Leinster vs Ulster

LEINSTER 

VS 

€6 | ISSUE 05 | LEINSTER RUGBY OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME 

ulster 

SAT 3 rd DECEMBER 

RDS ARENA 

KO 7.35PM

Our People, Our Home 

TWELVE COUNTIES. ONE SHIRT. 

Aaron Craig 

From a lad wearing Leinster blue to the RDS, to 

designing this season’s shirt. Aaron Craig’s journey has 

been amazing. The adidas Designer talks us through 

his design and what it means to create the shirt for his 

boyhood club. 

How did you begin working with adidas? 

When I was at the National College of Art and Design Dublin, I learned 

of adidas’ intern program. A lifelong fan of the brand, I knew it was an 

amazing opportunity. Luckily, I got to join adidas as an intern in 2016 

and I’ve been in Herzogenaurach (adidas HQ) ever since. I’m now a 

licensed apparel designer for some of the biggest teams in the world. 

What drew you to this project? 

Leinster asked if there were any Irish designers at adidas HQ they 

could collaborate with. For a lad who comes from Leinster that grew 

up supporting the team, this was a massive bucket list moment. My 

grandfather even worked the entrance gates the RDS and Donnybrook 

for years. 

What was your inspiration for the design? 

The inspiration came quite naturally. Each county of Leinster was to be 

represented equally with their heraldic crests – instantly recognisable 

symbols. I wanted to recount my own Leinster memories too. That 

meant introducing the darker blue sleeves and the collegiate gold 

detailing. To me, it’s a design that could be worn by players from any 

generation, from O’Driscoll to Sexton. 

How do you keep designs fresh year on year? 

We work closely with clubs to find authentic and fresh stories. At 

adidas, we also want to be at the forefront of performance technologies 

and sustainability. So every year we work to combine the two. 

Which design excited you the most? 

On a professional level, I designed the Spanish national team kits for 

the World Cup this season. The biggest sporting event there is. But, 

on a personal level, being part of the first adidas Celtic jersey in 2020 

and now seeing the framed Leinster kits in my parents’ home in Dublin 

might just be level with the World Cup. 

How does it feel to see your designs worn by thousands of fans? 

Seeing your jersey enjoyed by fans is definitely one of the most 

rewarding aspects of our jobs. Seeing people of all ages around Dublin 

on game day. Outside the pubs and cafés around the RDS. It’s a real 

pinch yourself moment for sure.

Newstead Building A, 

UCD, 

Belfield, 

Dublin 4 

#LEIVULS 

The Line up 

Telephone: 

012693224 

Fax: 

012693142 

E-mail: 

information@leinsterrugby.ie 

www.leinsterrugby.ie 

6 

24 

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT 

President: Debbie Carty 

Chief Executive: Shane Nolan 

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: Andrew Goodman 

Kicking Coach: Emmet Farrell 

Contact Skills Coach: Seán O’Brien 

14 

PROGRAMME CREDITS 

Editorial Team: Marcus Ó Buachalla, 

Paul Cahill & Daniel Kelly 

Advertising: Gary Nolan 

Design: Julian Tredinnick, 

Ignition Sports Media 

Photography: Sportsfile 

Chief Steward: Sword Security 

Ambulance: St. John’s Ambulance 

Medilink 

Event Control & Safety Services: 

Eamonn O’Boyle & Associates 

62 

86 

STAY 

CONNECTED 

& KEEP 

UP-TO-DATE 

www.leinsterrugby.ie | 3

Debbie Carty welcome 

PRESIDENT, LEINSTER RUGBY 2022/23 

On behalf of Leinster Rugby, I would 

like to welcome you all to the RDS 

Arena for this evening’s match 

against our old rivals Ulster in Round 

9 of this season’s BKT United Rugby 

Championship. 

I am delighted that we will be 

producing both a virtual and 

printed match programme 

again for this match as part of 

a wider project to see if there is 

an appetite for a return to the 

printed versions now that we 

have come out of Covid-19. 

Whatever version you have in your hands 

now, I hope you enjoy it. 

A huge amount of work goes into it 

from the likes of Barry Lambkin, Jacinta 

O’Rourke and Caroline McFadden who 

gather many of the domestic rugby stories 

and I know that the editorial team of 

Marcus Ó Buachalla, Daniel Kelly and 

Paul Cahill work very hard pulling it all 

together. 

Enjoy it and enjoy reading about the 

great stories all across the 12 counties of 

Leinster. 

I wish to extend a warm welcome 

to Dublin to our Ulster visitors and 

congratulate Philip Gregg on his 

appointment as President to the Ulster 

Province, to the squad, their Head Coach 

and their management team and hope 

you are enjoying your visit here for the 

URC match. 

Leinster have won their last eight 

matches in the URC and I would like to 

congratulate the Leinster squad on their 

win over Glasgow Warriors last week 

and they will be confident heading into 

tonight’s match. 

But we can never be complacent around 

Ulster especially as they have won six 

of their last seven matches and have 

been known to beat Leinster at home 

previously, most notably last season. The 

pain of that defeat lingers no doubt. 

Already this season they have beaten 

the other two provinces, Connacht and 

Munster, and had a strong win against 

Zebre last weekend so we expect tonight 

to be a challenging and physical match 

as we strive to maintain the gap between 

us both at the top of the table. 

I would like to welcome to the RDS this 

evening the mini rugby teams who will 

play at half time in the Bank of Ireland 

Mini Games. 

To the players from Carlow, Cill Dara and 

Skerries rugby clubs and in particular the 

Minis from my own club Wexford, have 

a ball! 

They will be showing off their talents 

tonight and I know your coaches and 

parents, will be very proud of you all 

and I know that you will all enjoy the 

occasion. I would ask all supporters to 

show your appreciation and cheer on 

these young stars of the future when they 

play at half-time. 

I would also like to congratulate our U-18 

interprovincial teams, the youths and the 

girls, who both won their interpro series 

this year and will be in attendance at 

tonight’s match and will be doing a lap of 

honour at half-time and will be celebrated 

before the game also. Please show your 

support to our players of the future and 

also cheer these guys on. 

One more presentation will be made this 

evening and that’s to Conor O’Brien. 

Conor had to retire from the game due 

to injury but it is fitting that what he 

achieved for his club Mullingar RFC and 

for Leinster Rugby, is celebrated by the 

supporters and we all wish Conor the 

very best of luck in his retirement. There 

will be a special Q&A with him and the 

OLSC also in the new fanzone which will 

be worth heading along to. 

He had his debut last week so he is very 

much into the swing of things now this 

week but can I again welcome our new 

CEO Shane Nolan to the RDS tonight 

and wish him well in his new role in our 

great club. 

To our title sponsor Bank of Ireland, great 

patrons of both our professional and 

domestic games, who along with all our 

premium partners and suppliers, who do 

so much to support Leinster Rugby, I offer 

my sincere thanks. 

Finally, to you the fans, our season ticket 

holders, members of the OLSC and 

friends of Leinster, I thank you for the 

contribution you make on match days. 

I am sure this evening will be no different 

as you get the roar going and the flags 

waving to cheer on the boys in blue to 

another victory. 

Let us hope for an energetic, exciting and 

injury free match tonight. 

Debbie Carty 

Leinster Rugby President 2022/23 

4 | www.leinsterrugby.ie

I would ask 

all supporters 

to show your 

appreciation 

and cheer on 

these young 

stars of the 

future when 

they play at 

half-time. 


Leo Cullen 

head Coach Welcome 

Good evening and welcome back to the 

RDS Arena for our fourth derby of the 

season so far. 

We have already had an 

enthralling battle with Dan 

McFarland’s Ulster this season, 

played out in some pretty awful 

conditions at the end of September, 

so we know we’re in for a serious 

test this evening. Not forgetting, of 

course, the fact that they beat us in 

this fixture last season! 

We are now one game into a block of ten 

where we need to try and maximise every 

point that’s on offer. 

This chunk of fixtures is always so pivotal 

in determining success later in the season 

and there is no let-up in the challenges that 

lie ahead. 

After tonight, we get ready for the start 

of the Heineken Champions Cup with 

a trip to the port of Le Havre to take on 

Racing 92. We all know how challenging 

it can be to play in France and we expect 

a massive test for us as a group, before 

returning here to take on Gloucester the 

following Friday. 

As I say, this is an exceptionally busy time 

of year for us, but we are looking forward 

to catching up with the wider Leinster 

family at some stage over the Christmas 

period. 

We are so grateful to all our sponsors, 

especially Bank of Ireland, for everything 

they do to help and support us. Hopefully 

we’ll get to break bread with you soon! 

There’s so much rugby to look forward 

to, not just in the BKT United Rugby 

Championship and European games 

but club rugby too, which continues to 

thrive and drive the game in Ireland while 

feeding into the different provinces. 

We were lucky enough to visit Old 

Belvedere this past week to see for 

ourselves how they have worked to get 

the club’s facilities up to such a high 

standard. Well done to all and thanks to 

Ian Donnelly for kindly hosting us. 

There was a lot happening last weekend, 

with a vital URC game against Glasgow as 

well as a reunion of our 2011 and 2012 

Heineken Cup-winning squads. 

There are so many brilliant characters who 

were part of those two successful groups 

and it was lovely to have everyone back 

together. 

A huge thanks to Ronan O’Donnell who 

was the driving force in making it happen. 

We are very lucky to have those memories 

to cherish and we all hope the current 

generation of Leinster players also get to 

forge similarly long-lasting friendships and 

souvenirs. 

The celebrations last weekend were 

tempered by the sad news that the great 

Doddie Weir had passed away. 

Doddie was an iconic figure in the game, 

so full of life and admired by everyone 

who knew him. He also handled his illness 

with such dignity, campaigning to raise 

awareness of motor neurone disease 

right to the end, and his life will be an 

inspiration to many others. 

On behalf of Leinster Rugby, we extend 

our deepest condolences to his family 

and loved ones at this difficult time. 

Back to this evening’s game, and 

like all derby matches, I’m sure 

you’re going to see two sets of 

players giving everything they 

have for their respective teams. 

That intensity is what we all want 

to see. We are so lucky in Ireland 

to have these provincial rivalries 

that bring out the best in us, and 

it’s important that we savour 

them. 

It is also great that Conor O’Brien 

is here with us today and is being 

acknowledged by the club and our 

supporters. 

The last few years have been hugely 

frustrating for Conor and it’s very 


We are very lucky to 

have those memories to 

cherish and we all hope 

the current generation 

of Leinster players 

also get to forge 

similarly longlasting 

friendships 

and souvenirs. 

disappointing the way that it has ended for 

him with retirement at such a young age. 

I know Conor and our medical team 

worked incredibly hard and no stone 

was left unturned but sometimes 

despite everyone’s best efforts, it 

doesn’t work out the way we’d all like. 

He is a credit to Mullingar RFC and 

his family for how he has represented 

them all over the last few seasons. 

We wish Conor all the very best for the 

future and thank him for his contributions 

to Leinster Rugby and hope that he and 

his family enjoy the day today and the 

warm welcome he will no doubt get. 

Let’s hope tonight is a cracker. 

Many thanks and enjoy the game. 

Leo 


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laura 

lynch 

BANK OF IRELAND 

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER 

A very warm 

welcome to the 

RDS Arena from 

Bank of Ireland as 

we look forward 

to this evenings 

fixture. 

Bank of Ireland are proud partners to Leinster 

Rugby. Like us, they are rooted in local communities 

across the 12 counties of Leinster. 

We are delighted to support Leo Cullen and his coaching 

team in building Leinster Rugby through clubs and schools, 

developing home grown talent and always ensuring that 

Leinster #NeverStopCompeting. 

Much of that amazing talent will be on display on the pitch this 

evening. 

We wish Leinster Rugby every success, and hope that you 

enjoy the game. 

Laura Lynch. 

BANK OF IRELAND 

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER 


Did you 

know? 

• Leinster have won 

all eight matches 

they have played in 

the BKT United Rugby 

Championship this 

season, six with try 

bonus points. 

• The Leinstermen 

have not been defeated 

in a regular season 

fixture at the RDS 

Arena since Ulster 

were the visitors on 27 

November 2021. 

• Ulster’s only defeat 

so far this campaign 

was 13-20 at home to 

Leinster in Round 3. 

• Ulster have won 

three of their last 

four fixtures played 

against fellow Irish 

provinces. 

• Ulster won both 

fixtures they played 

against Leinster last 

season including a 

20-10 victory at the 

RDS Arena, only their 

second ever victory at 

that venue after a 22- 

18 win in March 2013. 

COMPARISON 

Overall URC head-to-head record: 

Played 46, Leinster won 34, Ulster won 10 with 2 matches drawn. 

Last 3 URC results: 

22 Oct - Munster (H) W 27-13 15 Oct - Lions (A) W 39-37 

28 Oct - Scarlets (A) W 35-5 29 Oct - Munster (A) W 15-14 

26 Nov - Glasgow (H) W 40-5 25 Nov - Zebre (H) W 36-15 

1ST - W8 D0 L0 - 38PTS 

WWWWWW (28pts) 

URC 2022/23 

URC form 

Top try scorer 

2ND - W6 D0 L1 - 30PTS 

WLWWWW (25pts) 

6 - Rob Russell, Dan Sheehan 4 - Tom Stewart 

Top points scorer 

40 - Ross Byrne 59 - John Cooney 

Date Venue L U Leinster scorers Ulster scorers 

Fri 8 Jan 21 RDS Arena 24 12 Robbie Henshaw(T) Ross Byrne(C) James 

Tracy(T) Sean Cronin(T) Dave Kearney(T) 

Johnny Sexton(C) 

Sat 6 Mar 21 Kingspan Stadium 38 19 Michael Bent(T) Ross Byrne(5C/P) Rhys 

Ruddock(T) Ed Byrne(T) Dan Sheehan(T) 

Josh van der Flier(T) 

Fri 14 May 21 RDS Arena (RC) 21 17 Jack Conan(T) Robbie Henshaw(T) Cian 

Healy(T) Garry Ringrose(3C) 

Sat 27 Nov 

21 

Sat 12 Mar 

22 

John Cooney(4P) 

Nick Timoney(T) Robert Baloucoune(T) 

John Cooney(C) Marcell Coetzee(T) Mike 

Lowry(C) 

Craig Gilroy(T) Billy Burns(C/P) Robert 

Baloucoune(T) Ian Madigan(C) 

RDS Arena 10 20 Robbie Henshaw(T) Ross Byrne(C/P) Nathan Doak(C/P) John Cooney(C/P) 

James Hume(T) Greg Jones(T) 

Kingspan Stadium 13 18 Ross Byrne(C/2P) Max Deegan(T) Sam Carter(T) Nathan Doak(C/2P) Mike 

Lowry(T) 

Fri 30 Sep 22 Kingspan Stadium 20 13 Ross Byrne(2C/2P) Ryan Baird(T) Dan 

Sheehan(T) 

John Cooney(C/2P) John Andrew(T) 



Josh 

van der 

Flier 

the big interview 

BY DANIEL KELLY 

Josh van der 

Flier plays this 

evening for 

the first time 

since he won 

World Rugby’s 

Men’s Player of 

the Year last 

month. 


Despite the lofty title, he still 

says there is a “responsibility” to 

playing for Leinster and that will 

never leave him. 

The 29-year-old became the third 

Irishman to win the award, after Keith 

Wood (2001) and Johnny Sexton (2018) 

picked up the title. 

He has gone one better than the likes of 

Brian O’Driscoll, Gordon D’Arcy, Paul 

O’Connell and Jamie Heaslip who were 

nominated for the award previously. 

Van der Flier was also named 

in the World Rugby Men’s 15s 

Dream Team of the Year alongside 

Leinster teammates Sexton and 

Tadhg Furlong, along with Ireland 

teammate Tadhg Beirne. 

Despite being in such fine company, 

he is keeping his feet on the ground 

having celebrated the win with a few 

low-key rounds of golf before returning to 

Leinster this week. 

“It’s a nice accolade to get”, the 

Wicklow native admitted earlier this 

week. “It still hasn’t sunk in. It’s all a 

bit of a blur, and I’m suddenly back to 

normality.” 

“Leaving Irish camp, and I’m back now 

to playing with Leinster. I’m excited for 

this weekend, and it feels like things are 

getting back to normal.” 

“It’s been a really enjoyable year. I feel it 

was a year where I got the bounce of the 

ball and things went my way.” 

The Awards Ceremony in Monaco 

was an evening, the flanker wont 

forget in a hurry. 

“I found it mad to be honest. 

Seeing some of the greats of 

the game coming over to me 

was surreal. I don’t feel like I 

should be in with those kind of 

names. I’m still me, and I still 

don’t like doing the dishes”, 

he joked. 


I always feel a sense of 

responsibility when there 

are lads who have played 

really well during the 

international breaks. 

With eight wins from eight in the BKT 

United Rugby Championship so far for 

Leinster, van der Flier knows there is some 

pressure on him to perform against Ulster. 

“I always feel a sense of responsibility 

when there are lads who have played 

really well during the international 

breaks. These guys have represented 

Leinster brilliantly and got the wins.” 

“I almost feel guilty taking the shirt off 

them, because they have given the 

province so much pride and performed 

so well. “ 

“As you get later in the season, and the 

games get more important there is a 

privilege in playing in these games.” 

“Thinking back to last year, one of the 

biggest disappointments was seeing all 

the guys who didn’t play, after we lost to 

the Bulls [in the URC Semi-Final]. You feel 

horrendous. ‘We didnt perform for them’. 

It’s a squad effort.” 

While the brotherhood remains strong 

on the field, there is also a strong 

relationship with those behind the scenes 

too! 

“There is a responsibility towards the 

squad, and the whole backroom team. I 

think a lot about all the staff - the medical 

team, the S&C team, the coaches and 

analysts. The coaches get the praise 

when things are going well, but all the 

backroom team put a huge effort in and 

put in crazy hours. We represent them 

all!” 

“The video analysts for example will be in 

here [Leinster HQ] after the Ulster game 

until 3am reviewing the game on Sunday 

morning. They put in that effort. It makes 

you feel bad that we get all the limelight.” 

Van der Flier was part of the Leinster 

team that left Kingspan Stadium with a 

20-13 win in September. It’s Ulster’s only 

loss this season so far, and the Ireland 

international was impressed by what he 

saw from the hosts that night, and from 

the team this season in general. 

“It was a tough game and was very 

physical. We got a really good start and 

then the rain came. At one point I thought 

one of the stands was collapsing, but it 

was the rain hitting off the roof!” 

“Ulster are really good. We performed 

well, and got the result. It comes down 


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to small margins. Charlie [Ngatai] had a 

great tackle in the corner that dislodged 

a ball that would have been a try. It was 

a tight game in the end. There is never 

much between the teams.” 

“They are doing really well this season 

and have a lot of younger players who 

have been impressive this year. It’s a very 

well coached and well drilled team.” 

Interprovincial games are always 

important to both sides, but with the Six 

Nations and Rugby World Cup coming 

over the horizon, van der Flier thinks 

these games will become personal battles 

all over the field. 

“After the success Ireland has had, these 

derby games take on greater meaning. 

Everyone wants to get in an Ireland shirt. 

These games can be straight head-toheads 

with an opposite number. There is 

no shortage of motivation from either side 

for the game” 

Wicklow RFC are the latest club to 

feature in Leinster Rugby’s ‘12 Counties, 

One Club’ initiative. Van der Flier is the 

club’s most famous son, and features in 

the video that was launched earlier this 

week on Leinster’s social media channels. 

He remains involved in the club, in any 

way he can, and loves returning to 

Ashtown Lane whenever possible. 

“It’s where I fell in love with the game”, 

he says with a smile. “I watched my dad 

Dirk play there when I was younger. 

There is a family atmosphere in the club, 

and it’s a special place for me. Whenever 

I get back there, I always get a great 

welcome. 

“Like clubs all around the province, there 

are so many volunteers who devote their 

life to the club, and make sure it runs 

well. When I get down to the summer 

camps and see the Minis, it seems to 

be doubling in numbers every year. It 

gives me a lot of pride to say I’m from 

Wicklow.” 

Tonight is van der Flier’s fourth 

appearance of the season for Leinster, 

and his first in the RDS since late 

September. He can’t wait to get back to 

seeing familiar sights in Dublin 4. 

“I love playing in the RDS. It feels like 

home. Family and friends are there for 

I watched my dad 

Dirk play there when I 

was younger. There is 

a family atmosphere 

in the club, and it’s a 

special place for me. 


The 

enjoyment 

and buzz you 

get from the 

crowd when 

we are doing 

well. The 

crowd always 

gives us a 

roar when 

the backs are 

against the 

wall. It’s an 

incredibly 

enjoyable 

place to 

play. 


every game. It’s very special to play 

there and know what it means to them 

all.” 

As part of the ‘12 Counties, One Club’ 

initiative, there will be representatives 

from Wicklow RFC in attendance and 

that’s an even bigger incentive for the 

29-year-old. 

“To have people from Wicklow there 

this weekend, reminds me of my dad 

taking me to Leinster games when I was 

younger. It’s a great motivator!” 

“The enjoyment and buzz you get from 

the crowd when we are doing well. 

The crowd always gives us a 

roar when the backs 

are against the 

wall. It’s an 

incredibly 

enjoyable 

place to 

play.” 

While van der Flier 

returns to action this 

evening well rested after the Autumn 

Internationals, he knows the pressure is 

about to ramp up over December and 

January. 

“It’s a really big block of games coming 

up. There is a crazy run of games, and 

we did well in this period this time last 

year. It set us up well for the rest of the 

season and gave us the platform to be 

able to give us the best chance later in 

the season.” 

“The European games against Racing 

and Gloucester, as well as this game with 

Ulster are huge matches in the context of 

the season. If we win today, we create 

a bit of a gap in the table. If we don’t 

win, it tightens things up at the top of the 

table.” 

“Europe is condensed too, so it’s all 

about putting ourselves in the best 

position. As a squad, we’re excited and 

motivated by what’s to come!” 

There are more than the 23 

players on the pitch when it 

comes to match preparation, 

and the responsibility of 

that remains a constant in 

van der Flier’s thoughts. 

He hopes to make 

them all proud tonight. 


40 5 

Action 

replay 

SATURDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2022 

RDS ARENA 

REFEREE: MARIUS VAN DER 

WESTHUIZEN (SARU) 

ATTENDANCE: 14,153 

BKT UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 

SCAN THIS QR CODE FOR 

THE FULL MATCH REPORT 

SCAN THIS QR CODE FOR 

THE MATCH HIGHLIGHTS 

LEINSTER RUGBY: 

Osborne; Russell, Turner, Ngatai, Russell; 

R. Byrne, McGrath; E. Byrne, Kelleher, 

Clarkson; Molony, McCarthy; Ruddock 

(capt), Penny, Deegan 

REPLACEMENTS: McKee, Milne, 

Abdaladze, Jenkins, Baird, Foley, H. Byrne, 

Cosgrave 

TRIES: Kearney, Russell (3), Milne, McKee 

CONVERSIONS: R. Byrne (4), H. Byrne 

GLASGOW WARRIORS: 

McKay; Cancelliere, Steyn (capt), 

McDowall, McLean; Jordan, Horne; Kebble, 

Brown, Walker; Manjezi, Samuel; Brown, 

Vailanu, Dempsey 

REPLACEMENTS: Matthews, Bhatti, Berghan, 

Du Preez, Bean, Ferrie, Dobie, Thompson 

TRY: Cancelliere 

It didn’t feel like we won the 

game 40-5. It’s great to get the job 

done and get a bonus point win at 

home. Scoring three early tries 

took the game away from Glasgow. 

We’re delighted with the outcome, 

but we know we need to be better in 

the future. 

Leo Cullen 


Rob (Russell) 

has been great. 

He needs to keep 

backing himself 

now. Hopefully 

he will get 

more confidence 

from games 

like today. I’m 

really pleased 

for him. It’s all 

about building 

experience, 

and I hope the 

competition in 

the squad serves 

us well. 

Leo Cullen 


Blackrock’s Women 

celebrate 30 years 

BY JEN MOORE 

Saturday, 5th November 2022 

will live long in the memory of all 

those present at Stradbrook to 

celebrate 30 years of women’s 

rugby at Blackrock College RFC. 

It was an occasion to commend 

not just the women of ‘Rock, but 

their contribution to Irish rugby, 

from the formation of the Irish 

Women’s Rugby Football Union 

to the Rock players and coaches 

who have consistently appeared 

on international match-day team 

sheets since the very first game 

in 1993. 

It was an opportunity to remind ourselves 

why we do what we do, all those hours 

of training, travelling, volunteering in all 

sorts of weather with varying results over 

the decades, and it all boils down to 

people and the connections made and 

maintained over the years. Those bonds 

go beyond the team to club mates and 

opposition players and it provided the 

forum to thank and acknowledge the 

trailblazers. 

Our guests of honour included Fiona 

Steed, Chair of the IRFU Women’s 

Committee, Eugene Noble, Chair of 

the Leinster Women’s Committee while 

unfortunately President Debbie Carty was 

unable to make it on the day. 

Chair of the minis and youths at 

Blackrock, Michael Kavanagh welcomed 

guests from the very first team, current 

players, families, parents of the minis 

section. Jen Moore then spoke about the 

evolution of the women’s section and on 

behalf of the club, announced accolades 

for three Blackrock women who have 

been outstanding in helping create the 

club we know today. 

Nicola Doyle was recognised as the 

founding captain of women’s rugby and 

continues to be invested in the team and 

the club. Manuela ‘Nini’ McCarthy was 

recognised as the club’s longest serving 

player, having first come to a training 

session in 1997 and continues to line 

out week on week. Finally, Michelle 

Claffey was awarded the accolade as 

the longest serving captain in the club, 

leading the squad and the club since 

2016. 

Carole Ann Byrne, former player, 

international captain, President of the 

IWRFU and current youth’s coach took 

over the MC duties with interviews 

of three internationals, Dorothy Wall, 

Enya Breen and Christy Haney for their 

insight on the club. The lunch was filled 

with stories of experiences from former 

players, current players, minis parents 

and former opposition players from 

Creggs RFC. 

A highlight of the lunch was to have 

nine of the original players present who 

took to the field on that historic day on 

the 2nd February 1992. Kim Donohue, 

Sandy Dunphy, Orla Byrne, Deborah 

Byrne, Nicola Doyle, Judy Graham, Vicki 

McDonnell, Edwina McDonnell and 

Roisin Hogan were all in attendance. 

Nicola Doyle gave an account of how 

and why a women’s team was set up 

in Blackrock and with some further 

digging we’ve been able to establish the 

following. 

The first steps 

Sue Garden-Bachop (Black Fern #7) was 

in Ireland with her husband Steve Bachop 

who had played with Blackrock and 

Western Samoa in the 1991 World Cup 

(he went on to become an All Black). 

Sue was in the very first New Zealand 

Women’s International game that took 

place in 1989 in Christchurch and was 

keen to continue her rugby journey in 

Ireland, indeed she had been training 

by herself on the pitches and her skills 

caught a few coaching eyes. She was the 

catalyst in the foundation of the women’s 

team in ‘Rock after a few talks in the 

clubhouse with various club members. It 

took a number of phone calls from Karl 

Rigney, Alain Rolland, Philip Doyle and 

Sue to round up sporty wives, girlfriends, 

daughters and nieces of male players 

and club members, to come and give 

rugby a chance. 

On an October Sunday in 1991, the 

three coaches, ‘Bash’, ‘Goose’ and 

Rolland, started a voyage with those 

women who turned up at noon that 

day. Nicola Doyle’s vivid account of 

that session was that she was “instantly 

hooked, loved the non-stop learning and 

the time just flew by.” 

The first game took place the following 

February against the Coleraine University 

in Stradbrook that garnered much press 

attention as well as a mixed reaction 

from club members – some bemused, 

others enthused and the usual sceptics. 

It was a 26 – 4 win for ‘Rock with Sue 

Garden-Bachop notching four tries. Other 

players included, Nicola Doyle, Vicki 

McDonnell, Edwina McDonnell, Roisin 

Hogan, Sandy Murphy, Orla Byrne, 

Deborah Byrne, Judy Graham, Kim 

Donohue, Helen Gardiner, Anne Sharkey, 

Fiona Colclough, Lizzie Rolland, Sarah 

Cullen (sister of Leo), and Tanya Waters 

who played for Coleraine. Sue sadly lost 

her battle with Leukaemia in 2009 but 

her daughter and sons continue her elite 

sporting tradition with both Jackson and 

Conor Garden-Bachop playing for the 

Maori All Blacks. 

The game was such a success that there 

were calls for an international side 

and an All-Ireland League to be set up, 

especially from Irish exiles who were 

playing in England, Scotland and Wales 

at the time. 


Gathering momentum 

Mary O’Beirne, the Blackrock physio 

with connections in lots of clubs, was 

pivotal in forming a committee to oversee 

the birth of women’s rugby in Ireland 

and just three weeks after the game first 

game at Stradbrook, the Irish Women’s 

Rugby Football Union was founded in 

her living room on 21st February 1992 

with members from Cooke RFC, UCD and 

Blackrock College RFC. O’Beirne was 

elected president with other members 

including Doyle, Tanya Waters, Jill 

Henderson and Deborah Byrne. 

At the time, Blackrock were the first 

Leinster Senior Club to initiate a women’s 

team, which was followed by Old 

Belvedere and Malahide RFC. Cooke 

was one of the first women’s teams to 

be set up and UCD played occasional 

games. O’Beirne campaigned for more 

clubs to establish women’s teams stating 

that “if more Irish rugby clubs were to 

become involved with women’s rugby, I 

feel it would be to the clubs’ advantage 

and widen the scope of the game.” 

The foundation of the 

women’s AIL 

On the 8th November 199,2 Malahide 

RFC held a tournament with UCD, 

Blackrock, Malahide, Old Belvedere, 

College of Marketing and Design, 

Queen’s University, Dundalk, University 

of Limerick and Waterford competing, 

after which the intention was to form a 

Weague to commence in the coming 

months. The All-Ireland League began in 

January 1993 with ten teams competing 

across two pools with the semi-finals and 

finals taking place in April. Blackrock 

beat UCD in the Final that year and lifted 

the trophy bought by O’Beirne. Creggs 

RFC nabbed the title the next season 

followed by a three-in-a-row by ‘Rock 

from 1994–97, with the last league title 

coming in the 2007/8 season. 

International stage 

Blackrock, then known as the Rockettes, 

were the dominant team in the league 

under Harry Kenny and others. Many 

featured in the International side that 

played the first game against Scotland 

on 14th February 1993 and coached 

by Alain Rolland. Although that was a 

10–0 loss, the very fact that the game 

got played at all was a monumental win 

for those and future players of rugby. For 

that, we thank them. The club has had 48 

internationals play for Blackrock since. 

This season 

This season’s squad has 18 current and 

former internationals and are eager to 

get the Blackrock name back on the 

O’Beirne cup in what has been a very 

competitive AIL so far under the guidance 

of Ben Martin and Philip Doyle, who 

has come full circle. To have the former 

pioneer players give a guard of honour 

as the ‘Rock side took to the pitch against 

Ballincollig that day will live long in the 

memories of all there. 

If you are 

interested in 

taking up rugby 

or you would like 

to follow our 

updates, check out 

our social media 

channels: 

Leinster Women 

LeinsterWomens 

@LeinsterWomen 

womenspro@leinsterrugby.ie 


Ár mBaile, Ár Muintir 

Our home our people

leo 

the lion’s 

kids 

corner 

ANAGRAMS 

Can you un-jumble 

the names of these 

academy players? 

HE WHO 

BRAINS BE 

MY CINCH 

TRACK 

spot the difference! 

Can you find all six? 

zoomed in! 

WHo is this leinster player 

having an extreme close-up? 

how did you do? 

ANAGRAMS 

Robbie Henshaw, Nick McCarthy 

ZOOMED IN! 

Jason Jenkins 

a... 

...maze... 

...ing 

can you make 

your way 

through the 

maze to the 

ball? 


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AZTO 

with 

Michael Milne 

A – Action: If you could be a superhero, 

which would you be? 

Spiderman 

B – Boyhood: Who was your favourite 

sporting idol growing up? 

Brian Whelahan, the Offaly hurler 

C – Childhood: What is your favourite 

childhood memory? 

Going out with a fiver thinking I was 

rich 

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

meal? 

Pasta 

E – Education: What was your favourite 

subject in school? 

History had a GOAT of a teacher 

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

Green Mile 

G – Groove: Who is the best dancer in 

the squad? 

Peter Dooley was the best dancer. 

Jury is out on the next best! 

H – Holiday: What’s your favourite 

holiday destination? 

Spain 

I – Inside: Who is the worst to sit beside 

in the dressing room? 

Scott Penny never buys the coffees 

and has awful chat 

J – Joker: Who is the funniest in the 

squad? 

Alex Soroka 

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

of the day to play a match? 

7pm 

L – Languages: How many languages 

can you speak? 

I can just about speak one! 

M – Music: Your favourite artist and 

song right now? 

Fried Chicken by Zac Brown Band 

N – Number: Do you have a lucky 

number? 

No 


O – Others: What’s your favourite 

sport outside of rugby? 

Hurling! 

P – Pal: Who is your best mate in 

the squad? 

Ciarán Frawley but only because 

he’d do some giving out if I 

didn’t say him 

Q – Quirky: Who has the most 

interesting fashion sense? 

Will Connors 

R – Red Carpet: Who is the most 

famous contact in your phone? 

Dylan Murphy. Well he’s famous 

in Offaly anyway 

S – Superstitions: Do you have 

any matchday routines? 

No! 

T – Trim: What’s the worst haircut 

you’ve ever had? 

Probably not a haircut but I 

loved having the big mop of hair 

last year! 

U: Under pressure: Who in the 

squad would be the best in a bad 

situation? 

Charlie Ryan. He is the calmest 

man I know. 

V – Verified: How often do you 

use social media? 

Every day. I am trying my best to 

stay off it 

W – Worst fear: What are you 

most scared of? 

Being kicked out of by my 

landlord for annoying him 

X – X-ray: Have you ever broken 

any bones? 

No thankfully not 

Y – Youth: Where did you grow 

up? 

Birr in Co Offaly 

Z – Zoo: What’s your favourite 

animal? 

Dogs definitely 


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12 counties, 

one club 

wicklow RFC 

Our latest 

12 Counties, 

One Club 

feature 

brings us 

to Wicklow 

RFC, the 

home of 

Josh van 

der Flier 

and of Ella 

Roberts. 

But there 

is so much 

more going 

on behind 

the scenes 

and away 

from their 

leading 

lights. 

DES BERRY VISITED THE CLUB 

TO FIND OUT MORE. 

34 | www.leinsterrugby.ie 

Wicklow is an ambitious rugby 

club with the structure and 

support in place to rival that of 

any in the province. 

Established in 1963, Ballygonnel, 

Kilpoole, Tinakilly, Newrath, Killoughter, 

The Beehive, Coolbeg, Rosannagh, 

Ballybla and Glenealy were designated 

as home venues for Wicklow’s matches 

until Ashtown Lane was made their 

permanent home in the mid-1970s. 

The clubhouse was constructed in 1976. 

The immaculate top pitch was laid in 

1994 and the clubhouse was extended 

in 2000. 

In 2008, the club completed an 

ambitious scheme to improve the two 

remaining pitches and develop a 

training area quickly followed by a 

major floodlighting scheme with the aid 

of funding from the National Lottery. 

The latest addition to an impressive 

list of accomplishments is a new 

gymnasium of which the whole club can 

be proud. 

“We were able to open up a brand 

new gym at the club last year,” said 

Club President Graham Burleigh, in the 

first of a two-year appointment. 

“We spent the recent years raising 

money to get that done. That has been 

a huge success. It is a great facility, 

getting great use from the senior men, 

senior women and even the older 

youths teams. 

“From a facilities point of view, that 

has been the greatest addition to the 

club. There is a bright mezzanine to 

accommodate team meetings and a 

modern, well-equipped gym capable of 

housing 25-30 players at any one point 

in time.” 

It was built and finished during Covid, 

for use at the start of the 2021/2022 

season. But, due to its stop-start nature,

it was officially opened at the end of the 

season, earlier this year. 

Wicklow’s Development Project set out 

three priorities which would enable 

the club to move to the next level. They 

have all been met. 

First, it aimed “to make the club 

more accessible to the whole local 

community, by developing closer links 

with local businesses, schools, colleges, 

community groups etc. 

Second, it committed to having 

“sufficient changing facilities for the 

teams and referees, allowing up to 

three simultaneous games of rugby to 

be played. 

Third, it provided “a fully functional gym 

to enable crucial player development, 

which will also be offered to the wider 

Wicklow community.” 

The financial and physical work on the 

ground has been substantial, many 

hands making light work of a lot of 

work. 

“We have two new training areas, 

one created from a wasteland, to go 

beside three full pitches, all of them 

grass. This is all part of our commitment 

to maximise the grounds,” shares 

Graham. 

“There are a lot of clubs going down 

the artificial pitch path. We are keeping 

an open mind on it for the future.” 

The numbers are impressive too. The 

total membership stands at 1,197 

between playing (775) and nonplaying 

(442). Wicklow has two male 

senior teams from 57 players and two 

female senior teams from 46 players. 

There are 165 boys and 97 girls in the 

youths sections, about 309 in the boys 

and girls mini section, 22 in the allinclusive 

Wicklow Warriors squad, 28 

playing for the Veterans and 31 playing 

Tag Rugby. 

“I must say the creation of the Warriors 

in 2017/2018 has been a huge success 

and we have some of the senior men 

and women helping out with them from 

time-to-time,” he declares. 

“It has added something special to the 

club. For anyone having a bad day, 

you only have to come to the club and 

spend an hour with the warriors to lift 

your spirits. 

“Between minis, girls and women, there 

are about 210 playing members which 

is really phenomenal. It is our greatest 

growth area. 

“The majority of our Women have come 

through the minis and youths section 

here, a reflection of our commitment 

to creating the playing pathway right 

through the club.” 

“We have a great set-up for them, 

beginning with the fun element in minis. 

It is not just all about rugby. The club 

takes them on pizza nights and to the 

cinema on top of learning how to play 

the game. There is a lovely atmosphere 

and the structure is there to carry them 

on that journey to senior All-Ireland 

League rugby. 

“When the girls enjoy what they do, 

they are more likely to get their friends 

to come along too. We have also 

benefited from using the ‘Give It A Try’ 

Programme, run by the IRFU. 

“We are active in 12 local national 

schools in the area and three secondary 

schools Colaiste Chill Mhantain (CCM) 

and East Glendalough, which are 

mixed, and the all-girls Dominican 

College, Wicklow.” 


The beauty of the Women’s game is 

that the players are more accessible 

because they are not professionals. 

Ex-Wicklow player Josh van der Flier 

has never lost touch with his roots, 

turning up at the summer camp in 

August and the opening of the new 

gym. 

“He is a great friend to the club without 

a shadow of a doubt. If we ever call 

on him, he makes himself available 

whenever possible.” 

With the best will in the world, the 

Leinster and Ireland flanker has many 

commitments and it is the Women’s 

representative players that can have the 

more consistent week-to-week impact. 

“At the moment, we have two players 

who have been with the Ireland 7s, 

Vicky Kinlan and Ella Roberts. Roisin 

Stone has been called into a Leinster 

training camp as well,” says Graham. 

These three women are important in 

pushing the argument that you don’t 

have to leave Wicklow to achieve 

your ultimate rugby dream. 

They are examples of how the 

pathway is working, sometimes going 

back to where it all started for them, to 

give a dig out at minis. 

The feeling of family is made real by 

the fact there are no less than seven 

sets of sisters in the Women’s senior 

squad. Beth and Ella Roberts, Rachel 

and Caitlin Griffey, Roisin and Aoibhan 

Stone, Nicola and Jessica Schmidt, 

Caoimhe and Orla Molloy, Saoirse 

and Naoise O’Reilly, Erin and Megan 

McConnell are one player short of a 

full fifteen. 

The overarching goal is to take 

Wicklow’s men up into the All-Ireland 

League where the women are already 

playing their second season. 

The employment of former Springbok 

scrum-half Dan van Zyl is an indication 

of their goal to move up from Leinster 

League Division 1B. 

“He has been with us for the last 

two seasons. It is a reflection of how 

serious we are about making it into 

the All-Ireland League. We have 

also welcomed Dewalt Barnard from 

Terenure as the forwards’ coach for this 

season.” 

Director of Rugby Jason Watson 

has been central to the twin-track 

development of both the men’s and 

women’s squads. 

“Like the women, the bulk of our male 

adult players come through the system 

here from boys to men.” 

“Jason has played a significant role 

to ensure that our structure to support 

rugby in the club is fit for purpose 

and has been instrumental with the 

development of a pathway from minis to 

senior rugby for both boys and girls. 

“Under his stewardship, we have seen 

significant progress on the field of play.” 

It all confirms Wicklow as an ambitious 

club with family values at its’ core. 


leinster 

squad 2022/23 

season 

Vakhtang Abdaladze #1263 

Prop 

DOB 6 Feb 1996 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 

WEIGHT 121kg (19st 1 lb) 

1 

CAP 

Michael Ala’alatoa #1301 

12 

CAPS 

Prop 

DOB 28 August 1991 

HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 

WEIGHT 126kg (19st 11lbs) 

Ryan Baird #1278 

Second Row 

DOB 26 July 1999 

HEIGHT 1.98m (6’ 6”) 


8 

CAPS 

Ed Byrne #1222 

Prop 

DOB 9 September 1993 

HEIGHT 1.80m (5’ 11”) 

WEIGHT 115kg (18st) 

6 

CAP 

Harry Byrne #1280 

2 

CAPS 

Outhalf 

DOB 22 April 1999 

HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 


Ross Byrne #1236 

Out-half 


HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 


14 

CAPS 

Thomas Clarkson #1285 

Prop 

DOB 22 February 2000 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Jack Conan #1223 

33 

CAPS 

7 

CAPS 

No 8 


HEIGHT 1.93m (6’ 4”) 

WEIGHT 110kg (17st 4 lbs) 


Will Connors #1264 

9 

CAPS 

Max Deegan #1256 

2 

CAPS 

Brian Deeny #1306 

Caelan Doris #1268 

23 

CAPS 

Back Row 


HEIGHT 1.96 (6’ 5”) 


No 8 

DOB 1 October 1996 

HEIGHT 1.93m (6’ 4”) 


Second Row 

DOB 2 March 2000 

HEIGHT 1.99m (6’ 6”) 


Back Row 


HEIGHT 1.94m (6’ 4”) 


Cormac Foley #1299 

Scrum-half 


HEIGHT 1.81m (5’ 11 ”) 

WEIGHT 90kg (14 st 2 lbs) 

Ciarán Frawley #1265 

Out-half 

DOB 4 December 1997 

HEIGHT 1.92m (6’ 3”) 


Tadhg Furlong #1220 

63 

CAPS 

13 

CAPS 

Prop 

DOB 14 November 1992 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Jamison Gibson-Park #1247 

Scrum-half 


HEIGHT 1.76m (5’ 9”) 


23 

CAPS 

Cian Healy #1142 

121 

CAPS 

2 

CAPS 

Robbie Henshaw #1251 

61 

CAPS 

9 

CAPS 

Jason Jenkins #1310 

1 

CAP 

Dave Kearney #1158 

19 

CAPS 

Prop 


HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Centre / Full Back 

DOB 12 June 1993 

HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 


Lock 

DOB 2 December 1995 

HEIGHT 2.03 m (6’ 8”) 


Wing / Full Back 


HEIGHT 1.81m (5’ 11”) 


Hugo Keenan #1253 

25 

CAPS 

Rónan Kelleher #1277 

18 

CAPS 

Jordan Larmour #1258 

30 

CAPS 

James Lowe #1262 

15 

CAPS 

Full Back 


HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Hooker 

DOB 24 January 1998 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 0”) 


Wing 


HEIGHT 1.78m (5’ 10”) 


Wing / Full Back 


HEIGHT 1.88m (6’ 2”) 



Joe McCarthy #1303 

1 

CAP 

Nick McCarthy #1241 

Tadgh McElroy #1312 

Luke McGrath #1206 

19 

CAPS 

Second Row 


HEIGHT 1.98m (6’ 6”) 


Scrum Half 


HEIGHT 1.8m (5’ 11”) 


Hooker 

DOB 16 June1997 

HEIGHT 1.78m (5’ 10’) 

WEIGHT 103kg (16st, 2lbs) 

Scrum Half 


HEIGHT 1.75m (5’ 9”) 


Michael Milne #1279 

Martin Moloney #1300 

Ross Molony #1233 

Charlie Ngatai #1311 

1 

CAP 

Prop 


HEIGHT 1.83m (6’ 0”) 


Back Row 


HEIGHT 1.88m (6’ 2”) 


Lock 

DOB 11 May 1994 

HEIGHT 2.00m (6’ 6”) 


Centre / Full Back 


HEIGHT 1.87 m (6’ 2”) 


Jimmy O’Brien #1272 

3 

CAPS 

Tommy O’Brien #1283 

Jamie Osborne #1294 

Scott Penny #1271 

Back Three 


HEIGHT 1.84m (6’ 0”) 


Wing 

DOB 28 May 1998 

HEIGHT 1.83m (6’ 0”) 


Centre 


HEIGHT 1.93m (6’ 4”) 

WEIGHT 97.5kg (15st 5lbs) 

Flanker 


HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Andrew Porter #1246 

48 

CAPS 

Garry Ringrose #1237 

47 

CAPS 

Rhys Ruddock #1167 

27 

CAPS 

Charlie Ryan 

Prop 


HEIGHT 1.84m (6’ 1”) 


Centre 


HEIGHT 1.87m (6’ 2”) 


Back Row 


HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 


Lock 


HEIGHT 2.01m (6’ 7”) 



James Ryan #1259 

48 

CAPS 

Johnny Sexton #1127 

109 

CAPS 

14 

CAPS 

Dan Sheehan #1286 

13 

CAPS 

James Tracy #1211 

6 

CAPS 

Lock 


HEIGHT 2.00m (6’ 7”) 


Out-half 


HEIGHT 1.88m (6’ 2”) 


Hooker 


HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 


Hooker 


HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Liam Turner #1287 

Centre 


HEIGHT 1.73m (5’ 8”) 


Josh van der Flier #1228 

45 

CAPS 

Flanker 


HEIGHT 1.87m (6’ 2”) 


for full squad profiles 

please scan this qr code 

Coaching 

Staff 2022/23 

Stuart 

Lancaster 

Senior Coach 

season 

Leo Cullen 

Head 

Coach 

Emmet 

Farrell 

Kicking Coach and 

Lead Performance Analyst 

Robin 

McBryde 

Assistant Coach 

SEÁN 

O’BRIEN 

CONTACT SKILLS Coach 

ANDREW 

GOODMAN 

ASSISTANT COACH 

Guy 

Easterby 

Head of Rugby Operations 


We always strive to be 

A beat ahead 

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The Irish Times is proud to be official media partner to Leinster Rugby. 

With unparalleled rugby coverage we look forward to keeping you up to 

date with everything on and off the field in the 2022/23 season.

Seapoint Girls 

continue to thrive in 

seven year journey 

We are so proud of our girls’ 

team here at Seapoint in Killiney, 

Co. Dublin and really excited to 

see the growth year on year. We 

started with eight brave pioneers 

ranging in age from 5-12 in 

January 2015. 

The mix of ages and low numbers 

obviously made it really challenging in 

terms of firstly finding games and then 

fielding enough players so we managed 

this by having a younger and older team. 

What is great about rugby in Ireland is 

that we were hugely supported by both 

Wicklow and Mullingar Rugby Clubs 

who were slightly ahead of us at the time 

They helped us with invaluable game 

time and were also hugely generous with 

their time and advice that really helped 

us to grow our group. 

Today, less than seven years later, we 

have a thriving group of almost 100 

players ranging in age from five to 16 

years old playing in five age groups (U8, 

10, 12, 14 & 16). The group is massively 

diverse representing a broad range 

of schools in our community with Irish, 

French, Italian, South African, and New 

Zealand accents heard on the pitch every 

weekend. 

We have a fantastic set of hugely 

passionate and dedicated coaches at 

each age group who put countless hours 

into developing the girl’s rugby abilities in 

a fun and challenging environment. 

The growth in girls’ underage rugby 

has been phenomenal in the last seven 

years. A big part of this has been the 

support and structures put in place by 

Leinster Rugby through their Women’s 

Development Officers program. Their 

work in our local schools, and in visits to 

the club, help show players and parents 

on the pathway available for girls, 

something that didn’t exist a few years 

ago. 

Every year we host Ireland’s biggest 

mini blitz in Seapoint and we are always 

delighted to see such strong growth 

in the number of girls teams coming 

from across the country and beyond to 

participate. Last year we had our biggest 

year ever with over 100 teams and the 

girls’ proportion with in that had grown 

significantly! 

The Seapoint Girls’ aims are clear; 

we want to field our first adult ladies’ 

team in the 2027-28 season using 

players developed through the Seapoint 

pathway. Key to this is the introduction 

by Leinster Rugby of a female club level 

U20s competition similar to the pathway 

used in male U20 rugby. 

The Seapoint girls are always looking 

for new players regardless of previous 

experience. If you were born after 2006 

and want to Give Rugby A Try, while 

making new friends and getting fit, text 

Gerry at 0876142271 to get more 

information on when each age group 

trains. 


compiled by stuart farmer 

media services limited 

Leinster Player 

Statistics 

SQUAD 

CAP 

NO 

DEBUT 

2022/23 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 

VAKHTANG ABDALADZE 1263 2 DEC 17 0+5 - - 0+5 - - - - - 0+22 2 10 0+21 2 10 0+1 - - 7 GEO 1 

MICHAEL ALA'ALATOA 1301 25 SEP 21 5+1 - - 5+1 - - - - - 17+14 3 15 16+7 2 10 1+7 1 5 8 WS 12 

RYAN BAIRD 1278 27 APR 19 3+1 1 5 3+1 1 5 - - - 22+20 8 40 20+15 8 40 2+5 - - 3 IR 8 

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

BEN BROWNLEE 1313 28 OCT 22 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - - - 

ED BYRNE 1222 9 FEB 14 4+2 - - 4+2 - - - - - 31+60 12 60 31+47 11 55 0+13 1 5 8 IR 6 

HARRY BYRNE 1280 28 SEP 19 0+1 - 2 0+1 - 2 - - - 21+16 6 185 21+15 6 180 0+1 - 5 16 IR 2 

ROSS BYRNE 1236 4 SEP 15 5+3 - 40 5+3 - 40 - - - 90+46 9 866 76+24 4 636 14+22 5 230 19 IR 14 

TOM CLARKSON 1285 29 AUG 20 2+1 1 5 2+1 1 5 - - - 8+13 1 5 8+13 1 5 - - - 2 - 

JACK CONAN 1223 20 FEB 14 2+1 - - 2+1 - - - - - 93+27 25 125 65+17 16 80 28+10 9 45 13 IR 33 

WILL CONNORS 1264 9 FEB 18 1+3 - - 1+3 - - - - - 19+10 2 10 18+10 2 10 1 - - 16 IR 9 

CHRIS COSGRAVE 1305 26 MAR 22 1+1 1 5 1+1 1 5 - - - 2+2 1 5 2+2 1 5 - - - 2 - 

MAX DEEGAN 1256 3 DEC 16 4 - - 4 - - - - - 47+41 24 120 44+29 22 110 3+12 2 10 9 IR 2 

BRIAN DEENY 1306 23 APR 22 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - 2+2 - - 2+2 - - - - - - - 

CAELAN DORIS 1268 28 APR 18 3 - - 3 - - - - - 50+8 8 40 36+6 6 30 14+2 2 10 5 IR 23 

CORMAC FOLEY 1299 24 APR 21 1+3 1 5 1+3 1 5 - - - 3+6 2 10 3+6 2 10 - - - 2 - 

CIARAN FRAWLEY 1265 17 FEB 18 2+2 - 9 2+2 - 9 - - - 33+27 7 188 30+19 5 172 3+8 2 16 6 - 

TADHG FURLONG 1220 1 NOV 13 1 - - 1 - - - - - 86+42 10 50 48+34 3 15 38+8 7 35 7 IR 63 

JAMISON GIBSON-PARK 1247 2 SEP 16 - - - - - - - - - 60+56 22 110 49+30 15 75 11+26 7 35 2 IR 23 

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

CIAN HEALY 1142 5 MAY 07 1+2 - - 1+2 - - - - - 161+91 30 150 94+58 16 80 65+32 13 65 4 IR 121 

ROBBIE HENSHAW 1251 8 OCT 16 4+1 1 5 4+1 1 5 - - - 70+3 17 85 33+2 8 40 37+1 9 45 3 IR 61 

JASON JENKINS 1310 17 SEP 22 6+1 2 10 6+1 2 10 - - - 6+1 2 10 6+1 2 10 - - - 4 SA 1 

DAVE KEARNEY 1158 16 MAY 09 5 2 10 5 2 10 - - - 155+23 54 270 129+16 47 235 25+6 7 35 1 IR 19 

HUGO KEENAN 1253 5 NOV 16 - - - - - - - - - 41+3 9 45 28+3 5 25 13 4 20 2 IR 25 

RONAN KELLEHER 1277 22 FEB 19 2+1 - - 2+1 - - - - - 31+8 13 65 18+6 11 55 13+2 2 10 10 IR 18 

JORDAN LARMOUR 1258 2 SEP 17 3 - - 3 - - - - - 67+10 27 135 43+7 20 100 24+3 7 35 5 IR 30 

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

JAMES LOWE 1262 2 DEC 17 - - - - - - - - - 63+2 47 235 39+1 28 140 24+1 19 95 2 IR 15 

JOE MCCARTHY 1303 29 JAN 22 1+2 - - 1+2 - - - - - 9+5 1 5 9+2 1 5 0+3 - - 5 IR 1 

NICK MCCARTHY 1241 19 DEC 15 0+5 - - 0+5 - - - - - 9+42 5 25 9+36 5 25 0+6 - - 11 - 

TADGH MCELROY 1312 28 OCT 22 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - - - 


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 

LUKE MCGRATH 1206 5 MAY 12 7 3 15 7 3 15 - - - 121+61 44 220 86+49 36 180 35+12 8 40 3 IR 19 

JOHN MCKEE 1307 23 APR 22 1+5 2 10 1+5 2 10 - - - 3+6 2 10 3+6 2 10 - - - 1 - 

MICHAEL MILNE 1279 28 SEP 19 0+3 1 5 0+3 1 5 - - - 1+19 3 15 1+19 3 15 - - - 1 - 

MARTIN MOLONEY 1300 24 APR 21 0+3 - - 0+3 - - - - - 2+8 - - 2+8 - - - - - - - 

ROSS MOLONY 1233 20 FEB 15 7+1 - - 7+1 - - - - - 89+58 5 25 79+43 4 20 10+15 1 5 24 - 

BEN MURPHY 1309 21 MAY 22 - - - - - - - - - 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - - - 

CHARLIE NGATAI 1311 17 SEP 22 5+2 - - 5+2 - - - - - 5+2 - - 5+2 - - - - - - NZ 1 

JAMIE OSBORNE 1294 30 JAN 21 3 - - 3 - - - - - 16+6 1 5 16+6 1 5 - - - 17 - 

JIMMY O'BRIEN 1272 23 NOV 18 5 - - 5 - - - - - 48+10 16 84 39+9 10 54 9+1 6 30 7 IR 3 

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

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

MAX O'REILLY 1291 2 JAN 21 1 - - 1 - - - - - 9+1 1 5 9+1 1 5 - - - 9 - 

SCOTT PENNY 1271 23 NOV 18 4 1 5 4 1 5 - - - 38+7 24 120 38+7 24 120 - - - 3 - 

ANDREW PORTER 1246 2 SEP 16 3+2 1 5 3+2 1 5 - - - 44+52 15 75 32+33 11 55 12+19 4 20 3 IR 48 

GARRY RINGROSE 1237 12 SEP 15 4+1 2 10 4+1 2 10 - - - 104+3 32 168 64+2 21 113 40+1 11 55 3 IR 47 

RHYS RUDDOCK 1167 6 DEC 09 4 2 10 4 2 10 - - - 160+54 14 70 122+35 12 60 37+17 2 10 4 IR 27 

ROB RUSSELL 1302 3 OCT 21 5+1 6 30 5+1 6 30 - - - 8+3 6 30 8+3 6 30 - - - 1 - 

CHARLIE RYAN - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

JAMES RYAN 1259 2 SEP 17 2+2 - - 2+2 - - - - - 54+8 3 15 29+3 1 5 25+5 2 10 22 IR 48 

JOHNNY SEXTON 1127 27 JAN 06 2+1 1 26 2+1 1 26 - - - 158+29 27 1640 91+22 14 883 65+7 12 726 2 IR 109 

DAN SHEEHAN 1286 23 OCT 20 5 6 30 5 6 30 - - - 14+20 22 110 13+13 19 95 1+7 3 15 1 IR 13 

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

ALEX SOROKA 1296 28 FEB 21 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 2+4 - - 2+4 - - - - - - - 

CHARLIE TECTOR 1314 28 OCT 22 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - - - 

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

LIAM TURNER 1287 23 OCT 20 3 - - 3 - - - - - 7+2 - - 7+2 - - - - - - - 

JOSH VAN DER FLIER 1228 11 OCT 14 3 1 5 3 1 5 - - - 93+24 19 95 55+18 9 45 38+6 10 50 3 IR 45 

ALEX SOROKA 1296 28 FEB 21 1+2 - - 1+2 - - - - - 2+3 - - 2+3 - - - - - - - 

DEVIN TONER 1128 27 JAN 06 6+8 - - 6+5 - - 0+3 - - 212+68 4 20 146+47 4 20 63+21 - - 63 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 15+1 7 35 7+1 1 5 8 6 30 90+24 18 90 52+18 8 40 38+6 10 50 4 IR 43 

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 50.00% 1 - - 1 - - - - - 64 9 63 8 1 1 94 77.66% 

ROSS BYRNE 82.61% 17 2 - 17 2 - - - - 271 92 1 212 63 1 59 29 - 463 78.40% 

CIARAN FRAWLEY 100.00% 3 1 - 3 1 - - - - 57 13 - 54 13 - 3 - - 84 83.33% 

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

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

JOHNNY SEXTON 76.92% 9 1 - 9 1 - - - - 274 308 11 138 172 7 129 132 4 727 80.06% 


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Bank of Ireland 

Match Day Mascots 

Gus 

Morrissey 

Age: 8 

School: Divine Word, Marley Grange 

Class: 3rd Class 

Hobbies and interests : Plays Rugby with St Mary’s RFC, 

enjoys Gaelic football and plays for Ballinteer St John’s 

GAA club. Also plays the Ukulele! 

Andrew 

McNally 

Age: 10 

School: St Michael’s Junior School 

Class: 4th Class 

Hobbies: Rugby, Soccer, Tennis, Guitar 

Favourite Player: Josh van der Flier 

Favourite player: Johnny Sexton 


Squads 

matchday 

15 

14 

13 

12 

11 

10 

9 

Hugo KEENAN 

Jimmy O’BRIEN 

Garry RINGROSE [C] 

Jamie OSBORNE 

James LOWE 

Ross BYRNE 

Jamison GIBSON-PARK 

FULL BACK 

RIGHT WING 

OUTSIDE CENTRE 

INSIDE CENTRE 

LEFT WING 

FLY HALF 

SCRUM HALF 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Cian HEALY 

Rónan KELLEHER 

Michael ALA’ALATOA 

Jason JENKINS 

James RYAN 

Ryan BAIRD 

Josh VAN DER FLIER 

Jack CONAN 

LOOSE HEAD PROP 

HOOKER 

TIGHT HEAD PROP 

SECOND ROW 

SECOND ROW 

BLINDSIDE FLANKER 

OPENSIDE FLANKER 

NUMBER 8 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

Dan SHEEHAN 

Andrew PORTER 

Tadhg FURLONG 

Ross MOLONY 

Caelan DORIS 

Nick McCARTHY 

Charlie TECTOR 

Liam TURNER 

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officials 

REFEREE: CHRISTOPHE RIDLEY (RFU, 2ND COMPETITION GAME) 

ASSISTANT REFEREE: OISIN QUINN (IRFU) 

ASSISTANT REFEREE: KIERAN BARRY (IRFU) 

TMO: ROWAN KITT (RFU) 

FULL BACK 

Michael LOWRY 15 

RIGHT WING 

OUTSIDE CENTRE 

INSIDE CENTRE 

LEFT WING 

FLY HALF 

SCRUM HALF 

Ethan McILROY 

James HUME 

Stuart McCLOSKEY 

Stewart MOORE 

Billy BURNS 

John COONEY 

14 

13 

12 

11 

10 

9 

LOOSE HEAD PROP 

HOOKER 

TIGHT HEAD PROP 

SECOND ROW 

SECOND ROW 

BLINDSIDE FLANKER 

OPENSIDE FLANKER 

NUMBER 8 

Andy WARWICK 

Tom STEWART 

Marty MOORE 

Alan O’CONNOR 

Kieran TREADWELL 

Iain HENDERSON [C] 

Marcus REA 

Nick TIMONEY 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

REPLACEMENT 

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Rob HERRING 

Callum REID 

Tom O’TOOLE 

Sam CARTER 

Duane VERMEULEN 

Nathan DOAK 

Jacob STOCKDALE 

Matty REA 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23

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offical leinster 

supporters club 

OLSC UPDATE 

SUPPORTERS CLUB 

OLSC travel GUIDE 

HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP 2022/23 

It has been great to be back 

in packed out RDS & Aviva 

Stadiums, as we now head 

into the next block of Leinster 

Rugby games, that include 

Interprovincials, URC & Heineken 

Champions Cup matches. With a 

number of away games over the 

next few months, the OLSC have 

been busy with helpful travel 

information & services to help 

us bring the #seaofblue to away 

grounds 

OLSC AIRPORT TRANSFER 

BUS TO LE HAVRE FOR 

RACING 92 AWAY GAME 

Tickets are now on sale for the 

OLSC Airport Bus Transfer Service 

for our Heineken Champions Cup 

away fixture in December Vs 

Racing 92 (in Le Havre). 

Le Havre Airport Transfer Bus – Tickets 

can be bought on the OLSC website 

and the cost of this bus transfer will be 

€40.00pp each way. 

The return OLSC transfer Bus from Paris 

Beauvais Airport direct to/from Le Havre 

City Centre will operate on the following 

dates & times: 

• Paris Beauvais Airport to Le Havre: 

Saturday 10th December – 9.30 am 

pick up 

(This will service the Ryanair Flight 

FR8018 arriving at 9.00 am) 

• Le Havre to Paris Beauvais Airport: 

Sunday 11th December – 11.45 am 

pick up 

(This will service the Ryanair Flight 

FR8004 departing at 4.35 pm) 

Airport Transfer Bus Tickets can be 

bought on the OLSC website. 

OLSC TRAVEL GUIDE – 

HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS 

CUP 2022/23 

Getting to see Leinster Rugby 

on the road in the Heineken 

Champions Cup this season is 

more affordable than you think! 

The OLSC has now produced a Travel 

Guide with helpful travel information 

to help us bring the #seaofblue to Le 

Havre & Gloucester in Europe. At the 

time of writing, there are still some good 

reasonable value available with flights 

etc to travel to Le Havre & Gloucester 

You can download 

the Travel Guide 

from the OLSC 

website. 

(Details of the 

Airport Bus 

OLSC Travel GUIDE 

Heineken Champions 

Cup 2022/23 

Transfer Services for the Gloucester away 

fixture will be available early next week) 

OLSC SUPPORTERS BUS 

TO MUNSTER 

We are pleased to announce that 

tickets are now on sale for the 

supporters’ bus to the upcoming 

away URC Interprovincial against 

Munster (26 December, Thomond 

Park) 

With thanks to the official Leinster Rugby 

partner, Aircoach, tickets are now on sale 

through Eventbrite and full details, prices, 

departure times, and locations are on the 

OLSC website. 

Match tickets are available to purchase 

from Ticketmaster. The OLSC recommends 

buying seats in the East Terraces & East 

Stand to keep the blue together. 

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As the Vodafone Women’s Interpro Series comes sharply into view in the next 

few months, Leinster Rugby will focus on some of the unsung heroes making 

the girls and the women’s game tick across the 12 counties of Leinster. 

These are their stories and 

their work. These are, The 

Women of Leinster Rugby 

SAMANTHA WAFER 

BY DES BERRY 

It was an 

ordinary 

Wednesday 

night on 

September 

26th. An 

extraordinary 

one for 

Samantha 

Wafer. 

She would have had her loyalty 

divided were it not for the fact 

she was the Team Manager of 

South-East in the Bank of Ireland 

Leinster Sarah Robinson (U18) 

Cup in Carlow. 

For, older daughter Aoife, the Ireland 

international flanker, was already cutting 

her coaching teeth with the Metro 

forwards and Orla was packing down at 

number eight for South-East. 

Samantha is one of the busiest volunteers 

in the province as a coach to the 

South-East Lions, as a Manager of the 

South-East and Leinster U18s and as a 

loving mother to her two daughters of the 

back row. 

“I would say rugby is central to our lives. 

But, it certainly didn’t start out that way,” 

she says. 

Sixteen years ago, Samantha and Aidan 

Wafer took their sons Michael and 

Sean down to Gorey Rugby Club to try 

something new. 

“We were just parents on the sideline. 

A shout went out for help in the club’s 

kitchen for the after-match hospitality. 

That is where I started.” 

Sons Michael and Sean made their 

way through the system at Gorey, Sean 

eventually playing for the Leinster U18 

Clubs in 2017. 

In the beginning, Samantha was not 

inclined to give in to Aoife’s wishes to 

follow her brothers into the game, citing 

“the roughness” as a reason to stay away 

from it. 

“Aoife wouldn’t let it go. She kept at me 

and, one day, I remember her saying to 

me, ‘wouldn’t I be better out on the pitch 

rather than standing here in the cold?’ 

“I realised this six-year-old was making 

sense. The next session, she was out on 

the pitch with the lads and that was it. 

“Every child should be encouraged 

to take up sports. It doesn’t make a 

difference which one it is. They should 

have a wide base, try everything and find 

something that they love.” 

A while later Aidan, Samantha's husband 

became the minis co-ordinator. The 

Sunday morning ritual for six years was 

to either be at the clubhouse preparing 

for training, playing in blitzes or travelling 

to other clubs. 

“I had no background in rugby. None. 

We were a pure GAA family. Aidan is a 

Aoife Wafer 


Ballygarrett Realt Na Mara man. I would 

have been a Starlights, Rapparees girl in 

Enniscorthy.” 

From the kitchen to coaching and up to 

managing, Samantha has not lost sight of 

the impact of the game. 

“Rugby is definitely at the heart of our 

lives. Sometimes, you might even think it 

has taken over our lives,” she admits. 

“There used to be a time when all our five 

kids, Michael, Sean, Aoife, Conor and 

Orla were involved in youths rugby. 

“You would go to the school gates on a 

Friday and you would hear other parents, 

‘God, it is great the weekend is here, 

isn’t it?’ 

“‘I have to get to four or five different 

matches that are being played ‘God 

Knows Where’ and I’m thinking ‘the 

weekend is here. Oh my God!’” she 

laughs. 

There came a point when Samantha 

decided to take her interest inside the 

white lines to sample the game that had 

captivated her children. 

“In 2009, I started playing rugby when I 

was 40, a mid-life crisis some would say,” 

she laughs. 

“A young fella Tommy Martin came into 

the club kitchen one day where there was 

a crowd of mammies making sandwiches 

for the teams. 

“He wanted to put up a poster to start a 

Women’s team. It didn’t matter what age 

they were or how fit they were, he would 

get them ready to play. 

“When we suggested we might show up, 

he laughed at us. That was like waving 

a red flag at a bull. I didn’t want some 

young whipper-snapper telling me I 

couldn’t do something.” 

But, it didn’t go down well with everyone. 

“I didn’t tell any of the kids I was taking 

up rugby. I went training. I didn’t need the 

defib, or anything else, to get me through 

the session. I came home, boots in hand, 

covered in dirt, beaming 

“When I walked in, my oldest son 

Michael saw me. ‘You didn’t?’ he said. ‘I 

did,’ I said. 

Orla Wafer 

“He was at that stage when parents were 

an embarrassment. He was disgusted. 

I said, ‘better again, Michael, we’re 

training on the same night, so we can 

carpool.’” 

Samantha was hooked and it wasn’t long 

before sons Sean and Michael were 

behind a new passion. 

“I do remember coming in after the first 

match, sitting down and realising, ‘now, 

I know why the kids love this game so 

much.’ 

“Would you believe, when I took up 

rugby at the age of 40, it was the first 

team sport I had played in my life.” 

Almost a decade later, Samantha hung 

up the boots for good. By then, she was 

deeply embedded in volunteerism, not 

just at Gorey. 

“Even though we were a GAA family, as 

children, we were taken to all matches. 

The boys were encouraged to play, but 

the girls were left on the sideline. We 

weren’t encouraged to take part. I made 

a promise to myself that our girls would 

be given every opportunity to play sport.” 

Samantha stayed true to that promise. In 

time, rugby became the family focus. 

“I just love everything about it. It doesn’t 

make a difference what shape you are or 

how fit you are, there is a place for you. It 

is the social aspect. It is everything about. 

“Even now when I am out training the 

girls, I think of taking the boots out of the 

press again. Reality soon sinks in and I 

know that won’t happen,” he says. 

In 2014, when Aoife had to leave 

the boys team and play with the 

girls, Samantha decided to dabble in 

coaching. 

At present, she coaches the South- 

East Lions U18s, an amalgamation of 

Enniscorthy and Wexford rugby clubs, for 

one night a week. 

She is the Manager to the South-East 

squad which competes in the Sarah 

Robinson Cup, an area competition 

that serves as a testing ground for those 

aiming to wear the blue of Leinster and 

even green of Ireland. 

Physically, that involves a one-hour drive 

to Carlow, two hours of training and the 

return journey for one night a week. 

On the Leinster front, she is the Team 

Manager of the U18s which entails a 

heavy workload from March to October, 

including administration, trials, serious 

summer training for three days-a-week in 

The King’s Hospital school, ranging from 

the beginning of July to the middle of 

September. 

“It starts out as a group of 40 and this 

is whittled down to around 30 when 

all the preparation is complete,” shares 

Samantha. 

“You spend so much time with the girls on 

the South-East and the Leinster panels that 

you get to know them, you do develop a 

connection with them.” 

The administration workload is substantial 

and, perhaps, the ultimate reward comes 

from the international recognition won by 

Aoife and Orla. 

“I have nothing to do for Ireland. I am just 

a mammy on the sideline, trying to get to 

all the matches.” 

It just so happened that Aoife and Orla 

made their Ireland debuts on the same 

weekend in April. 

Samantha flew over to Scotland to watch 

Orla play for the Ireland U18s against 

France and caught an early flight to join 

Aidan in seeing Aoife make her senior 

debut off the bench against Italy. 

It is at special times like that when the 

reward is worth all the commitment. 


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As Official Clean Air Partner to Leinster Rugby, 

Novaerus by McGreals Health provides both squad and 

management with safe, clean, indoor air, 24/7. 

Clean air indoors gives Leinster the edge, helping to 

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GETTING 

We check social media 

for the latest views 

and thoughts across 

SOCIAL 

the 12 counties 


WHERE 

ARE 

THEY 

NOW? 

MICK BY DES BERRY 

KEARNEY 

THEN: Mick 

earned 51 caps 

for Leinster 

between 2015 and 

2019. 

NOW: He lives 

with his partner 

Emma and their 

baby son Jack in 

Balgriffin, on 

the northside of 

Dublin working 

as an account 

executive for 

YuLife. 


Dreams really did come 

true in the Kearney house. 

Niall (34) and little brother Mick 

(31) both made it into the 

ruthless business of professional 

sport. 

“Dad (Joe) was trying to 

figure out between two sons, 

which would be into golf and 

which would be into rugby,” 

says retired second row Mick. 

“I landed on rugby and Niall 

landed on golf and I have to say 

Niall has come out of it looking 

better,” he laughs. 

“We were pretty lucky in the 

environment we grew up in. Dad set 

up his own business Celuplast building 

suppliers and has worked hard at it for 

the last 35 years. 

“I like to think we followed his lead, in 

terms of work rate and trying to achieve 

something.” 

Mick cites Niall as someone who 

consistently inspired him, turning 

professional in 2009, the year he played 

Walker Cup for Great Britain & Ireland, 

going on to secure a European Tour card 

and winning the Irish PGA Championship 

in 2014 and 2015. 

He followed suit in 2011: “I wasn’t able 

to hold a candle to yer man on the golf 

course. He was really focused and had a 

better temperament for it than me,” says 

Mick. 

“If I hit a bad shot, I would be holding 

onto it for the next four or five holes. 

There would be golf balls flying in every 

direction.” 

He had to learn to curb that tendency 

in rugby where a goldfish’s memory for 

mistakes is vital. The focus has to be on the 

next ball, not the last one. 

“That has never been truer than in the 

professional game now where the ‘next 

job’ mentality means you have to put 

aside what has just happened.” 

Mick played his underage rugby in 

Clontarf Rugby Club. Then, future teammates 

Collie O’Shea, Matt D’Arcy, Adrian 

Darcy, Ben Woods, Chris O’Brien moved 

to Belvedere, while he stayed on the 

clubs’ route into the professional game. 

“To be honest, going to a non-rugby 

playing school was great for me. I have 

no issue saying that I was driven by a bit 

of an inferiority complex,” he says. 

“It was a big driver for me throughout my 

school years. I had to give it my best from 

the clubs’ route, which was maybe seen 

as the road less travelled at the time. 


“I had complete tunnel vision. Leinster. 

Leinster. Leinster. It was all I wanted 

and all I thought about. That was it,” he 

shares. 

In 2011, Leinster wanted to wait and see 

how Mick got on at the U20 World Cup 

before making a decision on his future. 

He was invited to Connacht where 

Eric Elwood, Nigel Carolan and Dan 

McFarland put their case and Elwood 

offered a contract. There was a catch. It 

had to be signed within two weeks. 

“I just felt I needed to take the opportunity 

Connacht had guaranteed me, and I’m 

very grateful to them for it because I 

firmly believe that I wouldn’t have had the 

career I had, without it,” he says. 

“In hindsight, it was the best thing I have 

ever done. I believe that. They gave me 

proper exposure to professional games, 

which I’m not sure I would have gotten, 

even if there had been an opportunity in 

the academy in Leinster.” 

Four years on, Mick had gratefully 

gathered up 68 caps for Connacht. A 

chat with Matt O’Connor, Leo Cullen and 

Guy Easterby and a conversation with his 

family convinced him the time was right to 

live out his childhood dream. 

He wasn’t disappointed: “It was an 

unbelievable environment. 

“However, I ruptured my plantar plate, 

a ligament underneath the big toe, 

playing for Connacht against Munster in 

Thomond Park. 

“When I arrived at Leinster, I could only 

really show my professionalism around 

my rehab and my work ethic. I felt the 

only way I could endear myself to the 

lads was through keeping my head down 

and showing a positive attitude.” 

After six months of rehab, he finally 

played a game for Clontarf and promptly 

reinjured the ligament. 

It led to some darkly humorous moments, 

chatting to people on the street. 

“I hear you’re hurt. 

“That’s right.” 

“What’s wrong?” 

“It’s my big toe.” 

“It’s just your big toe, is it? Would you 

not just get on with it.” 

“I wish I could.” 

In February 2016, he 

was eventually able to 

get back into match 

shape, making his 

Leinster debut away to 

Cardiff in a horrendous 

snowstorm. 

“As a kid, I had dreamt of that moment. To 

finally get to do it was unreal,” he recalls. 

“Jack Conan, myself and Ed Byrne had 

gone through some dark days together 

rehabbing injuries. It was nice to sit 

with Jack in a winning dressing room, 

savouring the moment, and knowing that 

it wouldn’t be long before Ed returned. 

“Every time I pulled on the Leinster jersey, 

I absolutely loved it. It is the best feeling 

there is. You had your family in the stands. 

You had your community in the stands. 

“Everyone is so invested in it. That is the 

beauty of Leinster, I suppose, in that there 

are very few clubs like it around the world 

where 95% of the squad is homegrown. 

“It is a huge point of difference from 

the club,” Mick stresses. 

“The highlight of my time at 

Leinster was coming on in the 

quarter-final of the Champions 

Cup against Ulster in 2019. 

“There were 25 

minutes left in the 

game. The Aviva 

was heaving. 

The adrenalin 

was pumping. 

I managed to 

come on and 

put in a decent 


performance, with my family in the 

stands. 

“Off the back of a couple of seasons 

in which I struggled for form, had the 

toe injury twice and had both shoulders 

operated on, not to use those injuries as 

an excuse, it was something special to 

share in a win like that, with that group 

of lads. It was also my 50th cap. Which 

made it all the more special.” 

The 51st and final cap arrived against 

Treviso where a dislocated shoulder 

ended his time at Leinster. 

“I am a firm believer that the quickest 

way to the mind is through the body,” he 

declares. 

“When I was struggling, I would make 

my way to the gym to horse into a 

session. That was my way of dealing with 

disappointment when things weren’t going 

my way. 

“I’ve no regrets, but if I had my time 

again, I’d probably try and adopt a more 

balanced coping mechanism. 

“I’d ask any young players who are 

taking a similar approach, to put that 

energy into endeavours away from the 

game.” 

Two seasons at Zebre provided a better 

“perspective” on rugby and life, and also 

how the Irish system has put the provinces 

and Ireland in an incredible position to 

succeed. 

“I was away on holiday with my girlfriend 

Emma when Dan McFarland’s name 

came up on my phone,” he says. 

“I immediately presumed he had either 

meant to call Mick Kearney, the ex-Ireland 

Team Manager, or just sat on his phone. 

“Thankfully, it was neither. Ulster had one 

fit second row and Dan offered me a 

three-month deal. 

“It is funny. When you think you are 

finished, and you get one last chance, it 

gives you a totally different perspective. 

It was one of the most enjoyable years of 

my career. 

“You are not thinking, I need to do well 

today to earn a new contract. You want 

to do well because you know that you’re 

days in a professional environment are 

numbered. 

“They are a great group of lads up there. 

Like all good rugby teams, they are made 

up of good people. 

“I was very keen to play for a club 

where everyone was pushing in the same 

direction,” he states. 

“It was just nice to go somewhere and 

be involved in a winning team and be 

around people single-minded in their 

focus on preparation and playing.” 

On July 4th, his partner Emma gave birth 

to baby Jack, leading Mick to understand 

how sleep deprivation is used as a form 

of torture. 

He has just started a new position 

as an account executive for YuLife, a 

life insurance provider-cum-wellbeing 

platform, designed to improve the lives of 

its policyholders, not just monetise them. 

The transition away from rugby has 

been smoothed by the memories and 

friendships he carries into the next chapter 

of his life. 


OFF 

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Previously a student at the 

University of Gloucestershire, 

Ridley began refereeing 

professionally in 2016 after 

injury whilst playing for 

Leicester. He has been a regular 

referee in Premiership Rugby 

and has also refereed in the 

European Rugby Champions 

Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup. 

He made his debut refereeing 

in the 2021–22 United Rugby 

Championship, refereeing the 

match between Munster and 

Leinster - he seems keen on these 

big derbies. 

For the refereeing enthusiasts amongst 

you there is a great podcast with 

Christophe on the Sport Stories Podcast 

from 2021. A great quote from him 

in this podcast which I think we can 

all apply to refereeing and possibly 

everyday life is “Its perfectly normal 

to have doubt and perfectly normal to 

think you have it sussed”. Best of luck 

today to Christophe and his team. 

Referees 

Corner 

BY DAN WALLACE 

Welcome to another edition of Referees 

Corner and a very warm welcome to 

today’s game. The match referee for 

this game is French born, RFU referee 

Christophe Ridley. He is ably assisted by 

Oisin Quinn and Kieran Barry. 

Congratulations to Tappe 

Henning, winner of the World 

Rugby Referee Award in 

recognition of his contribution to 

refereeing both on and off the 

field. 


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. 

He is the current head of match officials 

at URC. Henning will be responsible 

for overseeing match official selections 

for URC fixtures, leading the review 

and analysis process alongside the five 

union referee managers from across 

the URC and identifying new refereeing 

talent. The referees themselves remain 

contracted to their own Unions in 

the URC, rather than being centrally 

governed and managed. 

Congratulations also to some of 

our new referees who recently 

passed their trials and became 

full members of the Leinster 

Rugby Referees. 

They are Euan O’Riordan, Eze Olivera 

Roldan, Fergus Balfe, Owen Keane 

and Caoimhe Morris. These referees 

attended our new referee course 

in August and attended a series of 

workshops in Leinster following on 

from that, under the guidance of Sean 

Gallagher. They then received a trial 

pass and started to referee each 

week where they were evaluated and 

coached and finally refereed their trial 

game. So what next for them? After 

graduating from the trial panel and 

attending a wide range of courses, they 

will join the Level 1 and Level 2 panels, 

which is for referees with medium to 

long term potential where they will 

referee up to Junior League level. They 

will also attend a number of coaching 

workshops and hopefully move up the 

ranks like Robbie Jenkinson, who we 

interviewed last week. 

This month’s Area Meetings will 

wrap up 2022 for our referees and 

evaluators. They take place right across 

the province in Mullingar, Enniscorthy, 

Ashbourne and Lansdowne rugby 

clubs and the Silken Thomas public 

house in Kildare where the North 

Midlands refereeing family will also 

have a celebration of the year gone. 

This month we focus on Set Piece with 

Mitch Enderby, the recently engaged 

Glenn Sheridan (congrats Glenn), John 

Carvill, Paul O’Connor and Colm Roche 

talking through our setup routine and 

management of the scrum and lineout, 

which is especially important now that 

the winter weather has arrived. 

The Heineken Champions Cup 

kicks off next week. It is great 

to see some Leinster referees 

in action with their IRFU 

counterparts. Brian MacNeice 

will be in the TMO box for Stade 

Rochelais versus Northampton 

Saints - Andy Brace (pictured 

above) is in the middle with Peter 

Martin and Oisin Quinn. Andre 

Cole is AR1 for Castres v Exeter 

with Frank Murphy in the middle 

and Dan Carson on the other 

line. 

In the Challenge Cup - Dermot Blake 

is on the line for Stade Francais versus 

Benetton Rugby with Eoghan Cross in 

the middle and Jonny Erskine on the 

other line. Leo Colgan is the TMO. 

Finally, Robbie Jenkinson makes his 

Challenge Cup debut on the line for 

USAP versus Bristol Bears with Chris 

Busby in the middle and Dan Carson on 

the other line. Olly Hodges is a TMO. A 

very busy weekend for Leinster and Irish 


ank of ireland 

MATCHDAY MINIS 

Carlow RFC 

Players: Thomas Brennan, Alex Scibor, James Murnane, 

Michael George, Tommy Kane, Tom Keatley, Thomas Buckley, 

Harry Buitelaar, Sam Neale, Henry Julian, Theo Neale, 

Ben O Byrne, James Keogh, Andy Connors, Yuri Rodrigues, 

Cadhla Ralph, Cillian Staunton, Tadhg Kane, Páraic Kane, 

Tim Meaney, Christopher Sutton, Padraig Agar, Tiarnan Doyle, 

Bevan Petersen, Logan Leonard, Adam Murnane 

Coaches: John Julian, Stephan Petersen, 

Padraic George and John Munnelly 

Cill Dara RFC 

Players: Donnacha Finn, Paddy Doyle, Paddy Mahon, 

Cillian Dohery, Bobby Hegarty, Nathan Magee, 

Tristan Gielecinski, Cathal Tiernan, Cormac Stynes, 

Óisin Moore, Ronan Finnegan, Con Murphy, Ruairi Lonegan, 

Finn Crawford, Conn Duggan, Conor Gilmartin Óisin Conway, 

Ethan Brannock, Daniel Wall, Harry Sixsmith, Joshua Gielink, 

Alfie Mulpeter, Noah Burke, George Looney, Max Doyle 

Coaches: Ciaran Clarges, Ola McCullagh, 

Anabel Finnegan and Enda Finn 

Wexford RFC 

Players: Fionn Wilson, Darragh Pettitt, Jimmy Kennedy, 

Ben Thomas, Bobby O’Connor, Ryan Parle, Alex Scallan, 

Luke Scallan, Jamie O’Brien, Martin Raleigh, Felix Byrne, 

Cathal Kennedy, Killian Sweetman, Cillian Mooney, 

Will Dunphy, Jack Nolan, Micheal Sinnott, 

David John Wade, Kelan Crosbie 

Coaches: Alan Scallan and Felix Jones 

Skerries RFC 

Players: Zac Farrelly, Aidan O’Donoghue, Evan Keogh, 

John Loughnane, Marcas Kevitt, Tiernan Butler, Liam Rooney, 

Hugh Carabini, Flaithri Keane Hernon, Jack Coetzee, 

Daniel Rankin, Danny O’Brien, Scott Lawless, Luca Markwell, 

Simon Cole, Jack Murphy, Devin Farrell, Darragh Steele, 

Cillian Fitzgerald, Ryan O’Kane 

Coaches: Jonathan Farrelly and Ian Butler 


Derick Turner - The 

one constant at 

Longford Rugby Club 

In 1967, a young Derick Turner, 

along with a group of like-minded 

people, set about reforming 

Longford Rugby Club. There had 

been a history of rugby in the 

county going back to the 1800’s 

but if fell by the wayside during 

the war years. 

In those early years the club played on 

a field borrowed from a local farmer 

and players changed at the back of 

the Annaly Hotel, where a single cold 

shower and barrel of cold water were the 

only facilities enjoyed by the players. 

Longford RFC have come a very long 

way, and while one person can never 

be credited with all that has happened 

throughout its development, Derick would 

be the first to acknowledge the help 

from so many people over the years. 

However, there is no doubt that he has 

driven the development of the Club, both 

on and off the pitch over the past 55 

years and continues to play and active 

role in day-to-day affairs as a member of 

the board and sitting on the development 

and fundraising committees. 

Over the 55 years, Derick has served 

as Club Captain, first team coach and 

Club President as well as holding various 

positions on the executive committee. 

Derick instigated the introduction of the 

youths and minis section back in the 70’s. 

He also pushed on the development of 

women’s rugby while heavily involved in 

getting the Club to provide coaching in 

the schools throughout the county. 

He has been a mentor to so many young 

players who have come through the club 

over the years. He is always willing to 

provide help and encouragement, not 

just on the rugby front, but if anyone had 

a problem, he would always be willing 

to try and help them resolve it if he could 

at all. 

Turner would collect players who had 

difficulty making training or make sure to 

get them back to work or collage after 

games regardless of if he had to go out 

of his way, the welfare of the players has 

always been his main concern. 

On the Club facilities front, Derick 

Turner has been involved in all major 

developments at the club in his 55-year 

involvement. From the humble beginnings 

in the borrowed field mentioned 

above, the club now enjoys some of 

the best facilities of any sporting club 

in the country. The club has their own 

grounds with two grass Prunty pitches, 

one of which is fully floodlit. There is 

a new state of the art 4G pitch, again, 

floodlit to televised match standard. 

The clubhouse facilities boast separate 

men’s and women’s dressing rooms, 

a functional gym, a dedicated youth 

centre and comfortable clubhouse bar 

including restaurant and conference 

facilities. 

While a lot of people have come and 

gone since 1967, Derick Turner is, to 

this day, the one constant at Longford 

Rugby Club, be it driving development, 

encouraging players to join, fundraising, 

marking pitches, tidying up the grounds 

or whatever has been required. 

Derick has always been to the forefront 

and shows no sign of letting up. 

Longford Rugby Club is a great asset, 

not just to club members, but to the wider 

community! 

The club’s presence in the heart of the 

community and county, is due to the 

great work and foresight of Derick 

Turner. 

We are proud and delighted to see 

Derick Turner awarded the Hall of Fame 

Award at Longford Sports Star Awards 

2022. 


North Meath thriving 

post-pandemic 

Playing in front of a packed RDS 

during the halftime interval of 

a Leinster game is one of the 

highlights of a junior's rugby 

career. It is no different for North 

Meath's U12s last weekend, not 

least because it was the first time 

since the pre-pandemic era that 

the club were fortunate to be 

selected for the honour. 

Formed in 2007, North Meath RFC is 

one of the youngest clubs in the country. 

Based in Kells, the club has a wide 

catchment area covering towns and 

villages like Nobber, Oldcastle, Moynalty 

and Kilmanhamwood. 

They have a thriving minis section with 

teams for boys and girls of all ages from 

6 to 12, youth teams for boys and girls 

and a senior men's team currently sitting 

top of their division in the Leinster league. 

In a short time, the club has been 

fortunate enough to win a number 

of honours at both senior and youth 

levels including Provincial Towns Cups, 

Jenkinson Cups and Leinster Leagues. 

The club also fielded a second XV at 

senior men's level for the very first time 

last season. The team went on to win the 

Michael Dunne Cup. 

The club philosophy is based on full 

participation. All players get on the pitch. 

Participation extends to parents, whether 

that is coaching a team, running the 

clubhouse, managing the club's social 

media or serving on the club committee. 

There is a role for anyone looking to get 

involved. 

In terms of rugby, they strive to play 

a running game with an emphasis on 

'space not face' and an encouragement 

to be expansive and expressive. Bravery 

is not just tackling the big guy but running 

that double dummy scissors as the clock 

turns into the red. 

Like all clubs, the enforced break caused 

by the pandemic took its toll on North 

Meath but thanks to the unwavering 

support of sponsors, the Friends of 

North Meath members and coaches 

and players, the club is now back and 

thriving. 

There is no finer sight or sound on a 

Sunday morning than a mini rugby blitz 

as teams of young boys and girls from all 

over North-East Leinster take to the field 

to emulate the rugby heroes they saw the 

day before playing for Leinster or Ireland. 

So it is gratifying to see the club's ground 

filled with kids and humming with activity 

once again. Hopes are high for this 

season that the club will go from strength 

to strength. 

If you would like to bring your children 

down to play rugby or are interested in 

helping out, please check out the club 

website at www.northmeathrugby.com 

or contact Nik Pratt on 0879 350 494 


Navan RFC: Youths 

Rugby Positive Impact! 

Juvenile rugby in Navan RFC on 

a formal organised basis has 

existed since the 1970’s. However 

youth/schoolboy teams were 

representing the club long before 

that point! 

In Autumn 1929 a couple of years after 

the clubs founding in September 1925, 

the club minutes record the formation of 

a ‘Boys’ team with a sub of two shillings. 

The date and ‘sub’ was significant in 

that it was not just simply for a Christmas 

vacation team. Also the name ‘Boys’ 

signified a local emphasis; ‘Schoolboys’ 

generally described boys who went to 

rugby affiliated schools in the immediate 

and surrounding areas. By September 

1935 the Schoolboy ‘sub’ had risen to 

five shillings (Senior Sub at the time was 

ten shillings). 

When the club purchased its first pitch 

at Balreask Old in 1962, club members 

started to organise a Schoolboy team 

with local schoolboys mainly from 

families/younger brothers of the club’s 

then current adult players. Friendly games 

were played against opposition such 

as Skerries, Drogheda clubs then later 

Balbriggan & Dublin schools. 

Juvenile rugby moved to being organised 

on a formal basis in the 1970’s with the 

formation of a Club Youths Committee. 

This followed on from the setting up of 

a 5-Area Leinster Branch Youths Sub 

Committee in 1975, the Branch required 

that each Club would appoint a Youth 

Co-Ordinator. 

In the 1970’s/80’s period, in addition 

to those members serving on the Youths 

Committee, many other club members 

(and their spouses!) mainly as parents of 

players, would have provided invaluable 

support. 

The benefits of the formal organised 

youths rugby with modern-day coaching 

practices made itself apparent in the 

following decade with players who 

started playing underage for the club 

in the 1970’s starting to come through 

to adult level. The U19 teams in the 

1980’s had success in the Thirds Towns 

Cup in 1985 & 1987. The same decade 

also saw St Patrick’s Classical School 

& St Ciaran’s Kells Community School 

becoming involved with rugby, helping 

the youth section build a larger pool of 

players in the area playing games more 

regularly. 

The late 1980’s produced some 

memorable victories for the club. In 1987 

the club had victory in the Towns Plate 

and in 1988, the Towns Cup was won. 

The team also contested its first senior 

cup match, having won through the 

preliminary rounds for the first time. The 

Towns Cup was won again in 1990 with 

thirteen of the players on that winning 

squad having started their playing career 

underage at Navan. 

The Club continued developing its 

underage teams and coaching structure 

providing constant competitive sides 

throughout the 1990’s winning Leinster & 

All-Ireland competitions at various levels. 

Since the turn of the Century, the club 

has enjoyed great success on the playing 

field, winning the U16 All-Ireland in 2002 

and the U18 All-Ireland the following 

year helping to eventually feed the Senior 

Men’s XV to AIL promotion in 2009. 

The 21st Century has also seen the 

formation & development of Senior 

Women’s Rugby in the club and with its 

growth the 2010s has seen youth girls 

rugby sides formed & thrive at U14, U16 

& U18 levels with Senior & Underage 

representative honours achieved for Club 

players for Leinster & Ireland in both XV’s 

& VII’s forms of the game. 

And it is with absolute delight that this 

season we are able to again field both 

Boys & Girls Youth teams at U14s, 16s & 

18s levels. In September, Navan RFC had 

a celebration night take place to mark 

21 years of Women’s Rugby at Balreask 

Old, with players past and present 

attending for an evening of recollection 

and looking forward to the future with 

excitement. 

With the continuing development of this 

historic club, a new era dawns for Navan 

Rugby Football club. 


COUNTRY IRELAND HOME GROUND KINGSPAN STADIUM FOUNDED 1879 CHAMPIONS X1 

last time out 

ulster rugby 36 

zebre parma 15 

FRI 25 NOV 2022 | ROUND 8 · URC | KINGSPAN STADIUM | AJ JACOBS (SARU) 

Ulster run in six tries 

in win over Zebre 

Ulster returned to action in the 

BKT United Rugby Championship 

with a bonus point victory over 

Zebre in front of a sold-out 

crowd at Kingspan Stadium last 

Friday night. 

ULSTER: (15-9): Stewart Moore, Ethan McIlroy, James Hume, Luke Marshall, Jacob Stockdale, 

Jake Flannery, Nathan Doak; 

(1-8): Callum Reid, Tom Stewart, Marty Moore, Cormac Izuchukwu, Sam Carter, Matty Rea, 

Marcus Rea, Duane Vermeulen (Captain). 

Replacements: John Andrew, Andy Warwick, Jeff Toomaga-Allen, Iain Henderson, David 

McCann, Michael McDonald, Angus Curtis, Ben Moxham. 

Tries: Tom Stewart (2), Matty Rea, Callum Reid, Stewart Moore, John Andrew 

Conversions: Nathan Doak (3) 

Yellow Cards: Sam Carter, Nathan Doak 

ZEBRE: (15-9): Lorenzo Pani, Jacopo Trulla, Richard Kriel, Enrico Lucchin (Captain), Simone 

Gesi, Geronimo Prisciantelli, Chris Cook 

(1-8): Juan Pitinari, Jacques Du Toit, Matteo Nocera, Matteo Nocera, Jan Uys, Andrea 

Zambonin, Guido Volpi, Giacomo Ferrari, Matt Kvesic 

Replacements: Marco Manfredi, Daniele Rimpelli, Riccardo Genovese, Leonard Krumov, 

Iacopo Bianchi, Ratko Jelic, Joey Caputo, Erich Cronjé 

Tries: Lorenzo Pani, Erich Cronjé 

Conversions: Geronimo Prisciantelli 

The home team took only four 

minutes to give the supporters 

something to cheer about. After 

the Italians collapsed the first 

maul attempt, on attempt number 

two, Tom Stewart found a way 

to squirm his way down the lefthand 

side and reach out for the 

opening try. 

Four minutes later, Ulster scored their 

second try. Loosehead Callum Reid put 

Ulster on the front foot with a scintillating 

sidestep before fellow prop Marty 

Moore found James Hume with an 

equally impressive offload. Hume linked 

with Nathan Doak and Matty Rea who 

galloped in for the try. 

Geronimo Prisciantelli scored Zebre’s first 

points of the day with a penalty, before 

the home team were reduced to 14 men, 

as Sam Carter was sent to the sin bin. 

It didn’t take long for the team from 

Parma to capitalise on the advantage. 

Off the maul, Zebre moved the ball wide 

with full back Lorenzo Pani showing 

his pace to get on the outside of Jacob 

Stockdale before throwing a clever 

dummy to dart in for their opening try. 


It went unconverted bringing the scores 

back to 12 - 8. 

Ulster responded well to the try, and saw 

Calum Reid power over for Ulster’s third 

try, giving a 19-8 lead just before the 

break. 

With the clock in the red, Ulster earned 

the bonus point, as Stewart Moore 

crossed the line with ease. Doak 

converted to bring the half time score to 

26-8. 

Iain Henderson came off the bench for 

his first appearance of the season early 

in the second half, and had an immediate 

impact, as calling the line out to himself, 

he built a strong platform for Tom Stewart 

to touch down off the back for his second 

score 

On 65 minutes, and with Tom Stewart 

off the field, his replacement at hooker, 

John Andrew, picked up where he left off, 

as the Ulster pack set up another rolling 

maul for Andrew to score their sixth try of 

the night. 

However, the Italians did have the 

last laugh, as the TMO confirmed that 

replacement Erich Cronjé had done 

enough to stretch out and score on the 

line on the final whistle. Prisciantelli 

converted to complete the 36-15 

scoreline. 


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Dan McFarland 

Head Coach 

Dan McFarland was named Head Coach 

of Ulster Rugby ahead of the 2018/2019 

season, joining from the Scottish Rugby 

Union. The 50-year-old finished his 

playing career with Connacht, before 

beginning his coaching career in 

Galway, where he stayed for almost a 

decade. 

McFarland also spent spells coaching the 

Emerging Ireland and Irish Wolfhounds 

teams, before moving to Scotland 

working under Gregor Townsend at 

Glasgow Warriors and the Scotland 

national team. 

Iain Henderson 

Captain 

Iain Henderson was named Ulster Rugby 

captain ahead of the 2019/2020 

season. He has made over 130 

appearances for his native province and 

came off the bench last week against 

Zebre Parma for his first appearance of 

the season. 

Henderson has 68 caps for Ireland, 

making his debut in 2012. He had the 

honour of captaining Ireland against 

France in the 2021 Six Nations, The 

30-year-old has also been selected for 

the British and Irish Lions, playing on ten 

occasions across the 2017 and 2021 

Tours of New Zealand and South Africa 

respectively. 

ulster squad 

FORWARDS 

JOHN ANDREW 

HOOKER 

FRANK BRADSHAW-RYAN 

LOCK 

SAM CARTER 

LOCK 

IAIN HENDERSON 

LOCK 

ROB HERRING 

HOOKER 

CORMAC IZUCHUKWU 

LOCK 

GREG JONES 

FLANKER 

DAVID MCCANN 

FLANKER 

GARETH MILASINOVICH 

PROP 

MARTY MOORE 

PROP 

DECLAN MOORE 

HOOKER 

JORDI MURPHY 

FLANKER 

ALAN O’CONNOR 

LOCK 

ERIC O’SULLIVAN 

PROP 

TOM O’TOOLE 

PROP 

MATTY REA 

FLANKER 

MARCUS REA 

FLANKER 

SEAN REFFELL 

FLANKER 

CALLUM REID 

PROP 

TOM STEWART 

HOOKER 

RORY SUTHERLAND 

PROP 

NICK TIMONEY 

FLANKER 

JEFF TOOMAGA-ALLEN 

PROP 

KIERAN TREADWELL 

LOCK 

DUANE VERMEULEN 

FLANKER 

ANDREW WARWICK 

PROP 

BACKS 

WILL ADDISON 

FULLBACK 

ROBERT BALOUCOUNE 

WING 

BILLY BURNS 

FLY-HALF 

JOHN COONEY 

SCRUM-HALF 

ANGUS CURTIS 

FLY-HALF 

NATHAN DOAK 

SCRUM-HALF 

JAKE FLANNERY 

FLY-HALF 

CRAIG GILROY 

WING 

JAMES HUME 

CENTRE 

MIKE LOWRY 

FLY-HALF 

ROB LYTTLE 

WING 

IAN MADIGAN 

FLY-HALF 

LUKE MARSHALL 

CENTRE 

STUART McCLOSKEY 

CENTRE 

MICHAEL McDONALD 

SCRUM-HALF 

ETHAN McILROY 

FULLBACK 

STEWART MOORE 

CENTRE 

BEN MOXHAM 

CENTRE 

JUDE POSTLETHWAITE 

CENTRE 

AARON SEXTON 

FULLBACK 

DAVE SHANAHAN 

SCRUM-HALF 

JACOB STOCKDALE 

WING 


Club in 

Focus 

BY DES BERRY 

SUTTONIANS 

There is something 

special about 

Suttonians. 

There is no better example of 

this than Oscar Reilly, a thorough 

Londoner, schooled at St George’s 

College, Weybridge. 

It was there he met Peter Synnott, his 

coach, as part of a rugby experience 

that included representing the Irish U18 

Exiles against Ulster, Leinster, Munster 

and Connacht. 

In 2017, Oscar travelled over to Dublin 

for nine months, returned to earn a 

degree in Journalism, Communications 

and Politics from Cardiff University before 

securing a Masters in Marketing at the 

Smurfit School of Business in UCD. 

“There is something about the club. Even 

when you leave, like I did, you never 

really leave,” says Oscar. 

“We have got people in Canada and 

Australia, who travel all across the world 

and they are still involved in the club.” 

It is certainly the case with Oscar as 

he currently plays for Suttonians in the 

Leinster League 1A, coaches the SCT at 

St Fintan’s High School and works for the 

Irish Rugby Institute, situated at the club 

on Station Road. 

Oscar has put his skills to use in heading 

up Suttonians’ Social Media campaigns, 

designed to invite people into the club 

and keep the local community informed 

on what’s going on at the club. 

It is an extension of the tireless work of 

the outgoing PRO Noel Cuddy, now a 

driving force behind the Ireland Touch 

Rugby set-up. 

“In the aftermath of the pandemic, those 

involved in Suttonians realised how 

important it was for people to leave 

Oscar Reilly 

their homes and get back out into the 

community. 

“In this part of Dublin, there are quite a 

lot of new builds. New people coming 

into the area may not know much about 

the community. 

“The club is keen to make Suttonians one 

of the centres to which people can come, 

get to know each other and, maybe even, 

join the club.” 


There have been a number of initiatives 

pursued. 

A government grant related to the 

performing arts was procured to help put 

on live music every Thursday night. 

This was backed-up by an extensive 

leaflet drop in the surrounding area, 

encouraging people young and old to 

come on down. 

“It happens after training on Thursday 

when the Men’s and Women’s senior 

teams are served food by the club and 

the music starts after 9pm. 

“It does attract a wide range of people 

from the local area, even those who don’t 

have anything to do with rugby. It is just 

a nice place to come and have a chat or 

a drink. 

“In recent weeks, it has gotten quite busy 

in the club and it is just an example of 

how everything is getting back to what it 

was before Covid.” 

Suttonians had always been that place 

where people come to socialise. That 

changed utterly when Covid struck, 

keeping people inside their homes, 

ruining social circles and putting a huge 

strain on the personal and mental wellbeing 

of everyone. 

People missed out so much on person-toperson 

social interaction and they want 

to get back to getting out there into the 

world. 

Organically, a renewed interest in what 

is going on locally leads to conversations 

around what is happening at Suttonians 

at the weekend. 

The Women’s Rugby programme at the 

club is expanding. 

“We have our starlets at U10s and U12s. 

We have the Youths teams at U14s, U16s 

and U181/2. We have our Women’s AlL 

squad competing at the highest level.” 

The synergy between the respective 

senior squads has made for a more 

united front. 

“Recently, there has been a lot more 

integration, a lot more camaraderie 

between the Men and Women teams,” 

noted Oscar. 


Try Leinster’s Next Big Dish 

from Mao At Home today

“If we don’t have a game on a Saturday, 

the lads go down to watch the Women’s 

game. That has definitely grown - the 

mutual support.” 

There is also the mutually beneficial 

arrangement between Suttonians and 

the Irish Rugby Institute, described as “a 

professional rugby coaching company” 

whose “mission is to develop young 

national and international players in the 

game.” 

The IRI was instrumental in financing 

the state-of-the-art gym facilities and the 

Dylan O’Grady 

company operates out of Suttonians, 

offering the players access to the 

equipment. 

While so many rugby clubs are relatively 

quiet during the off-season, there is a real 

buzz of excitement generated around the 

JJ McDowell Grounds. 

“In the summer, there are camps 

organised by the IRI in which kids from 

Suttonians and all across Europe come 

together to develop their skills,” says 

Oscar. 

The Rainbow Montessori is also housed 

in the club, catering for children aged 

between 2 years and 3 months to 6 years 

old in classes running from Monday to 

Friday. 

“There is a lot going on through the 

week. It is a hive of activity really,” shares 

Oscar. 

In terms of rugby, it all begins at the minis 

where former Leinster lock Aidan Kearney 

is the main co-ordinator of the fun and 

chaos on Sunday mornings. 

The longstanding relationship with St 

Fintan’s High School flourished last year 

when the Sutton school made it all the 

way to the Leinster Junior Cup semi-final 

with an exceptionally talented bunch of 

players. 

“There is a massive tradition of the boys 

at St Fintan’s coming to Suttonians when 

they leave school,” says Oscar. 

The bonds are stronger than ever as the 

likes of Robert Forbes, Bru Amerlynck and 

Peter Synnott have laid the foundations 

on which Oscar, the current Senior Cup 

forwards coach hopes to build. 

“We haven’t had an U20s squad for 

a few years. It is something we are 

looking at due to the sheer talent coming 

through,” he adds. 

Right now, there are players out there 

on the various rugby circuits making 

Suttonians proud that their ‘once upon a 

time’ happened at the club. 

“Dylan O’Grady played for the Ireland 

U20s last season. Jack Aungier is playing 

for Connacht. We’ve got Sean Cribbin 

playing for the Ireland Men’s 7s and 

Kate Farrell-McCabe for the Women’s 

7s.” 

These are the sort of role models that 

provide a visible pathway for any kids 

coming into the club to see how it is 

possible to reach the higher levels. 

“It is fantastic for our boys and girls to see 

how someone from Suttonians is playing 

the game on the world stage. 

“Closer to home, our main goal is getting 

the community involved in the club.” 


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Cill Dara Minis 

go from strength 

to strength 

Set amid the backdrop of the 

Curragh plains, Cill Dara RFC 

continues to make great strides 

both on and off the pitch. The club 

has had a busy life, incorporating 

three location changes and a 

mountain of hard work to get 

the club in the position it is in 

today. Our current U12 Boys are a 

product of that great work. They 

have had sleepless nights waiting 

for their big day in the RDS. They 

are really excited to be playing 

their half-time exhibition match at 

a Leinster game. 

Speaking with Enda Finn, Youth 

Coordinator and one of the coaches 

of the U12 Boys he said; ‘It is such a 

wonderful occasion for the lads and they 

all hope they do their community, their 

club and most importantly themselves 

proud. We hope to have close to 200 

people at the match to support our U12 

Boys’ team. The team has worked its way 

up through the age grades and there 

is a core group of about 15 who have 

been with us every step of the way. Full 

credit to my fellow coaching team, who 

have come through with this group since 

the players were four and five year olds. 

They were the first group to join Cill Dara 

as Colts (U5/U6) so have been together 

nearly seven years. Hopefully later this 

year or next year we get our U12 Girls 

out as well to play at half-time. There’s 

18 in that group and many would have 

played with the boys up until U10s”. 

Enda also doubles up as the Leinster 

Juniors Head Coach, so maybe he 

might be helping to produce some future 

Leinster Junior or Senior players who 

could be playing tonight. 

Cill Dara continues to grow. They had 

in excess of 500 registered players last 

year, in their mini sections, youth sections, 

senior sections and inclusivity sections. 

Cill Dara are a true community-based 

club providing rugby for all. They have a 

strong relationship with Portarlington RFC 

and they run girls and women’s rugby 

together under the PortDara moniker, 

PortDara is one of the strongest brands in 

women’s rugby and have a strong from 

the ground up focus. They have produced 

senior and underage Irish Internationals. 

Cill Dara men are a consistent Leinster 

League Division One Club and have 

won the Leinster League in the past and 

are positioning themselves to challenge 

for League honours this season. The 

majority of the Cill Dara Senior team 

started playing rugby in Cill Dara and 

there is clear pathway from minis-youthssenior 

in Cill Dara and this is something 

the coaches believe. Inclusivity in their 

youths’ teams is encouraged where 

participation is a core value of the club. 

All involved at Cill Dara have made 

great strides in progressing the club 

and endeavouring to provide rugby for 

more and more people in the community. 

Today’s half-time exhibition match is an 

affirmation to all the work that has been 

put into date and is a small reward for 

the volunteers and players with the U12 

Boys. 


Tadgh 

McElroy 

THE INTERVIEW 

BY PAUL CAHILL 

Anyone who is 

lucky enough 

to pull on a 

Leinster Rugby 

jersey knows 

that they are 

in a privileged 

position. 


But, having moved around the 

UK circuit for a few years and 

spending a period of time training 

by himself without a club, nobody 

appreciates it more than Tadgh 

McElroy. 

His journey to a first Leinster Rugby cap 

has had plenty of twists and bumps along 

the way, but he is stronger for it. 

Not so long ago, McElroy thought 

he might never get a chance to play 

professional rugby again. 

While in the Leinster Rugby Sub-Academy 

and with the Irish U-20 side, he took 

up an offer to join Premiership side, 

Saracens. After a few years with the 

English side, he needed a break and 

came home to Dundalk.


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But, what was meant to be a short 

sabbatical, soon turned into a lengthy 

lay-off as Covid-19 hit. 

With all professional clubs having to stop 

playing, there was no chance of earning 

a contract anytime soon. 

McElroy had two options; give up on his 

dream, or just keep working hard until an 

opportunity presented itself. 

He chose the latter. 

“It was really tough, but when I look 

back on it now, it was one the best times 

because I probably took playing rugby 

for granted,” says the Leinster Rugby 

hooker. 

“When I look at that period during 

lockdown, I thought it was a dark place, 

but it was actually quite enjoyable. I 

suppose it was almost like hitting a reset 

button. 

“I’m really happy with myself that I stuck 

to the training plan. Running by yourself a 

couple of times a week is tough. 

“Setting targets and then making sure 

you’re hitting them each week. Because, 

it’s very easy to say, I missed it by a few 

seconds this week, who’s going to know? 

“I knew I had the fire burning again, so it 

was easy to keep going.” 

Having been at Saracens for a few years 

before that, he had old training plans 

which could show where he needed to 

be at in terms of fitness and weight lifting. 

But, this time there were no coaches 

checking if he was hitting targets. This 

was a personal challenge. 

“Work on the stuff people don’t see. 

That was the motto that everyone 

swore by at Saracens. So I kept 

thinking about that when I was training 

hard on my own. It’s a phrase I pride 

myself on. 

“It’s not all about what people see you 

do on the pitch, it’s the little extra things 

you do that makes the difference. 

“That sentence helped me a lot during 

lockdown when I had no club. I’d say 

that to myself every week. It’s the stuff 

people don’t see.” 

If it wasn’t for the support of his family 

at home in Dundalk, he admits it would 

have been tough to keep going. 

There was another individual in the town 

who gave him the drive, as well as the 

equipment, to continue. 

Mickey Rogers owns The Gym in 

Dundalk. He has worked with three 

generations of McElroys in his gym and 

was the support that Tadgh needed 

during that period. 

“He said to me, whatever you need, I’ll 

sort it out for you. He was unbelievable. 

He’s been a massive factor in getting me 

to where I am now. 

“During lockdown, he was dropping off 

bikes, treadmills, whatever I needed. I’m 

extremely grateful to him. 

“Mickey has been competing for about 

50 years. He’d put anyone to shame. 

He’s in phenomenal shape at his age. 

“He trained with my grandad. So, I’ve 

been in there my whole life. My uncles 

and my dad would’ve been in that gym. 


So, it’s more than a gym to me. It really 

means something to me.” 

With the support of Mickey and his 

family, Tadgh was kept motivated to 

pursue his dream. 

“Having no club was the main driver for 

me. Knowing that if I don’t do this, I’ve 

no chance. 

“By the time Covid was coming to an 

end, I was about a year and a half out. 

Then I got a phone call.” 

As professional rugby clubs were 

preparing for a restart, some needed a 

few extra bodies. 

Pat Lam, Head Coach of Bristol Bears 

offered Tadgh McElroy the chance he 

thought was gone forever. 

“He said, I’ll bring you over for a couple 

of months. You’ll get back fit and you’ll 

get a few games. 

“I was afraid that I had been out too 

long and I didn’t know if I could do it. He 

convinced me to come over and just see 

what happens. 

“I was there for four or five months and I 

got the love for it again. It was still in the 

middle of Covid, so nobody outside of a 

professional environment was training. 

“That was my chance to get back into it. 

There were a couple of in-house games. 

My head was in the right place, and I 

was just enjoying rugby again. 

“It’s weird how fast things can change. 

One week I was running on my own in 

Dundalk RFC, and the following week I 

was training with Bristol. 

“I’ll always respect him for that and 

appreciate the opportunity he gave me. It 

mightn’t have been a big deal to him but 

it was the step I really needed.” 

After a couple of months training with 

Bristol, McElroy had put himself back 

in the shop window and finally had a 

number of offers. 

After a short spell at Ealing, he signed 

with London Irish. A club that was as 

close as you could get to signing for an 

Irish province. 

“It was the first time in years that I’d been 

around a lot of Irish players again. Seán 

O’Brien was there. Being in the same 

dressing room as a player I looked up to 

growing up was pretty cool. 

“We had a lot of Irish players and 

Declan Kidney was there as well. 

“That’s where I really got back into gear. 

I started playing Premiership rugby and 

European rugby, and I really had the fires 

burning again. 

“I actually felt weird because I hadn’t 

been around a lot of Irish people in a 

long time in rugby terms. 

“In my head I was thinking, I want to 

go back to Ireland. I’d love to get back 

playing in Ireland again.” 

After a successful season with London 

Irish, Tadgh was back in Dundalk hoping 

to get his chance with an Irish provincial 

side. 

Much to his delight, it was his home 

province who got in touch. 

“Leo asked me to come in and play a 

couple of ‘A’ games. He said, I’ll give you 

the opportunity. I had to take it. 


“Leo isn’t afraid to give lads a chance. 

You can see it from last year’s games, he 

gave a lot of lads their debuts. He gives 

people chances.” 

McElroy played in all three Leinster ‘A’ 

games in September, scoring a hat-trick 

against Connacht. 

After leaving the Leinster Sub-Academy 

all those years ago, he was back. He 

was offered a short term contract after his 

fine performances at the professional club 

where it all started. 

“I was a little bit nervous and excited. But, 

the lads were saying it was like I never 

left. We were just cracking jokes and 

having little catch ups. 

“It was pretty cool coming back in the first 

day and seeing all the lads from our Irish 

U20s team. Seeing the likes of Ciarán 

Frawley and Rónan Kelleher. It had been 

a long time.” 

Those early season interprovincial games 

might not have grabbed too many 

headlines, but they meant an awful lot to 

Tadgh McElroy. 

They also gave him the opportunity to 

fulfil a dream that seemed to have passed 

him by. 

“It was really cool putting a Leinster 

jersey on again. To be honest, I never 

One week I 

was running 

on my own 

in Dundalk 

RFC, and the 

following 

week I was 

training with 

Bristol. 

would have thought I’d get a chance to 

wear one again. 

“Even though you move away and things 

change, the dream doesn’t stop. 

“The dream is always there. You want to 

play for own province. You want to play 

for your country. It doesn’t happen for 

everyone. But the dream is always there.” 

After a few weeks of training as a Leinster 

Rugby pro, McElroy was given his 

chance. He was named in the matchday 

23 to face the Scarlets. 

In the 55th minute, he was sprung from 

the bench for his Leinster Rugby debut. 

“It was class. I just spent the week getting 

ready and trying to get my reps in at 

training. I tried to enjoy it and not put 

pressure on myself. 

“After the game I was able to crack a 

smile. It was nice to sit there and think, 

yeah, I finally got it. Better late than 

never, you know? 

“Then it was just about enjoying it with 

the family afterwards. It was good to 

see my Nana and speak to my brothers 

and the rest of my family, it was pretty 

special.” 

After the game, the senior pros handed 

out the first caps to the three players who 

had just made their debut. It’s a moment 

Tadgh won’t forget. 

“It was cool that a few of us made our 

debut that day. Charlie Tector, Ben 

Brownlee and myself. It was a special 

feeling in the dressing room afterwards.” 

With the rollercoaster that he has been 

on so far, Tadgh McElroy certainly knows 

when things are going his way. 

“Everything is great at the minute. I love 

being so close to my family. I can pop 

in every weekend and I get to see my 

Nana a lot more now. I just appreciate 

each day. 

“I know what it feels like not to be able 

to come into a club. Some days, if you’re 

not in the team or you’re not getting the 

kind of game time you want, I can look 

at the bigger picture and still appreciate 

everything. 

“I still get to come in here every day. I 

remember the days I didn’t have that. So 

why sulk? 

“I probably did take things for granted 

when I was younger but you realise 

what’s important very quickly when it’s 

gone. 

“I’ve probably been on the road less 

travelled, but I wouldn’t change a thing. 

It builds character and makes you who 

you are.” 

When someone says they appreciate 

what they have, you know Tadgh 

McElroy means it. 


Leinster 

Rugby 

Academy 

Year 

Three: 


Marcus Hanan (3) #1295 


FROM Clane, Co Kildare 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 0”) 


POSITION Loosehead prop 

SCHOOL Salesian College, Celbridge 

CLUB Clane RFC 

HONOURS Ireland U-20 (2 caps) 

John McKee (9) #1307 


FROM Belfast 

HEIGHT 1.85m ( 6’ 0”) 


POSITION Hooker 

SCHOOL Campbell College 

CLUB Terenure College RFC 


Seán O’Brien (3) #1297 


FROM Pittsburgh, PA, USA 

HEIGHT 1.91m ( 6 ’ 3”) 

WEIGHT 106kg ( 16st 10lbs) 

POSITION Back Row 

SCHOOL Blackrock College 

CLUB UCD RFC 


Max O’Reilly (10) #1291 


FROM Long Island, USA 

HEIGHT 1.86m (6’ 1”) 


POSITION Full-back 

SCHOOL St Gerard’s School 

CLUB DUFC 


Andrew Smith (2) #1292 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.8 m (5’ 11”) 


POSITION Back Three 

SCHOOL St Michael’s College 

CLUB Clontarf FC 



Rugby 

Academy 

Year 

Two: 

Alex Soroka (6) #1296 


FROM Cork 

HEIGHT 1.95m (6’ 5”) 



SCHOOL Belvedere College 



Jack Boyle 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.86m (6’ 1”) 


POSITION Loosehead prop 


CLUB UCD RFC 


Lee Barron (2) #1308 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.93m (6’ 3”) 


POSITION Hooker 


CLUB DUFC 


Chris Cosgrave (4) #1305 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 0”) 




CLUB UCD RFC 


Temi Lasisi (1) #1304 

DOB 9 May 2001 

FROM Enniscorthy, Co Wexford 

HEIGHT 1.83m (6’ 0 “) 


POSITION Tighthead prop 

SCHOOL CBS Enniscorthy 

CLUB Lansdowne FC/Enniscorthy RFC 


(3) = Leinster Rugby Senior caps

Ben Murphy (1) #1309 


FROM Bray 

HEIGHT 1.76m (5’ 8”) 


POSITION Scrum-half 

SCHOOL Presentation College, Bray 




Rugby 

Academy 

Year 

One: 

Rob Russell (11) #1302 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.83m (6’ 0”) 




CLUB DUFC 


Ben Brownlee (1) #1313 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.87m (6’ 2”) 


POSITION Centre 


CLUB UCD RFC 


James Culhane 


FROM Enniskerry, Co Wicklow 

HEIGHT 1.94m (6’ 4”) 




CLUB UCD RFC 


Aitzol Arenzana-King 


FROM Gormanston, Co Meath 

HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 



SCHOOL Gormanston College/CUS 

CLUB Clontarf FC/Balbriggan RFC 


Diarmuid Mangan 


FROM Kildare 

HEIGHT 1.93 m (6’ 4”) 



SCHOOL Newbridge College 

CLUB UCD RFC 


Rory McGuire 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.93m (6’ 4”) 


POSITION Tightead prop 


CLUB UCD RFC 


Sam Prendergast 


FROM Kildare 

HEIGHT 1.94m (6’ 4”) 


POSITION Out-half 

SCHOOL Newbridge College 

CLUB Lansdowne FC 


Charlie Tector (1) #1314 


FROM Wexford 

HEIGHT 1.89 m (6’ 2”) 


POSITION Out-half 

SCHOOL Kilkenny College 

CLUB Lansdowne FC 



fixtures and 

results 2022/23 

Date 

17/09 

23/09 

30/09 

08/10 

14/10 

22/10 

28/10 

26/11 

KO/ 

Result 

Opposiotion Venue 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 1 2 

W 

29-33 URC ZEBRE Stadio Sergio 

Lanfranchi 

O’REILLY RUSSELL OSBORNE NGATAI 

KEARNEY 

1T 

R. BYRNE 

C4 

W 

42-10 URC BENETTON RDS Arena O’BRIEN LARMOUR RINGROSE HENSHAW KEARNEY FRAWLEY 

3C 

W 

13-20 URC ULSTER Kingspan 

Stadium 

W 

54-34 

URC 

CELL C 

SHARKS 

O’BRIEN LARMOUR RINGROSE HENSHAW KEARNEY 

RDS Arena O’BRIEN LARMOUR 

HENSHAW 

1T 

NGATAI 

RUSSELL 

1T 

R. BYRNE 

2C 2P 

SEXTON 

1T, 7C 

W 

0-10 URC CONNACHT Sportsground O’BRIEN TURNER RINGROSE NGATAI RUSSELL R. BYRNE 

1C 

W 

27-13 URC MUNSTER Aviva 

Stadium 

W 

5-35 URC SCARLETS Parc y 

Scarlets 

FRAWLEY O’BRIEN RINGROSE HENSHAW OSBORNE 

COSGRAVE 

1T 

RUSSELL 

1T 

W 

40-5 URC GLASGOW RDS Arena OSBORNE RUSSELL 

3T 

TURNER NGATAI KEARNEY 

TURNER 

NGATAI 

KEARNEY 

1T 

SEXTON 

2C, 1P 

R. BYRNE 

3C 

R. BYRNE 

4C 

MCGRATH 

1T 

MCGRATH 

1T 

MCGRATH 

MCGRATH 

FOLEY 

1T 

MCGRATH 

1T 

E BYRNE 

PORTER 

PORTER 

PORTER 

1T 

KELLEHER 

SHEEHAN 

4T 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

SHEEHAN 

E. BYRNE SHEEHAN 

HEALY 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

MCGRATH E. BYRNE MCKEE 

MCGRATH E. BYRNE KELLEHER 

03/12 19:35 URC ULSTER RDS Arena 

10/12 14:00 HCC RACING 92 

Stade 

Océane 

16/12 20:00 HCC GLOUCESTER RDS Arena 

26/12 19:35 URC MUNSTER 

Thomond 

Park 

01/01 19:35 URC CONNACHT RDS Arena 

07/01 19:35 URC OSPREYS 

Swansea. 

com Stadium 

14/01 13:00 HCC GLOUCESTER Kingsholm 

21/01 15:15 HCC RACING 92 

28/01 17:00 URC CARDIFF 

RUGBY 

18/02 19:35 URC DRAGONS 

RFC 

04/03 17:05 URC EDINBURGH 

24/03 19:35 URC DHL 

STORMERS 

15/04 14:00 URC EMIRATES 

LIONS 

22/04 16:05 URC VODACOM 

BULLS 

Aviva 

Stadium 

RDS Arena 

RDS Arena 

DAM Health 

Stadium 

RDS Arena 

Emirates 

Airline Park 

Loftus 

Versfeld 


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

ALAALATOA 

MOLONY 

JENKINS 

1T 

RUDDOCK 

T2 

ALAALATOA MOLONY JENKINS BAIRD 

ALAALATOA MOLONY JENKINS 

ALAALATOA 

MOLONY 

JENKINS 

2T 

BAIRD 

1T 

PENNY DEEGAN MCKEE MILNE ABDALADZE DEENY SOROKA MCCARTHY FRAWLEY CONNORS 

VAN DER FLIER 

1T 

DORIS KELLEHER E. BYRNE HEALY MCCARTHY CONNORS FOLEY 

R. BYRNE 

3C 

NGATAI 

VAN DER FLIER CONAN MCKEE E. BYRNE ABDALADZE RYAN CONNORS MCCARTHY SEXTON NGATAI 

BAIRD CONNORS RUDDOCK 

MCKEE 

1T 

HEALY ABDALADZE RYAN MOLONEY FOLEY BYRNE 

FURLONG MOLONY RYAN DORIS VAN DER FLIER CONAN MCKEE PORTER ALAALATOA MCCARTHY MOLONEY MCCARTHY 

ALA’ALATOA JENKINS RYAN DEEGAN 

CLARKSON 

1T 

PENNY 

1T 

FRAWLEY 

1P 

DORRIS MCKEE PORTER CLARKSON MOLONY CONAN MCCARTHY R. BYRNE 

RINGROSE 

2T 

HENSHAW 

MOLONY JENKINS RUDDOCK PENNY DEEGAN MCELROY MILNE ABDALADZE DEENY MOLONEY MCCARTHY TECTOR BROWNLEE 

CLARKSON MOLONY MCCARTHY RUDDOCK PENNY DEEGAN 

MCKEE 

1T 

MILNE 

1T 

ABDALADZE JENKINS BAIRD FOLEY 

Skerries set for Half-Time Minis 

A moment that will live in the memories of 

Skerries U12 from today onwards, is gracing the 

stage of the RDS as half-time heroes. 

H. BYRNE 

1C 

that will serve them right through to Youth Rugby and Senior 

Rugby. Without these volunteers, there would be no players, 

they are the lifeblood of our great club. 

RUSSELL 

1T 

COSGRAVE 

This group will join the many that have gone before them 

from Skerries Rugby Club, a lovely tradition from Leinster 

Rugby. Our current crop is a very close-knit group who have 

come all the closer as they grieved together the loss of their 

very special coach, Brian Coetzee, and Dad to our player 

Jack, who passed away last year. 

Great inroads made this year with these young players who 

have an infectious sense of energy and commitment to the 

game. They have really adapted well to the wider expanse 

of the U12 pitch and are itching to embrace the full-size pitch 

when they become Youths next season. 

Skerries RFC has a very strong Mini’s section with over 200 

kids from ages 5 -12 playing week in week out and over 55 

coaches volunteering their time steering these young players 

in their rugby journey, where they learn the values and skills 

The ethos and values of Skerries RFC as a community rugby 

club starts here. This is where they make friends for life, who 

support each other through all the challenges they face and 

share in the celebration of achievement. But most of all is that 

they enjoy each moment with their friends, playing a sport 

they love. 

We have a decorated history of producing international 

players, Lions, Olympians and current professionals playing 

in three out of the four provinces. Ciaran Frawley for Leinster, 

Alan O’Connor for Ulster and Conor Oliver for Munster, 

who all started their rugby journeys as Skerries RFC Minis 

and are now our home-grown heroes. 

Let’s hope some from this group will continue to be inspired 

to follow their dreams and run out as Leinster Provincial 

players in the not-too-distant future! 


Parting Shot 

Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile 


26 November 2022 

Charlie Ngatai of Leinster offloads 

to teammate Rob Russell in the 

build up to his side’s second 

try during the United Rugby 

Championship match between 

Leinster and Glasgow Warriors at 

RDS Arena in Dublin. 


*Restrictions apply. 

*

Leinster vs Ulster

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