 

right leg strong and stable. But, over time, 

it got worse and I had to retire at the age 

of 30 in 1999 at the end of my first year 

as a full professional. 

“In fact, that was probably the death 

knell because I was on my feet much 

more. It began to deteriorate rapidly. Bits 

of bone began to break off and it just 

became too sore. 

“You would be running a line at training 

and be hit with this unbelievable pang 

of pain in your knee and it would go as 

quickly as it came.” 

It was an enduring experience that had 

to be handled by myself, alone for quite 

some time. 

“It was only when Liam Hennessy and 


Dave Fagan got involved in Leinster, that I 

got a lot of really good help.” 

He didn’t have to be told when it was 

time to move on, concentrating on his 

career in the pharmaceutical industry. 

“I loved playing rugby. It took me a long 

time to get over the end of my career 

because I didn’t finish on my own terms. 

“I was just 30 when I packed it in. The 

rest of my body was fine. I was incredibly 

fit, bar a deteriorating knee.” 

There must have been nights when sleep 

was uncapturable, lying in the dark, 

turning over in his mind how good he 

could have been with two legs under him. 

“There probably was a bit of that. Where 

do you go with it? You would drive 

yourself mad if you kept thinking about 

it,” Ciaran admits. 

“I suppose you could convince yourself, 

in romantic dreams, that you could have 

had so many more caps for Leinster and 

Ireland.” 

Although, he casts his mind back to a 

moment when his eyes told him there was 

greatness on the way. 

“I remember sitting in the Wesley end of 

Donnybrook with Kurt McQuilkin - we 

were playing for Leinster - watching the 

‘A’ team play a match in 1999 and it 

had Brian O’Driscoll in the centre and 

Gordon D’Arcy at full-back. 

“The two lads were ripping it up on the 

pitch, doing all sorts of brilliant things. 

Kurt and myself were looking at each 

other, realising our time was almost up.” 

Ciaran has been able to turn those 

painful times into something more positive 

later in life, calling on an inner-strength he 

found during his rugby career. 

“The planning and the determination 

needed, particularly with the cruciate, 

changes you mentally, gives you a certain 

resolve that you didn’t know was there 

“This has certainly benefited me in my 

work life, helping to push through things,” 

he shares. 

Now, Ciaran marvels at the detail his son 

James has been opened to in Terenure 

College, the wing’s form in this year’s 

Leinster Schools Senior Cup earning an 

invite into the Leinster U-19 squad this 

summer. 

“The game is so different now. The 

young players are completely on top 

of everything. The preparation and the 

game are light years away from what we 

did in the 1990s,” he says. 

James probably knows more from what 

people said to him about Ciaran as a 

player than what his dad has shared. 

“I don’t think he has seen too many of 

my matches because they are all on VHS 

tape in the attic. 

“Anyway, he is his own man. The Leinster 

U-19s is all down to the work he has put 

in over a long period. 

“I had my time. This is his.” 


W W W . B E S T M E N S W E A R . C O M 

OFF 

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Referees 

Corner 

BY DAN WALLACE 

A warm welcome to the 

Aviva Stadium for today’s 

encounter with Toulouse, 

and another edition of 

Referees Corner. 

Today’s match officiating team 

is Karl Dickson (Eng); Assistant 

referees: Christophe Ridley 

(Eng), Anthony Woodthorpe 

(Eng); TMO: Stuart Terheege 

(Eng); Citing Commissioner: Beth 

Dickens (Sco). 

Karl Dickson started in rugby as 

a player, competing at scrum-half. 

Dickson played for Bedford Blues 

and Harlequins before announcing 

his retirement in 2017. Through the 

London Society of Referees he made his 

refereeing debut at the Reigate School 

Sevens in March 2014 and since then 

has taken charge of a range of matches 

including schools, club juniors, sevens as 

well as local and national league clubs. 

He made his Six Nations referee debut 

in the 2022 tournament when he took 

charge of Scotland v France. We wish 

him well today. 

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, our website www.leinsterrugbyreferees.ie or 

through twitter @leinsterreferee. 


Gordon Condell 

elected President 

A warm congratulations to 

Gordon Condell of Clondalkin 

RFC who was recently elected 

President of the Leinster Rugby 

Referees at our Annual General 

Meeting. Gordon has been 

a long time referee, coach, 

assessor, area representative 

and has put in a huge amount 

of work over a number of years 

with referees and players in his 

club and local area. We wish him 

well in his coming season. He will 

be ably assisted by Senior Vice 

President, Tom Tuohy, and Junior 

Vice President, Martin Farrelly. 

Acme Whistles 

Leinster Rugby Referees are 

delighted to announce our 

partnership with Acme whistles 

as our preferred whistle supplier. 

Speaking about the partnership Leinster 

Rugby Referees President David 

Robb said: “We are delighted to be 

partnering with Acme as our whistle 

supplier, a company that has been 

providing whistles to referees since 

before the foundation of Leinster Rugby 

Referees in 1902. Its a company of 

long standing tradition with quality 

workmanship providing rugby referees 

from grass roots to the elite of the game 

with a quality whistle to officiate.” 

ACME Whistles have been 

manufacturing and selling many 

different types of whistles from dog 

whistles to football whistles and many 

more since 1870. As part of this great 

sponsorship, the referees of the Leinster 

Schools Junior and Senior Cup games 

were presented with inscribed ACME 

whistles as a memento of their day. 

IRFU Appointments 

Further congratulations go to 

our Leinster referees who have 

made the 2022/23 IRFU National 

Referee panel. They are: High 

Performance Development 

Group - Andrew Cole. Level 1 

- Padraic Reidy, Dermot Blake, 

Paul Haycock, Glenn Sheridan. 

Level 2 - John Flynn, Robbie 

Jenkinson, John Carvill, Colm 

Roche, Sam Holt, Paul O’Connor. 

Level 3 - Katie Byrne, Michael 

Forrestal. Best wishes go to Nigel 

Correll who retired from the 

panel at the end of the season. 

Brian MacNeice has been appointed to 

be TMO for both Argentina v Scotland 

tests this summer. Brian continues to be 

a TMO at the highest level and we wish 

him well on this great appointment. Also 

congratulations to Berney White who 

refereed the 2022 Towns Cup Final 

between Ashbourne and Kilkenny. He 

was assisted by Ian Thompson and Ian 

Hayes. 

With only a few weeks left in the season 

we are immensely proud of the work 

that h as been put in by referees at all 

levels this season and look forward 

to moving onwards in the 2022/23 

season. 


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

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

Leinster Rugby charity partner 

Cardiac Risk in 

the Young [CRY] 


has announced 

Cardiac Risk 

in the Young 

(CRY) as its 

latest charity 

partner for 

the month of 

May as part 

of the Charity 

Affiliate 

Programme 

which was 

first launched 

in November 

2020. 

Indeed, this is not the first time 

that CRY have worked with 

Leinster Rugby having been a 

charity partner of the club back 

in 2015 and only last season 

CRY was again a partner of 

Leinster Rugby for the month of 

September. 

Similar to last season, CRY have once 

again been nominated by one of Leinster 

Rugby’s premium partners, BearingPoint. 

Established in 2002, CRY facilitates free 

clinical assessment and management 

to all families across Ireland, north and 

south, who have suffered, or are at risk 

of, a Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD). The 

charity’s Family Support Programme 

offers free access to listening volunteers, 

mentors and bereavement specialists, with 

its newly launched helpline also offering 

a listening ear to those impacted by SCD. 


The charity fundraises to support its 

specialist Centre for Cardiovascular 

Risk in Younger Persons Tallaght, Dublin 

24, where, since 2007, over 7,000 

individuals have been seen. Over 100 

individuals have had pacemaker or 

defibrillator devices fitted to protect them 

against sudden cardiac death. Hundreds 

more have been treated with medications 

and surgical procedures. 

Thousands have been found to be 

unaffected and reassured. Cardiac tests 

are performed in a single day, with 

detailed consultations with specialists to 

explain outcomes and implications. CRY 

also raises funds to support research into 

the causes and prevention of Sudden 

Cardiac Death, in collaboration with 

other likeminded bodies. 

In attendance at the launch in Leinster 

Rugby head office in UCD were Leinster 

Rugby players Robbie Henshaw, 

Ross Molony and Ciara Faulkner, as 

well as representatives from CRY and 

BearingPoint. 

Welcoming the news of the partnership, 

Dr Deirdre Ward, of CRY said, “CRY 

Ireland are delighted to be nominated 

as a charity partner to Leinster Rugby, 

and are very grateful to Bearing Point 

for helping to make this important 

opportunity possible. Over it's 20 years 

of existence CRY Ireland has relied on 

the generous support of the Irish public, 

business community and our own families 

to fund services for families affected by, 

or at risk from, sudden cardiac death due 

to inherited cardiac conditions. 

"Having focused for many years on 

developing and sustaining a medical 

centre for the diagnosis and management 

of the conditions that can cause sudden 

cardiac death, the Charity can now 

focus efforts on the areas of providing 

emotional support for affected families 

and on research into the conditions. 

As well as the fundraising boost that 

partnership with one of Europe's most 

successful rugby clubs will bring to 

finance these activities such as the CRY 

Volunteer Helpline, we are also very 

grateful for the opportunity to raise 

awareness of the risk of sudden cardiac 

death, and the importance of basic 

resuscitation skills such as CPR in the 

community.” 

Speaking on behalf of BearingPoint, 

Ian Kilty, said “Through our partnership 

with Leinster Rugby, BearingPoint is 

delighted to nominate CRY Ireland as 

their charity partner for the month of

May. BearingPoint is proud to continue 

supporting the great work that CRY 

does in raising awarness and providing 

services to the families impacted by 

Sudden Cardiac Death syndrome 

(SADS).” 

For the month of May, Leinster Rugby 

will lend its digital support to CRY, in 

particular supporting their team and its 

considerable efforts to raise awareness 

of these diseases and ultimately, to help 

save lives. 

Speaking at the launch, Leinster Rugby 

Sponsorship Manager, Éamon de Búrca 

said, “It is great that BearingPoint have 

nominated CRY once again this year, a 

charity that we as a club know very well 

having worked with them before but also 

through their links with our former player 

Darragh Fanning. 

“Lucia and her team in CRY continue to 

do amazing work. We saw that at first 

hand last season and we look forward to 

highlighting that work again in the month 

ahead. As we continue to come out of 

Covid-19, charities continue to need all 

our support.” 

Leinster Rugby also confirmed that Bank 

of Ireland would continue to support 

the charity partner scheme again this 

season and that its Player of the Month 

Award donation will now be made to the 

monthly charity affiliate, rather than the 

player in question, a move that is also 

supported by the Leinster Rugby players. 

Like all the charities selected, CRY 

was selected by Leinster Rugby after 

a consultation process involving the 

leadership group of the men, women’s 

and Academy teams and consultation 

with the premium sponsors and partners 

and the OLSC. 

For more information on CRY, please visit 

their website. 

Further information about the Leinster 

Rugby Charity Affiliate Programme: 

The charities supported by Leinster 

Rugby as part of this initiative, include 

2020/21 Season: Women’s Aid (November), Debra Ireland (December), 

numerous local causes supported by Bank of Ireland (January), ALONE 

(February), Pieta (March), AsIAm (April), LauraLynn (May), the Gavin Glynn 

Foundation (June), Irish Heart Foundation (August) and CRY (September) 

2021/22 Season: Alzheimer Society of Ireland (November), Peter McVerry 

Trust (December), numerous local causes supported by Bank of Ireland such 

as Outcomers, Citywise Means Business, New Horizon and Purple House 

(January), the RNLI (February), Irish Cancer Society (March), Irish Community Air 

Ambulance (April) and CRY (May) 

The selection process for all the charities includes the Leinster Rugby players, 

Leinster Rugby sponsors and partners and also the Official Leinster Supporters 

Club (OLSC) 


opposing view 

Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile 

7 May 2022 

Pierre Fouyssac of Toulouse 

celebrates after the ‘place kick 

competition’ to decide the winner 

of the Heineken Champions Cup 

Quarter-Final match between 

Munster and Toulouse at Aviva 

Stadium in Dublin. 


Founded: 

1907 

Ground: 

STADE ERNEST WALLON 

Capacity: 

18,754 

Toulouse 

last time out 

Munster Rugby 24 

Stade Toulousain 24 AET 

(Toulouse win 4-2 in place-kick shootout) | Aviva Stadium | Saturday, 7 May | Referee – Luke Pearce (RFU) | words: epcrugby.com 

Stade Toulousain beat Munster Rugby on place kicks 

to reach the Heineken Champions Cup semi-finals 

after a breathtaking 24-24 draw at the Aviva 

Stadium last week. 

Extra-time was required with 

the sides level after 80 minutes, 

but the additional 20 minutes 

couldn’t separate the two 

teams either and so the game 

was decided on a rare shootout, 

which reigning champions 

Toulouse claimed 4-2. 

Misses from Munster’s Ben Healy 

and Conor Murray proved crucial, as 

Toulouse’s Thomas Ramos, Antoine 

Dupont (2) and Romain Ntamack made 

no mistake with their efforts. 

Munster had led with five minutes to play 

thanks to tries from Alex Kendellen, Keith 

Earls and Mike Haley, in addition to a 

Joey Carbery penalty, but Toulouse, who 

had crossed through Romain Ntamack 

and Matthis Lebel (2), notched a threepointer 

through Ramos to send the game 

into the additional period. 

Munster drew first blood as flanker 

Kendellen squeezed over after a slick 

lineout move on nine minutes, but 

Toulouse were level moments later 

when out-half Ntamack planted down 

following a break from full-back Ramos. 

The two sides wrestled for control 

over the next quarter of an hour, but 

Toulouse’s dominant scrum began to 

provide the visitors with an attacking 

platform, and they capitalised on that 

on 26 minutes as they gained forward 

momentum before sending wing Lebel 

over in the corner. 


Carbery was off target with a penalty 

on 34 minutes as the Irish province 

attempted to reduce the deficit, but after 

wing Earls dotted down out wide in the 

final moments of the half, the out-half 

drew his side level with an excellent 

conversion. 

Despite another Carbery penalty 

drifting wide early in the second half, 

Munster would take the lead on 44 

minutes as centre Chris Farrell scythed 

through the Toulouse defence and teed 

up full-back Haley to squirm over. 

Toulouse lock Rory Arnold was sinbinned 

on 50 minutes for a dangerous 

tackle on Munster wing Simon Zebo 

and following more ill-discipline from 

the French side over the minutes that 

followed, Carbery slotted his first 

penalty of the game. 

They were the only points scored with 

Toulouse down to 14 men and once 

they were back to their full complement, 

the visitors grabbed a third try as 

Lebel surged through midfield and 

produced an outrageous sidestep to 

beat the last man and dive over on 67 

minutes. 

A Ramos penalty then left the scores 

at 24-24 on 75 minutes and Munster 

replacement out-half Ben Healy was 

unable to hand his side victory with a 

penalty attempt from inside his own half 

with the clock in the red, sending the 

game to extra time. 

The additional 20 minutes offered little 

to separate the two sides, with Ramos 

and Healy both unsuccessful with 

drop-goal attempts, and with both 

teams having scored the same number 

of tries, a place kick competition was 

required. 

And it would ultimately be heartbreak 

for Munster, as Murray and Healy 

dragged their efforts wide and 

Toulouse’s kickers held their nerve to 

book their place in the last four. 

MUNSTER RUGBY 

Mike Haley (Ben Healy 71); Keith Earls, 

Chris Farrell, Damian de Allende, Simon 

Zebo (Murray 96); Joey Carbery, 

Conor Murray (Craig Casey 59); Josh 

Wycherley (Jeremy Loughman 54), Niall 

Scannell (Diarmuid Barron 54), Stephen 

Archer (John Ryan 50); Jean Kleyn 

(Jason Jenkins 59), Fineen Wycherley 

(Thomas Ahern 71); Peter O’Mahony 

(Jack Daly 63), Alex Kendellen, Jack 

O’Donoghue. 

TOULOUSE 

Thomas Ramos; Dimitri Delibes (Maxime 

Medard 44), Pierre Fouyssac (Baptiste 

Germain 63), Pita Ahki, Matthis Lebel; 

Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont; 

Rodrigue Neti (Cyril Baille 45), Julien 

Marchand (Peato Mauvaka 45), 

Dorian Aldegheri (David Ainu’u 50); 

Rory Arnold, Emmanuel Meafou; 

Rynhardt Elstadt (Anthony Jelonch 

45), Thibaud Flament (Joe Tekori 63), 

Francois Cros. 


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Head coach 

Ugo Mola 

As a player, Ugo Mola featured 

for Toulouse from 1990 to 

1996, winning both French and 

European titles before depating 

for Castres. 

He also played for his country, his last of 

12 caps coming in the 1999 World Cup 

final defeat to Australia. 

Mola returned to Toulouse as head 

coach in 2015 and has led them to two 

TOP 14 titles and last year’s Champions 

Cup crown since. 

Captain 

Julien Marchand 

Hooker Julien Marchand has 

been Toulouse captain since the 

2018/19 captain when he was 

handed the honour at just 23 

years of age. 

He is a product of the club’s youth system 

and made his debut with their senior side 

in 2014. 

He is also a France international, 

debuting in November 2018 in their 

shock home loss to Fiji. He missed out on 

last year’s final due to suspension. 

Toulouse squad 

PITA AHKI 

CENTRE 

DAVID AINU’U 

LOOSE HEAD PROP 

DORIAN ALDEGHERI 

TIGHT HEAD PROP 

RICHIE ARNOLD 

LOCK 

RORY ARNOLD 

LOCK 

MAX AURIAC 

FULL BACK 

PAUL AUSSET 

BACK ROW 

CYRIL BAILLE 


ETONIA BAINIVALU 

CENTRE 

ALEXI BALES 

SCRUM HALF 

ARTHUR BONNEVAL 

WING 

IAN BOUBILA 

HOOKER 

JOSHUA BRENNAN 

LOCK 

SANTIAGO CHOCOBARES 

CENTRE 

RUBEN COURTIES CHAUBET 

SCRUM HALF 

GUILLAUME CRAMONT 

HOOKER 

FRANCOIS CROS 

BACK ROW 

VICTOR DANIELLI 

BACK ROW 

DIMITRI DELIBES 

CENTRE 

BENJAMIN DESCAMPS 

FULL BACK 

SIMON DESERT 

CENTRE/WING 

ANTOINE DUPONT 

SCRUM HALF 

RYNHARDT ELSTADT 

BACK ROW/LOCK 

CHARLIE FAUMUINA 


THIBAUD FLAMENT 

BACK ROW/LOCK 

PIERRE FOUYSSAC 

CENTRE/WING 

BAPTISTE GERMAIN 

SCRUM HALF 

SOFIANE GUITOUNE 

FULL BACK/WING 

MALACHI HAWKES 


ZACK HOLMES 

OUTSIDE HALF 

ANTHONY JELONCH 

BACK ROW 

LÉO LABARTHE 

BACK ROW 

MATTHIS LEBEL 


RUBEN MAKA 

SCRUM HALF 

PAUL MALLEZ 


JUAN CRUZ MALLÍA 

CENTRE/WING 

JULIEN MARCHAND 

HOOKER 

PEATO MAUVAKA 

HOOKER 

EMMANUEL MEAFOU 

LOCK 

MAXIME MÉDARD 

FULL BACK 

JOEL MERKLER 


ANTOINE MIQUEL 

BACK ROW 

TIM NANAI-WILLIAMS 


RODRIGUE NETI 


ROMAIN NTAMACK 

OUTSIDE HALF 

THEO NTAMACK 

CENTRE 

MARTIN PAGE RELO 

SCRUM HALF 

ALBAN PLACINES 

BACK ROW 

RAPHAEL PORTAT 

LOCK 

THOMAS RAMOS 

FULL BACK 

HUGO REILHES 


EDGAR RETIERE 

SCRUM HALF 

ROMAIN RIGUET 

CENTRE 

CLÉMENT SENTUBERY 

BACK ROW 

PAULO TAFILI 


LUCAS TAUZIN 

CENTRE/WING 

JOE TEKORI 

LOCK 

SELEVASIO TOLOFUA 

BACK ROW 

MARCO MIGUEL TRAUTH 


CLEMENT VERGE 

LOCK 

YANNICK YOUYOUTTE 

LOCK 


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Club in Focus 

GOREY RFC 

Each match programme, Leinster Rugby profile 

one of the clubs across the province to look 

at the people, the stories and the history that 

make it so special to their community. This 

week, we look at Gorey RFC through the eyes of 

long-time member, John Breen. 

John Breen. 

Every club needs a John 

Breen. 

A jack of all trades, heavylifting 

lifer, quick to jump 

on board for any plan or 

development that will push 

Gorey RFC forward into the 

future. 

John came to rugby relatively 

late in life, using the skills he had 

honed on the soccer pitches with 

Courtown Hibernians and on the 

gaelic fields for Ballygarrett’s Realt 

na Mara. 

At 22, he sampled a taste of 

the sport that would become his 

passion and has never looked 

back with anything other than joy 

to those early days in the late-70s. 

“I played every sport and rugby, 

to me, is number one, both socially 

and to play. It is a huge part of my 

life,” he says. 

“Don’t ask me why? I don’t know 

why. I can’t put my finger on it. I 

suppose I love meeting people. 

I’ve met a lot of people from other 

clubs around the country.” 

“I love the game. I love being 

involved in the club. It is my life, at 

the moment.” 


The Club President in 2013/14 and 

2014/15 soon realised his other major 

pastime golf would have to take a back 

seat for three years, such was the allencompassing 

grind of the office. 

Since then, John has held the post 

of Director of Rugby, not quite the 

glamorous position pursued in the 

professional environment. 

“I am 65 years of age now. I’ve told the 

lads I will give up next year. But sure, I 

won’t give up. I just love being involved 

as a touch judge, match reporter, doing 

anything to help.” 

However, progress isn’t easy. 

The flourishing women’s section of rugby 

has led to an explosion in girls at the 

minis, youth and senior levels of the 

game, all trickling down to a need to 

upgrade and expand the club’s services. 

Greater participation means a greater 

need for facilities, coaches and all 

manner of resources. 

The IRFU actually own the grounds 

at Clonattin, right in the middle of the 

town. The club leases the venue in an 

arrangement both parties are very happy 

to have. 

“We have two pitches and two training 

areas and we installed a full gym in 

2012,” shares John. 

“We’re struggling for room, even though 

we manage things fairly well. We are put 

to the pin of our collar with the numbers.” 

Gorey has been pro-active in pursuing the 

monies needed to add on new dressing 

rooms, to the cost of €300,000, which 

are designed to cater for girls’ needs. 

“We have girls playing AIL with 

Suttonians, Railway Union, Old Belvedere 

and Blackrock,” states John. 

“There is no grand plan to create an 

AIL club here in order to attract those 

girls back or, indeed, keep the girls here 

from leaving. We just want to be a club 

where players can stay and play, if they 

want to. 

“In previous years, we had success in the 

ladies through encouraging them to come 

in from the GAA. But, they came and 

went, leaving us with a ‘one year good, 

the next year bad’ scenario.” 

Since then, the commitment has been 

made to grassroots level to build on 

strong, local foundations, reaching out to 

everyone in the community. 

“In total, there are 700 members in the 

club. We have three men’s adults teams, 

the thirds only coming out for the cup. 

In fact, we won the Anderson Cup last 


month, edging out Ashbourne by a point 

(8-7),” he says. 

There are numbers of 200-plus minis 

all feeding into the boys U-13s, U-14s, 

U-15s, U-16s and U-18.5s and girls 

U-14s, U-16s and U-18s, most playing for 

the love of the game, some of them keen 

to see how far they can go. 

Of course, Paul Boyle is currently 

carrying the green, white and blue flag 

in the professional arena for Connacht. 

Foster Horan was a member of the 

Ireland Sevens at the Olympics in Japan. 

Robin Copeland is still soldiering in a 

long and eventful career that has taken 

in Munster, Connacht, Cardiff Blues and, 

currently, French PRO Div 2 club Soyaux 

Angouleme. 

In 2012, Gorey put out their first-ever 

women’s senior team and the club has 

produced talent in that time, highlighted 

by the emergence of Ireland’s current 

Sevens international Katie Farrell- 

McCabe. 

The increase in girls playing rugby 

has shrunk the male-dominated image 

and given Gorey RFC a more inclusive 

welcome for all. 

“It makes it a more social club,” chuckles 

John. 

“They have great energy for getting 

practical things done, injecting real 

enthusiasm and a sense of fun into the 

place. 

“That is even before you look into the 

impact they have made for the club 

on the playing fields, through players 

like Katie Farrell-McCabe and Sarah 

Robinson, who sadly passed away.” 

However, the encroachment of Covid 

really cut into the numbers, players 

retiring or unable to give the necessary 

commitment for one reason or another. 

“We used to have a senior women’s team 

before Covid came along. I’m not going 

to lie, we struggled badly for numbers this 

year,” he admits. 

As with anything worth doing, it has to 

be done in the correct way. That is why 

Gorey has placed an emphasis on the 

girls’ youth section. 

“Our plan is for the U-14s, U-16s and 

U-18s to come through into the senior 

ranks and the U-16s joined with Arklow to 

make up the Argos team which actually 

won the Leinster U-16 Premier League 

in April. 

“We have a very good relationship 

with Gorey Community School. Neville 

Copeland, Robin’s brother, coached 

them to win the McMullen Cup for the 

third time this year and the girls have won 

the All-Ireland Schools Sevens title.” 

The connection between the school and 

the club has stayed strong through the 

influence of Frank Duke, now retired, 

whose sons Stephen and Michael play 

for the club. 

The various strands contributing to the 

club from the school to the influx of 

girls make these exciting times for 

Gorey RFC. 


YOUR ACCESS TO THE HEART OF EUROPEAN 

RUGBY HAS NEVER BEEN BETTER 

HEINEKENCHAMPIONSCUP.COM 

#HeinekenChampionsCup


liam 

turner 

THE ACADEMY 

INTERVIEW 

BY PAUL CAHILL 

Liam Turner 

has achieved 

more in his few 

years playing 

the game than 

most people 

could ever 

dream of. 

From lifting the Bank of Ireland 

Leinster Schools Senior Cup as 

Blackrock College captain, to 

starting in a Grand Slam winning 

campaign with the Irish U-20 side, 

to making his Leinster Rugby 

senior debut and travelling the 

world with the Irish Sevens team, 

it has been quite the journey so 

far. 

But, for Turner himself, the work really 

only starts now as he has recently been 

rewarded with his first senior contract with 

Leinster Rugby. 

“It’s great to be offered a senior contract 

because that’s what you are working 

towards in the Academy,” says Turner. 

“I’m just looking forward to kicking on 

now. A few injuries have disrupted the 

progress I was making. I’m looking to 


come back and contribute to the team.” 

Having shone in the Blackrock College 

number 13 jersey during his school 

days, comparisons were quickly made 

to former great players who have also 

donned that famous blue and white 

jersey. 

But instead of being weighed down by 

links to the likes of Brian O’Driscoll or 

indeed a more recent vintage in Garry 

Ringrose, Turner tries to take the positives 

from such comparisons. 

“It’s cool to be compared to such good 

rugby players. I’ve no issues with it. 

“I admire him (Garry) a lot in how he 

plays and I try and take things that he 

does and try and implement them myself. 

He’s certainly a good role model to work 

off.” 

In fact, Turner would even go to the 

current Irish international for advice. 

“Garry is certainly someone who I 

chat to a lot. When I was in first year in 

school, he was part of that Blackrock 

College Senior Cup team of 2013 that 

won. 

“I always followed his progression 

closely. I saw him in school and I 

watched him playing U-20 with Ireland 

and then seeing him progress through 

the Leinster system, so he is certainly 

someone I look up to.” 

Despite putting in place the right 

foundations for an impressive CV 

himself, things haven’t always been so 

straightforward for Turner. 

Take the Grand Slam as an example, 

even though he was the starting outside 

centre on the 2019 Irish U-20 Grand 

Slam-winning team, it didn’t look like 

he would be involved just a few weeks 

before the Six Nations began. 

Having been at all of the camps leading 

up to the tournament, Turner was 

disappointed to not be selected in the 

squad for a challenge game against a 

Leinster Development XV. 

But, having not been selected by the Irish 

U-20s meant that he could line out for 

the Leinster side. A perfect opportunity 

to show the coaches what he could do 

when faced with adversity. 

“It was late December, so it was quite 

close to the Six Nations kicking off. It 

went very well for me. It was one of my 

best games that I played in a long time. 

“Everything seemed to fall my way and 

that opened the door for me to get back 

in with the Irish U-20s, and it just went 

from there. 

“I played all of the games at 13, and we 

just went on an incredible run and won 

the Grand Slam.” 

The rest, as they say, is history. 

That U-20 team was only the third Irish 

side to win the Six Nations at that age 

grade, with a fourth added earlier this 

year. 

Liam Turner is quick to highlight what a 

special group he had the pleasure of 

playing with. 

“It was a great team to play in. We had 

the likes of Harry Byrne, Scott Penny, Ben 

Healy, Craig Casey, Josh Wycherley and 

Ryan Baird. A lot of that team are in the 

senior Irish squad now. 

“A big thing for us was the team unity. 

We had a lot of great players, but we 

were very well connected as a team. I 

think it was a really good group of lads 

and it definitely paid dividends when we 

won the Grand Slam.” 


For all of the big days that Liam Turner 

has had so far, there is one constant 

throughout; his parents shouting on from 

the stands. Andrew and Julie Turner have 

been there every step of the way. 

Julie has had the honour of presenting 

him with the Senior Schools Cup trophy 

at an RDS bathed in sunshine. Great days 

but made all the better for the support of 

loved ones. 

“I get great support from my mum and 

dad. They go to every game and they 

absolutely love it. They support me in 

everything I do, so they are brilliant.” 

But, when his most recent milestone came 

along, his parents couldn’t be there due 

to Covid-19. 

On October 23, 2020, Turner made his 

Leinster Rugby debut against Zebre in 

front of an empty RDS. 

“It was definitely a bit strange not having 

my parents there. It was actually funny, 

my dad was asking if he could be Leo the 

Lion and watch the game from inside the 

mascot costume! 

“After the game I went straight to my 

cousin’s house. They were all there and 

they all watched the game together. So 

I met up with them afterwards and they 

were absolutely over the moon for me, 

which was really nice.” 

Turner would go on to make six senior 

appearances for Leinster Rugby in the 

2020/21 season. Regular involvement 

with the Irish Sevens team meant he has 

been away from Leinster Rugby HQ for 

large parts of the current season, but he 

did enjoy another run out with the Leinster 

team earlier this year in pre-season 

against Harlequins. 

“It was a great experience playing at 

Aviva Stadium. It was actually the first 

game back with crowds. My family were 

there this time, which was great. So I got 

to see them afterwards. 

“It was a new experience. The senior 

games I had played for Leinster were all 

in front of no crowd, so obviously it was 

a lot louder. There’s a much better buzz 

when the crowd are cheering you on. 

“I got to play with the likes of Johnny 

Sexton who would have been away 

when I made my previous appearances, 

so that was a new experience too, which 

was cool.” 

Throughout his time travelling with the 

Irish Sevens team, it has given him a 

different platform to show what he can 

do. 

“My biggest year with the Sevens was 

actually the season that was stopped 

because of Covid. 

“I did the Dubai and Cape Town leg, 

the Hamilton and Sydney leg and the 

LA and Vancouver leg. And then we 

got back from Vancouver on the 

Tuesday, the country closed down on 

the Thursday. 

“After that, I got my break with Leinster 

where I played six times until the end 

of January. This year, I felt I needed 

to perform as a third year Academy 

player. I played with the Sevens again in 

Vancouver, France and Dubai.” 

When he wasn’t jet setting with the 

Sevens, Turner knew he had to keep 

trying to impress the Leinster coaches 

enough to earn a contract. 


Another avenue that would help him 

impress was for his Energia All-Ireland 

League club, Dublin University FC. 

“Playing in the AIL has been great for me. 

When I wasn’t sure if I was in the U-20 

Irish squad, I think playing a lot with 

Trinity really helped. 

“At the end of the day, if you want 

get better as a rugby player, you 

need to play games. Playing in little 

cameos can be frustrating, and playing 

regularly is far more beneficial.” 

A niggly injury required a procedure 

in February, which was poor timing for 

Turner who was still trying to earn his 

senior contract. 

“I had a lot of conversations with Leo 

and the coaching staff and in fairness I 

always appreciated that they were very 

straight up about everything. At times 

it could be frustrating, but I understood 

how the whole process works. 

“It was all up in the air for a while, but 

thankfully at the end of February I found 

out that I was being offered a senior 


There’s always 

a buzz around 

pre-season and I 

want to be there 

and contribute 

to the team. 

contract. It was actually the day of my 

surgery. 

“I woke up and the first thing I see on the 

phone was a text from my agent saying 

Leinster are offering me a contract. So 

that was a nice thing to wake up to!” 

With his contract sorted, and his summer 

exams completed in Trinity where he 

studies business, economics, political 

science and sociology, Turner is fully 

focused on the 2022/23 season. 

“The goal is just to get back fit for the 

start of pre-season. If I manage to do that, 

that will be the first full pre-season I will 

have had here because of the Irish U-20s, 

Covid and the Sevens. 

“So I can’t wait to get a full pre-season 

under my belt and look to kick on. There’s 

always a buzz around pre-season and 

I want to be there and contribute to the 

team. 

“I’m just very thankful for the opportunity 

and I’m looking forward to getting back 

and showing what I can do again.”


Success in rugby is about collective excellence, 

the sort of excellence demonstrated last season 

by Stade Toulousain when they memorably 

clinched a record-breaking fifth Heineken 

Champions Cup title, and by Montpellier Hérault 

Rugby who lifted the EPCR Challenge Cup for 

the second time in their history. 

But within a group of players there is always 

the opportunity for individual brilliance and 

that is where the EPCR European Player of the 

Year award comes in. This prestigious accolade, 

won with such style in 2021 by the outstanding 

Antoine Dupont, is in the spotlight once again 

following announcement of this season’s 15 

nominees who are now vying to claim the 

Anthony Foley Memorial Trophy. 

Voting remains open and fans will be in the 

running to win a signed ball and a signed jersey 

courtesy of one of the Heineken Champions 

Cup finalist clubs. The list will be reduced 

to five candidates after the semi-finals by a 

combination of the public vote and the verdict 

of the judging panel, and players who have not 

been included in the initial longlist, but who 

make a significant impact during the knockout 

stages, may be considered for the shortlist. 

The voting will then re-open and the winner of 

the 2022 award will be announced following the 

Heineken Champions Cup final in Marseille. 

JUDGING PANEL 

Erik Bonneval (beIN SPORTS), 

Bryan Habana (two-time 

Heineken Champions Cup 

winner), Lee McKenzie 

(Channel 4), Alan Quinlan 

(Virgin Media and two-time 

Heineken Cup winner) and 

Dimitri Yachvili (France 

Télévisions) 

ROLL OF HONOUR 

2021: Antoine Dupont (Stade 

Toulousain); 2020: Sam 

Simmonds (Exeter Chiefs); 

2019: Alex Goode (Saracens); 

2018: Leone Nakarawa 

(Racing 92); 2017: Owen 

Farrell (Saracens); 2016: Maro 

Itoje (Saracens); 2015: Nick 

Abendanon (ASM Clermont 

Auvergne); 2014: Steffon 

Armitage (RC Toulon); 2013: 

Jonny Wilkinson (RC Toulon); 

2012: Rob Kearney (Leinster 

Rugby); 2011: Sean O’Brien 

(Leinster Rugby); 2010: Ronan 

O’Gara (Munster Rugby – 

best player of first 15 years of 

European professional club 

competitions)

GRÉGORY GRÉGORY ALLDRITT GRÉGORY ALLDRITT ALEX ALLDRITT DOMBRANDT 

ALEX DOMBRANDT 

ALEX DOMBRANDT CAELAN CAELAN DORIS CAELAN DORIS DORIS 

STADE ROCHELAIS STADE ROCHELAIS 

STADE ROCHELAIS HARLEQUINS HARLEQUINS HARLEQUINS LEINSTER RUGBYLEINSTER RUGBY 

ANTOINE ANTOINE DUPONT ANTOINE DUPONT DUPONT GAËL FICKOU GAËL FICKOU GAËL FICKOU GEORGE FORDGEORGE FORD 

STADE TOULOUSAIN 

STADE TOULOUSAIN 

STADE TOULOUSAIN RACING 92 RACING RACING 92 LEICESTER 92 LEICESTER TIGERS LEICESTER TIGERS TIGERS 

MICHAEL MICHAEL LOWRY MICHAEL LOWRY JIMMY LOWRYO’BRIEN 

JIMMY JIMMY O’BRIEN JACK O’BRIEN O’DONOGHUE 

JACK O’DONOGHUE 

JACK O’DONOGHUE 

ULSTER RUGBY ULSTER ULSTER RUGBY RUGBY LEINSTER RUGBYLEINSTER RUGBY MUNSTER RUGBYMUNSTER RUGBY 

DAMIAN DAMIAN PENAUD DAMIAN PENAUD SEMI PENAUD RADRADRA 

SEMI RADRADRA 

SEMI RADRADRA SAM SIMMONDS SAM SIMMONDS 

SAM SIMMONDS 

ASM CLERMONT ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE 

ASM CLERMONT AUVERGNE BRISTOL AUVERGNE BEARS BRISTOL BRISTOL BEARS BEARS EXETER CHIEFS EXETER EXETER CHIEFS CHIEFS 

MARCUS MARCUS SMITH MARCUS SMITH JOSH SMITH VAN JOSH DER VAN JOSH FLIER DER VAN FLIER CAMERON DER FLIER CAMERON WOKI CAMERON WOKI WOKI 

HARLEQUINS HARLEQUINS HARLEQUINS LEINSTER RUGBYLEINSTER UNION RUGBY BORDEAUX-BÈGLES 

UNION BORDEAUX-BÈGLES 

UNION VOTE NOW 

EPCRUGBY.COM/EPOTY 

#EPOTY2022

ENERGIA ALL-IRELAND LEAGUE 

AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED 

Energia, title sponsor of the All- 

Ireland League and one of Ireland’s 

leading energy suppliers, have 

announced the winners of the 

Energia AIL awards. 

This 2021/22 season, clubs have 

reported a 15 per cent increase 

in attendance and the Energia 

AIL final on May 1 in the Aviva 

Stadium, more than doubled its 

crowd record at the venue. 

The Men’s Division 1A Player of the Year, 

Cormac Daly, starred with a hat-trick of 

tries in Clontarf’s bonus-point victory over 

Dublin University and stunned Garryowen 

at a wet Dooradoyle, with a try after 

just 90 seconds. Daly also won Player 

of the Match in the Energia AIL Division 

1A final. 

The Women’s Player of the Year, Aoife 

Doyle enjoyed a tremendous season, 

which included a fantastic brace of tries 

in Railway Union’s 43-8 bonus point 

win at Old Belvedere. Doyle was just 18 

when she made her Ireland debut against 

France in the 2015 Six Nations, she also 

played Sevens for several years and is 

now back playing XVs regularly. These 

awards were voted for by the Head 

Coaches and Directors of Rugby across 

the league. 

Leinster Academy player Alex Soroka 

and his older brother, Ivan, both Clontarf, 

were awarded the Positive Energy Award 

for their fundraising for Ukraine. 

The Moment of the Year was awarded 

to Stephen O’Neill, Terenure College 

RFC, for his run down of a Garryowen 

player. It was a time in the game where 

Garryowen were on top and could 

seriously dent Terenure’s battle for 

the play-offs. O’Neill led by captain’s 

example winning a key turnover, but 

unfortunately missed out on the play-offs 

due to injury. 

Clubs from across Ireland were invited 

to nominate members or volunteers who 

go above and beyond the call of duty 

and Conall Fitzpatrick from Waterpark 

RFC, was awarded the Community Hero 

Award. The nominees for this award 

have provided years of service and have 

volunteered for the betterment of their 

club many times, at all levels and over a 

wide range of tasks on and off the pitch. 

Nominations were sought from clubs 

around the island, with a huge quantity 

received. Seamus Lowry (Oughterard 

RFC) Richard Black (City of Armagh RFC) 

and Martina Fitzpatrick (Tallaght RFC) 

were also shortlisted. The Moment of 

the Year and Community Hero awards 

were nominated by club members and 

supporters of the league. 

The ceremony also included a 15-minute 

panel discussion with Niamh Briggs, 

Richie Murphy, and John Fogarty. The 

panellists discussed the 2021/22 Energia 

AIL season while reflecting on the efforts 

of the U-20 and women’s teams in this 

year’s Six Nations Championships. 

Each panellist also touched upon their 

respective individual experiences playing 

in the All-Ireland League. 

This year’s awards were presented by 

The Club Scene Podcast host, Daragh 

Frawley, and celebrated the action both 

on and off the pitch and highlighted some 

of the real skill, talent, and incredible 

rugby we have seen from the players this 

season. 

ENERGIA AIL PLAYER OF THE YEAR 

AWARDS 

• Women’s Division Player Of The 

Division – Aoife Doyle (Railway Union) 

• Men’s Division 1A Player Of The 

Division – Cormac Daly (Clontarf) 

• Men’s Division 1B Player Of The 

Division – JJ O’Dea (Old Wesley) 

• Men’s Division 2A Player Of The 

Division – David Whitten (Queen’s 

University) 

• Men’s Division 2B Player Of The 

Division – Cathal Forde (Galway 

Corinthians) 

• Men’s Division 2C Player Of The 

Division – Niall Parker (Enniscorthy) 

ENERGIA AIL COACH OF THE YEAR 

AWARDS 

• Energia Men’s AIL Coach of the Year – 

Andy Wood (Clontarf) 

• Energia Women’s AIL Coach of the 

Year – Ben Martin (Blackrock College) 

ENERGIA MOMENT OF THE 

SEASON 

• Stephen O’Neill (Terenure College RFC) 

ENERGIA COMMUNITY HERO 

AWARD 

• Conall Fitzpatrick (Waterpark RFC) 

ENERGIA AIL POSITIVE ENERGY 

AWARD 

• Alex and Ivan Soroka (Clontarf) 

ENERGIA AIL CLUB SCENE AWARD 

• Terenure College RFC 


RUGBY. 

DELIVERED. 

TEAMWORK. SPEED. DELIVERY. THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE 

OFFICIAL LOGISTICS PARTNER. DHL.

Leinster Rugby Academy 

Year Three 2021/22: 


Year two 2021/22: 

Second Row 

Brian Deeny #1306 

DOB: 02/03/2000 

HEIGHT: 1.99m WEIGHT: 121kg 

HONOURS: Ireland U20 (8 caps) & 

Leinster Rugby (2 caps) 

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. Instagram: brian_deeny 

wing 

Niall Comerford 

DOB: 06/04/2000 


HONOURS: Ireland U20 

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 

Cormac Foley #1299 

DOB: 24/10/1999 


HONOURS: Ireland U20 (9 caps) 

& Leinster Rugby (4 caps) 

Marcus Hanan #1295 

DOB: 03/10/2000 

HEIGHT:1.8m WEIGHT:110.91kg 



Scrum Half 

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 

prop 

Did You Know? Marcus is from Clane in Kildare and is the 

youngest of three. His dad went to the High School and then 

played rugby in Old Wesley before coaching back at Clane 

RFC. Marcus has Italian connections on his mother’s side with her 

father, Luigi Rea, being from Italy. Marcus is studying Business 

Management in Griffith College. Instagram: @marcus_hanan 

Back Row 

Martin Moloney #1300 

DOB: 19/10/1999 




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 

Second Row 

Joe McCarthy #1303 

DOB: 26/03/2001 




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 

Second Row 

Charlie Ryan 

DOB: 03/02/1999 



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 

hooker 

John McKee #1307 

DOB: 15/02/2000 




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_ 

Centre 

Liam Turner #1287 

DOB: 14/07/1999 




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 

Centre / Full Back 

Jamie Osborne #1294 

DOB: 16/11/2001 

HEIGHT:1.93m WEIGHT:96.82kg 

HONOURS: Leinster Rugby (18 caps) 

Did you know? Jamie is studying commerce in UCD. His 

grandad, Paddy Osborne, was a horse trainer in Naas, 

while his dad played rugby all throughout his life and 

his mum played hockey. Other than rugby, Jamie loves 

all sports especially soccer, GAA and NFL. Jamie is 

currently in a house with fellow Leinster Academy players 

Brian Deeny, Martin Moloney and Max O’Reilly. 

Instagram: @jamieosborne01 


Seán O’Brien #1297 

Lee Barron #1308 

Back Row 

DOB: 31/07/2000 




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 

Hooker 

DOB: 15/02/2001 



Did You Know: Lee played golf growing up in the 

Castle Golf Club and in the end was playing off a 

handicap of eight. He has family roots in Carlow but 

went to school in Dublin and attended St Michael’s College. 

As well as rugby with his school, he also played 

GAA and even lined out in Croke Park. 

Instagram: @lleebarron 

Max O’Reilly #1291 

Chris Cosgrave #1305 

Full Back 

DOB: 26/02/2000 




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 

full back 

DOB: 24/07/2001 

HEIGHT:1.83m WEIGHT:85kg 


Did You Know: Chris is a member of UCD RFC, where he 

is also an Ad Astra scholar studying Agricultural Science. 

His athleticism is best highlighted by his feats in the field 

of Athletics with All-Ireland honours to his name in both 

the 4x100m relay and the Discus. Before the UCD and 

St Michael’s College days, he played at a young age 

with Old Belvedere RFC. Instagram: @chriscosgrave1 

Andrew Smith #1292 

Mark Hernan 

DOB: 21/07/2000 




DOB: 04/07/2000 


HONOURS: Leinster Rugby (1 cap) 

Back Three 

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 

Flanker 

Did You Know: Mark was coached by Ross Molony, 

Josh Murphy, Ross Byrne and Nick McCarthy when in 

St. Michael’s College. His grandfather Fergus O’Brien 

was Lord Mayor of Dublin and his father, Ray, played 

for Connacht seniors and Ireland u25s. 

Instagram: @mark_hernani 

Alex Soroka #1296 

Temi Lasisi #1304 

Back Row 

DOB: 19/02/2001 

HEIGHT: 1.95m WEIGHT: 104.5kg 



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 

prop 

DOB: 09/05/2001 

HEIGHT: 1.78m WEIGHT: 115.8kg 

HONOURS: Leinster Rugby (1 cap) 

Did You Know: The TUD Mechanical Engineering 

student originally picked up the oval ball in Enniscorthy 

before later moving to Lansdowne FC. Temi rose 

through the ranks in the Youths system, his first outing 

with the province came at U-18 level against Northampton. 

He also describes himself as a ‘competent 

pianist’. Instagram: @lasisi.temi 


Year one 2021/22: 

Scrum half 

Ben Murphy 

DOB: 23/04/2001 



& Leinster Rugby (1 cap) 

Did You Know: Ben played all different sports growing 

up including football, GAA and golf and won an 800m 

gold in the U-14 East Leinsters. He is studying economics 

in UCD. Ben’s father Richie played for Leinster 

Rugby and has coached at all levels of the game and is 

the current Ireland U-20s head coach. I 

nstagram: @ben._murphy01 

Jack Boyle 

DOB: 10/03/2002 



Rob Russell #1302 

DOB: 13/01/1999 



Prop 

Did You Know: Jack’s father, Herbie, and uncles, Colon 

and Eric, all represented Old Wesley rugby club for 

years. His cousin Stephen Boyle also represented the 

Leinster Rugby youths. Jack is currently studying for a 

Commerce Degree in UCD. 

Instagram: @jackboyle1 

Full Back / Wing 

Did You Know: Rob is currently in his final year of 

Business and Management in DIT. He started playing 

rugby at the age of five with Wanderers RFC. He also 

played football up to minor level with Kilmacud Crokes 

and it took priority over rugby until he left school. 

Instagram: @robrussell7 


Date 

25/09 

03/10 

09/10 

16/10 

22/10 

27/11 

03/12 

11/12 

1/12 

1/01 

22/01 

29/01 

11/02 

19/02 

25/02 

05/03 

12/03 

26/03 

02/05 

08/04 

15/04 

23/04 

30/04 

07/05 

KO/ 

Result 

W 

31-3 

W 

7-6 

W 

43-7 

Opposiotion Venue 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 1 2 

URC VODACOM 

BULLS 

URC DRAGONS 

Aviva 

Stadium 

Rodney 

Parade 

URC ZEBRE RDS Arena J O’BRIEN 

KEENAN O’LOUGHLIN RINGROSE FRAWLEY LOWE 

SEXTON 

3C 1P 

MCGRATH 

PORTER 

1T 

SHEEHAN 

KEENAN RUSSELL RINGROSE C O’BRIEN O’LOUGHLIN R BYRNE GIBSON-PARK PORTER SHEEHAN 

A BYRNE 

2T 

OSBORNE 

FRAWLEY 

W 

50-15 URC SCARLETS RDS Arena KEENAN LARMOUR RINGROSE FRAWLEY 

1C 

W 

31-15 

URC GLASGOW 

Scotstoun 

Stadium 

KEENAN 

1T 

A BYRNE 

1T 

L 

10-20 URC ULSTER RDS Arena J O’BRIEN A BYRNE HENSHAW 

1T 

W 

47-19 URC CONNACHT RDS Arena KEENAN LARMOUR 1T RINGROSE 

1T 

W 

45-20 HCC BATH Aviva 

Stadium 

L 

0-28 

W 

89-7 

W 

64-7 

L 

29-27 

W 

26-7 

W 

29-7 

W 

21-13 

HCC MONTPELLIER 

GGL (Altrad) 

Stadium 

KEENAN 

1T 

HCC MONTPELLIER RDS Arena KEENAN 

HCC BATH 

URC 

CARDIFF 

RUGBY 

Recreation 

Ground 

Cardiff Arms 

Park 

LARMOUR 

1T 

LOWE 

RINGROSE FRAWLEY LOWE 

FRAWLEY 

HENSHAW 

LARMOUR RINGROSE FRAWLEY 

LARMOUR 

LOWE 

LOWE 

1T 

H BYRNE 

SEXTON 

1C 1P 

R BYRNE 

4C 1P 

R BYRNE 

1C 1P 

H BYRNE 

5C 

R BYRNE 

5C 

MCGRATH 

GIBSON-PARK 

MCGRATH 

E BYRNE 

1T 

PORTER 

1T 

HEALY 

CRONIN 

1T 

KELLEHER 

1T 

KELLEHER 

1T 

MCGRATH E BYRNE TRACY 

MCGRATH 

GIBSON-PARK 

2T 

HEALY 

PORTER 

- - - - - - - - - 

KEENAN 

1T 

LARMOUR 

1T 

LARMOUR 

1T 

RINGROSE 

RINGROSE 

FRAWLEY 

HENSHAW 

J O’BRIEN 

1T 

J O’BRIEN 

4T 

J O’BRIEN A BYRNE 1T OSBORNE FRAWLEY O’LOUGHLIN 

URC EDINBURGH RDS Arena OSBORNE T O’BRIEN O’LOUGHLIN FRAWLEY KEARNEY 

URC OSPREYS RDS Arena J O’BRIEN 

URC 

EMIRATES 

LIONS 

W 

17-61 URC BENETTON Stadio 

Monigo 

L 

13-18 URC ULSTER Kingspan 

Stadium 

W 

45-8 

LARMOUR 

1T 

OSBORNE H BYRNE KEARNEY 

RDS Arena O’REILLY T O’BRIEN OSBORNE H BYRNE 

J O’BRIEN 

2T 1C 

URC CONNACHT Sportsground J O’BRIEN 

W 

34-19 URC MUNSTER Thomond 

Park 

LARMOUR 

1T 

KEARNEY 

1T 

OSBORNE H BYRNE T O’BRIEN 

J O’BRIEN A BYRNE O’LOUGHLIN OSBORNE T O’BRIEN 

KEENAN 

W 

26-21 HCC CONNACHT Sportsground KEENAN 

1T 

W 

56-20 HCC CONNACHT Aviva 

Stadium 

L 

23-28 

L 

13-20 

W 

23-14 

URC 

CELL C 

SHARKS 

URC 

DHL 

STORMERS 

HCC 

LEICESTER 

TIGERS 

14/05 15:00 HCC TOULOUSE 

21/05 19:15 URC MUNSTER 

fixtures and 

results 2021/22 

Jonsson 

Kings Park 

Green Point 

Stadium 

Mattioli Woods 

Welford Road 

Aviva 

Stadium 

Aviva 

Stadium 

T O’BRIEN 

2T 

J O’BRIEN 

1T 

OSBORNE 

RINGROSE 

1T 

FRAWLEY 

1T 

HENSHAW 

J O’BRIEN RINGROSE HENSHAW 

KEENAN J O’BRIEN RINGROSE 

COSGRAVE 

T O’BRIEN 

1T 

OSBORNE 

HENSHAW 

2T 

FRAWLEY 

2C 3P 

O’LOUGHLIN 

1T 

LOWE 

2T 

LOWE 

2T 

LOWE 

4T 

O’REILLY A BYRNE OSBORNE O’LOUGHLIN RUSSELL 

KEENAN J O’BRIEN RINGROSE 

HENSHAW 

1T 

R BYRNE 

1T 7C 

SEXTON 

5C 

R BYRNE 

3C 2P 

R BYRNE 

3C 

R BYRNE 

3C 1P 

R BYRNE 

3C 

R BYRNE 

1T 7C 

R BYRNE 

1C 2P 

R BYRNE 

1C 

R BYRNE 

1P 4C 

SEXTON 

1C 2P 

SEXTON 6C 

GIBSON-PARK 

1T 

MCGRATH 

PORTER 

PORTER 

1T 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

KELLEHER 

1T 

KELLEHER 

KELLEHER 

MCGRATH E BYRNE CRONIN 

N MCCARTHY 

1T 

MCGRATH 

E BYRNE 

HEALY 

1T 

TRACY 

TRACY 

N MCCARTHY E BYRNE TRACY 

MCGRATH 

DOOLEY 

CRONIN 

2T 

MCGRATH DOOLEY TRACY 

MCGRATH DOOLEY TRACY 

GIBSON-PARK E BYRNE TRACY 

MCGRATH HEALY SHEEHAN 

GIBSON-PARK 

1T 

PORTER 

KELLEHER 

O’LOUGHLIN H BYRNE N MCCARTHY PORTER MCKEE 

LOWE 

FRAWLEY 

2P 

SEXTON 

2P 2C 

FOLEY 

E BYRNE 

1T 

MCKEE 

GIBSON-PARK PORTER KELLEHER 


3 4 5 6 7 8 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 

ALAALATOA MOLONY J RYAN RUDDOCK 

VAN DER FLIER 

1T 

ALAALATOA MOLONY RYAN RUDDOCK VAN DER FLIER 

ALAALATOA BAIRD TONER LEAVY 

FURLONG MOLONY RYAN 

DORIS 

2T 

PENNY 

1T 

VAN DER FLIER 

DORIS 

DEEGAN 

1T 

RUDDOCK 

CONAN 

FURLONG MOLONY BAIRD DORIS LEAVY CONAN 

TRACY 

1T 

E BYRNE HEALY BAIRD DEEGAN GIBSON-PARK 

R BYRNE 

1T 1C 

TRACY E BYRNE HEALY BAIRD LEAVY N MCCARTHY C FRAWLEY 

KELLEHER 

1T 

SHEEHAN 

2T 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

DOOLEY HEALY MOLONY DEEGAN N MCCARTHY 

HEALY 

1T 

ALAALATOA BAIRD RUDDOCK MCGRATH 

SEXTON 

4C 

R BYRNE 

3C 

OSBORNE 

S PENNY 

[UNUSED] 

RUSSELL 

T O’BRIEN 

E BYRNE ALAALATOA TONER RUDDOCK GIBSON-PARK OSBORNE VAN DER FLIER 

FURLONG MOLONY TONER LEAVY PENNY RUDDOCK CRONIN DOOLEY ABDALADZE DEEGAN CONNORS N MCCARTHY H BYRNE T O’BRIEN 

ALA’ALATOA 

BAIRD 

1T 

TONER 

RUDDOCK 

1T 

VAN DER FLIER 

DORIS 

1T 

KELLEHER PORTER ABDALADZE J MURPHY 

DEEGAN 

1T 

N MCCARTHY 

R BYRNE 

1C 

T O’BRIEN 

FURLONG 

1T 

MOLONY BAIRD RUDDOCK 

VAN DER FLIER 

1T 

DORIS SHEEHAN HEALY ALAALATOA TONER DEEGAN MCGRATH J O’BRIEN T O’BRIEN 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

FURLONG 

MOLONY 

1T 

J MURPHY 

DORIS 

VAN DER FLIER 

2T 

CONAN 

2T 

SHEEHAN 

2T 

HEALY 

ALAALATOA 

1T 

RUDDOCK DEEGAN MCGRATH 

SEXTON 

5C 

LOWE 

1T 

ALAALATOA MOLONY MURPHY DORIS 

VAN DER FLIER 

1T 

CONAN 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

HEALY ABDALADZE BAIRD DEEGAN GIBSON-PARK 

R BYRNE 

2C 

FRAWLEY 

1T 

ALAALATOA TONER J MCCARTHY RUDDOCK CONNORS PENNY 1T TRACY 1T DOOLEY ABDALADZE MOLONY DEEGAN N MCCARTHY H BYRNE T O’BRIEN 

ALAALATOA MOLONY J MURPHY MOLONEY 

ALAALATOA MOLONY BAIRD MOLONEY 

ALAALATOA 

1T 

PENNY 

1T 

PENNY 

1T 

DEEGAN 

1T 

CRONIN 

DOOLEY 

ABDALADZE 

1T 

TONER SOROKA MCGRATH H BYRNE RUSSELL 

DEEGAN CRONIN DOOLEY CLARKSON DUNNE RUDDOCK N MCCARTHY A BYRNE 

TONER J MCCARTHY J MURPHY LEAVY RUDDOCK CRONIN DOOLEY CLARKSON DUNNE DEEGAN MCGRATH A BYRNE 

CLARKSON MOLONY J MCCARTHY RUDDOCK PENNY 

ALAALATOA MOLONY J MCCARTHY RUDDOCK PENNY 

ALAALATOA MOLONY J MCCARTHY RUDDOCK PENNY 

DEEGAN 

1T 

DEEGAN 

1T 

DEEGAN 

1T 

TRACY 

2T 

LOWE 

1T 

PENNY 

1T 

E BYRNE ALAALATOA TONER LEAVY FOLEY O’LOUGHLIN KEARNEY 

CRONIN LASISI CLARKSON TONER LEAVY N MCCARTHY HAWKSHAW MOLONEY 

CRONIN E BYRNE CLARKSON J MURPHY MOLONEY N MCCARTHY 

HAWKSHAW 

1T 4C 

ALAALATOA TONER DUNNE DORIS VAN DER FLIER CONAN SHEEHAN HEALY FURLONG MOLONY MURPHY MCGRATH FRAWLEY DEEGAN 

FURLONG MOLONY J MURPHY DORIS VAN DER FLIER CONAN TRACY E BYRNE ALAALATOA TONER DEEGAN GIBSON-PARK 

FURLONG 

1T 

MOLONY J MURPHY DORIS VAN DER FLIER CONAN SHEEHAN E BYRNE ALAALATOA TONER RUDDOCK MCGRATH 

CLARKSON DEENY DUNNE RUDDOCK 

PENNY 

1T 

R BYRNE 

1P 

R BYRNE 

2C 

COSGRAVE 

FRAWLEY 

FRAWLEY 

DEEGAN BARRON DOOLEY ALAALATOA J MURPHY SOROKA FOLEY HAWKSHAW MOLONEY 

CLARKSON J MURPHY DEENY SOROKA PENNY RUDDOCK BARRON MILNE ABDALADZE DUNNE S O’BRIEN N MCCARTHY 

FURLONG MOLONY RYAN DORIS 

VAN DER FLIER 

1T 

CONAN SHEEHAN HEALY ALAALATOA J MCCARTHY RUDDOCK MCGRATH 

H BYRNE 

1C 

R BYRNE 

1P 

MOLONEY 

T O’BRIEN 


matchday 

Squads officials 

REFEREE 

KARL DICKSON 

(ENG) 

ASSISTANT REFEREE 

CHRISTOPHE RIDLEY 

(ENG) 

ASSISTANT REFEREE 

ANTHONY WOODTHORPE 

(ENG) 

Hugo Keenan 

Jimmy O’Brien 

Garry Ringrose 

Robbie Henshaw 

James Lowe 

Johnny Sexton [C] 

15 

14 

13 

12 

11 

10 

9 

FULL BACK 

RIGHT WING 

OUTSIDE CENTRE 

INSIDE CENTRE 

LEFT WING 

FLY HALF 

Thomas Ramos 

Juan Cruz Mallía 

Pierre Fouyssac 

Pita Ahki 

Matthis Lebel 

Romain Ntamack 

TMO 

STUART TERHEEGE 

(ENG) 

CITING COMMISSIONER 

BETH DICKENS 

(SCO) 

Jamison Gibson-Park 

SCRUM HALF 

Antoine Dupont 

Andrew Porter 

Rónan Kelleher 

Tadhg Furlong 

Ross Molony 

James Ryan 

Caelan Doris 

Josh van der Flier 

Jack Conan 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

LOOSE HEAD PROP Cyril Baille 

FRONT PAGE 

HOOKER Julien Marchand [C] 

TIGHT HEAD PROP Dorian Aldegheri 

SECOND ROW Rory Arnold 

SECOND ROW Emmanuel Meafou 

BLINDSIDE FLANKER Rynhardt Elstadt 

OPENSIDE FLANKER Francois Cros 

NUMBER 8 Anthony Jelonch 

Dan Sheehan 

Cian Healy 

Michael Ala’alatoa 

Joe McCarthy 

Rhys Ruddock 

Luke McGrath 

Ross Byrne 

Ciarán Frawley 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

Peato Mauvaka 

Rodrigue Neti 

David Ainu’u 

Joe Tekori 

Selevasio Tolofua 

Thibaud Flament 

Martin Page Relo 

Zack Holmes

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.

Parting Shot 

Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile 

7 May 2022 

Ross Byrne of Leinster kicks 

a penalty to take his tally 

for Leinster Rugby past the 

800-point mark during the 

Heineken Champions Cup 

quarter-final match between 

Leicester Tigers and Leinster at 

Mattoli Woods Welford Road 

Stadium in Leicester, England. 


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you mean it 

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InterContinental Marseille – Hôtel Dieu

Leinster vs Toulouse

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