Leinster vs Zebre Parma

ISSUE 2 | LEINSTER RUGBY OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME 

LEINSTER 

VS 

Zebre Parma 

SAT 9 TH OCT 

RDS ARENA 

KO 1PM

Newstead Building A, 

UCD, 

Belfield, 

Dublin 4 

#LEIVZEB 

The Line up 

Telephone: 

012693224 

Fax: 

012693142 

E-mail: 

information@leinsterrugby.ie 

www.leinsterrugby.ie 

6 

24 

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT 

President: John Walsh 

Chief Executive: Michael Dawson 

Honorary Secretary: Stuart Bayley 

Honorary Treasurer: Michael McGrail 

RUGBY MANAGEMENT 

Head Coach: Leo Cullen 

Senior Coach: Stuart Lancaster 

Head of Rugby Operations: 

Guy Easterby 

Assistant Coach: Robin McBryde 

Backs Coach: Felipe Contepomi 

Kicking Coach: Emmet Farrell 

Contact Skills Coach: Denis Leamy 

14 

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& Ryan Corry 

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Design: Julian Tredinnick, 

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Photography: Sportsfile 

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Ambulance: St. John’s Ambulance 

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Event Control & Safety Services: 

Eamonn O’Boyle & Associates 

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www.leinsterrugby.ie | 3

PRESIDENT, LEINSTER RUGBY 2020/22 

john walsh welcome 

President Leinster Rugby 2020/22 

First and foremost we welcome 

– ‘Benvenuti’ – our guests from 

Zebre for this evening fixture 

in Round 3 of the United Rugby 

Championship. As reigning 

champions we have to defend our 

crown and will be fully aware that 

we will face stern challenges both 

on and off the field this season and 

that teams will be highly motivated 

to bring our four consecutive 

championships wins to an end. 

Last season a total of 61 players 

campaigned for Leinster throughout the 

season with 15 players making their 

Leinster debuts. This season our initial 

squad of players consists of 46 players, 

30 of whom are Irish internationals with a 

total of 811 caps. Our current squad has 

made over 3,500 Leinster appearances. 

The very best of luck to all our players 

and management team for a successful 

campaign and we look forward to playing 

our renewed role as your dedicated vocal 

support. 

This year’s Heineken Champions Cup 

marks the 28th consecutive tournament and 

will feature 24 clubs from France, England, 

Ireland, Wales and Scotland. A total of 

nine of clubs have won the Heineken Cup 

on 19 occasions. In addition six other clubs 

have won the European Challenge Cup. 

Leinster’s Heineken Champions Cup fixtures 

commence with a home game against 

Bath (winners in 1997/98) in Round 1 

followed by an away game to Montpellier 

(Challenge Cup winners) with the reverse 

fixture for Round 3. Round 4 is our away 

fixture with Bath. We are eagerly looking 

forward to our journey with Leinster as 

we attempt to add a fifth gold star to our 

jersey. 

Club rugby in Leinster is the bedrock on 

which Leinster Rugby has successfully 

established itself as one of the most 

successful clubs in the northern hemisphere 

and without the input of so many dedicated 

volunteers throughout our 12 counties who 

serve both their clubs and the interests of 

Leinster Rugby we could not have achieved 

this success. As stated previously success is 

not a destination but an ongoing journey 

so Leinster Rugby values your contribution 

to our sport. 

While tonight’s focus is on the Leinster 

professional side’s fixture, I wish to 

remind all our fans that the five Leinster 

representative teams that consist of the 

Leinster U-19 (interprovincial champions), 

Leinster U-18 Clubs (interprovincial 

champions), Leinster U-18 Women 

(interprovincial champions), Leinster U-18 

Schools and Leinster Women have just 

completed their interprovincial campaigns 

against Munster, Ulster and Connacht with 

a record of 14 wins from the 15 fixtures 

played. 

We wish to congratulate our players, 

team coaches and management on their 

outstanding performances especially as 

they had to conduct training and playing 

under very difficult circumstances and 

restricted facilities due to Covid health 

regulations. 

I also wish to thank the members of the 

Leinster Competitions Committee under the 

Chairmanship of Ciaran O’Brien and the 

Leinster Referees for all their inventiveness 

and creativity in formulating the 

restructuring of our Leinster Competitions as 

we now commence the 2021/22 season. 

During the past 18 months Leinster Rugby 

has lost approximately 12,000 club and 

school fixtures as a result of the pandemic. 

The task of reopening our clubs has proved 

very challenging but I’m pleased that once 

again our 72 clubs are back on the pitch 

playing. 

We have successfully staged 16 Leinster 

Competition finals in recent weeks 

including the 99th Metropolitan Cup (won 

by Trinity having last won the cup 54 years 

ago), the 72nd Moran Cup (a fifth win for 

Old Wesley), 64th Albert O’Connell Cup 

(a 15th win for Lansdowne), 58th Winters 

Cup (won by Terenure). 

While these competitions are long 

established in the rich heritage of Leinster 

Rugby we also introduced this season the 

Colm O’Shea Cup (won by Seapoint), 

Declan Mahon Cup (won by Coolmine), 

the Leinster League Divison 3 Cup (won 

by Dublin Dogos) and the Provincial J2 

League Cup (won by Cill Dara). 

The women’s game in Leinster continues 

to develop and we will have 38 teams 

competing in our leagues and cups this 

season. Furthermore there is a significant 

increase in the participation numbers 

at girls rugby level and this is a most 

welcomed development in a sector that 

we are committed to developing. We have 

also successfully completed the Paul Flood 

Cup (won by Blackrock), Paul Flood Plate 

(won by Tullamore), Paul Cusack Cup (won 

by MU Barnhall) and the Paul Cusack Plate 

(won by Longford). 

Leinster’s U-20 competitions are also 

complete. The 50th Charlie McCorry 

Cup was won by Old Belvedere, the 45th 

Harry Gale Cup was won by Seapoint and 

the 18th Brian Purcell Cup was won by St 

Mary’s for a third consecutive time. 

I am also pleased to report that our 

Bank of Ireland Leinster Rugby Schools 

competitions have also commenced and 

we look forward to a successful conclusion 

of them in the immediate future. 

Leinster Rugby wish to thank the IRFU 

and acknowledge their support and 

assistance in staging Leinster’s fixtures 

against Harlequins and Vodacom Bulls at 

Aviva Stadium. Leinster head coach Leo 

Cullen has gone on record to state that it 

is impossible to quantify the important role 

that fans attending fixtures play in creating 

the atmosphere for players to perform. 

On this occasion which marks our first 

fixture of the 2021/22 season at the RDS 

Arena we wish to thank the management 

and members of the RDS for their valued 

assistance and support for Leinster 

Rugby during the pandemic period. 

We look forward to our fans 

and visiting fans once 

again enjoying and 

celebrating the unique 

atmosphere of our 

home at the RDS. 

On behalf of Leinster 

Rugby, I wish all 

involved a happy, 

healthy and enjoyable 

season. 

‘Keep the faith’ as ‘the 

future belongs to those 

who believe in their 

dreams’ ( Eleanor 

Roosevelt) 

JOHN WALSH 

PRESIDENT, LEINSTER RUGBY 2020/22 


Leo Cullen 

head Coach Welcome 

A very warm welcome to the RDS Arena 

for our early start today against 

Michael Bradley’s Zebre team. 

Brads was a player I watched 

and admired as a kid from the 

terraces of the old Lansdowne 

Road, so it is an honour to come 

up against him now as a coach. 

On behalf of everyone at Leinster Rugby, 

we would like to pay our condolences on 

the sad passing of Leo Mussini, Zebre’s 

Media Manager in recent seasons. Leo 

was a great character and always a 

lovely person to chat to, and our thoughts 

are with his partner Elisa and all his 

family and friends. 

Many thanks to everyone who turned out 

a fortnight ago when we kicked off the 

United Rugby Championship against the 

Vodacom Bulls down the road at Aviva 

Stadium. What a difference a crowd 

makes! Having our supporters back to 

cheer us on really gives the players a lift 

– we have really missed you. 

Congratulations to Michael Ala’alatoa 

who made his Leinster debut against the 

Bulls, coincidentally on the very same 

ground where his father Vili made his 

international debut for Samoa against 

Ireland back in 1988. 

Congratulations also to Rob Russell who 

made his Leinster debut against the 

Dragons in Newport last Sunday. 

Rob is a classic late bloomer who came 

to our Academy at a late stage, for which 

huge credit must go to Noel McNamara 

and Simon Broughton, as well as to Peter 

Smyth in the IRFU who managed to get 

Rob into UCD. A special word too for 

Tony Smeeth and the coaching team at 

Trinity who played their part in Rob’s 

development. 

Even last week, Rob was down to play 

for Trinity in the Energia All-Ireland 

League which shows again how 

important the club game still is for so 

many of our players. 

Congratulations to Josh van der Flier on 

making his 100th Leinster appearance 

away in Wales last weekend. So many 

of those milestones came and went 

in empty stadiums last season, so 

it was great to see Josh’s family 

there to celebrate the occasion 

and see Josh pick up his 

Player of the Match award! 

One other landmark 

to mention, and 

congratulations to James Ryan who 

captained Leinster for the first time 

against the Dragons. James has become 

a key figure within the group and his 

leadership skills are growing all the time. 

Our performance last weekend was a 

little bit off where we would like it to be, 

so we were happy to come away with 

the win, and it was really encouraging 

to see so many of our supporters making 

the trip. I also enjoyed meeting one such 

supporter, Leo, a much younger Leo I 

might add, fully togged out in Leinster 

blue! I hope you and your father enjoyed 

the game and the trip, Leo, and that 

we will see you again at many Leinster 

games over the years. 

There have been plenty of positives 

elsewhere in recent weeks with the Bank 

of Ireland Leinster Rugby Schools Junior 

Cup kicking off in Energia Park and of 

course the return of Energia All-Ireland 

League club action. It’s wonderful to see 

so much high-quality rugby being played 

at all levels across the province. 

After a challenging 18 months, it finally 

feels like things are getting back to 

normal and we are really excited for 

what this long season has in store 

for us. 

The future is looking 

brighter all the time and as 

always, thanks for your 

loyalty and support in 

good times and bad! 

Enjoy the game. 

Leo 

6 | www.leinsterrugby.ie

After a challenging 18 

months, it finally feels like 

things are getting back to 

normal and we are really 

excited for what this long 

season has in store for us. 


Joann 

Hosey 

PROVINCIAL DIRECTOR 

BANK OF IRELAND DUBLIN 

A very warm welcome back to the RDS Arena! 

While we have played here in 

the last few months, and most 

notably against Dragons at the 

end of last season, this is the first 

time that the gates on Anglesea 

Road and Simmonscourt Road 

have opened to significant 

numbers and it certainly feels like 

a proper milestone moment. 

The atmosphere generated in Aviva 

Stadium two weeks ago against the 

Vodacom Bulls was wonderful but having 

that replicated back at the home of 

Leinster Rugby, at the RDS Arena, will be 

special. 

We have all missed the sea of blue and 

the sight and sound of a full Laighin 

Pit and while there will still be some 

guidelines and protocols in place and to 

be followed, it is a most welcome sight to 

have 75 per cent capacity back at our 

Ballsbridge home. 

That model and attendance capacity has 

also been replicated in Energia Park this 

week as the quarter-finals of the Bank 

of Ireland Leinster Rugby Schools Junior 

Cup took place. 

I wish all four semi-finalists the very 

best of luck with their preparations and 

regardless of which school holds aloft 

the trophy at the end, it has been brilliant 

to see the 2021 competition underway 

and played in the right spirit over the last 

few weeks. 

Huge thank you and credit is due to the 

Schools Committee in Leinster Rugby, 

to Stephen Jameson who manages 

the match days, to the referees, to the 

coaches and players and to the staff at 

Leinster Rugby in UCD for coordinating 

the competition. 

It has lifted everyone’s spirits to see the 

action over the last two weeks. 

That is also now being reflected in all our 

clubs and communities with the leagues 

and the mini sections back up and 

running in the 12 counties of Leinster and 

it is wonderful to see that vibrancy and 

energy back again. 

Finally, to Leo and all the players, well 

done on your opening two games and 

two wins from two in the new United 

Rugby Championship. 

Indeed you have won two trophies in the 

last two seasons and lifted them in empty 

stadia, but you arrive here this afternoon 

at the RDS Arena and we can’t wait to 

give you the ovation that you so richly 

deserve for all your on-field efforts over 

the last 18 months. 

Enjoy the game, 

JH 


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Did you 

know? 

• Leinster’s only defeat in 

their last six United Rugby 

Championship matches was 

12-15 at Glasgow in the 

Rainbow Cup on 4 June. 

• The Leinstermen have 

won their last three home 

matches since Munster beat 

them 27-3 at the RDS Arena 

in the Rainbow Cup in April. 

• Leinster’s only defeat to 

an Italian opponent since 

2010 was 15-17 at home to 

Benetton in April 2018. 

• Zebre Parma have not 

won since a 26-15 victory 

at home to Dragons in 

the PRO14 last February, 

whilst they have not 

been successful in the 

Championship outside Italy 

since a trip to the Dragons 

in November 2019. 

• Zebre’s most recent win 

over an Irish province was 

19-11 against Connacht in 

Galway in February 2018. 

• Leinster have won all 

fifteen previous encounters 

they have had with Zebre 

Parma. 

COMPARISON 

Overall URC head-to-head record: 

Played 15, Leinster won 15. 

Last 3 URC results 

11 Jun - Dragons (H) W 38-7 11 Jun - Munster (H) L 11-54 

25 Sep - Bulls (H) W 31-3 24 Sep - Lions (H) L 26-38 

3 Oct - Dragons (A) W 7-6 2 Oct - Ulster (H) L 3-36 

URC 2021/22 

Shield IR: 3rd - W2 D0 L0 - 9pts Shield IT/SC: 4th - W0 D0 L2 - 1pts 

WW (9pts) 

URC form 

Top try scorer 

LL (1pts) 

1 - Ross Byrne, Andrew Porter, 1 - Oliviero Fabiani, 

Max Deegan, James Tracy, 

Tommaso Boni, 

Josh van der Flier 

Carlo Canna, (1 Penalty Try) 

Top points scorer 

9 - Ross Byrne, Johnny Sexton 9 - Carlo Canna 

Date Venue L Z Leinster scorers Zebre scorers 

Fri 6 Jan 17 RDS Arena 70 6 Ross Byrne(4C) Cian Healy(T) Jamie 

Heaslip(T) Garry Ringrose(2T) Luke 

McGrath(T) Hayden Triggs(T) Sean 

O’Brien(T) Rory O’Loughlin(3T) Johnny 

Sexton(6C) 

Sat 16 Feb 19 Stadio Zaffanella 40 24 Ross Byrne(T/5C) Max Deegan(2T) Scott 

Fardy(T) Dave Kearney(T) Conor O’Brien(T) 

Sat 26 Oct 19 

Stadio Sergio 

Lanfranchi 

3 0 Ross Byrne(P) 

Fri 23 Oct 20 RDS Arena 63 8 Michael Bent(T) Harry Byrne(9C) Ciaran 

Parker(T) Scott Penny(T) Dave Kearney(T) 

Josh Murphy(T) Tommy O’Brien(2T) Dan 

Sheehan(2T) 

Fri 12 Mar 21 

Stadio Sergio 

Lanfranchi 

48 31 Harry Byrne(4C/P) Dave Kearney(3T) 

Cian Kelleher(T) Luke McGrath(T) Hugh 

O’Sullivan(C) Dan Sheehan(2T) 

Edoardo Padovani(2P) Sat 7 Apr 18 RDS 

Arena 41 6 James Lowe(2T) Ross Byrne(3C) 

Max Deegan(2T) Vakh Abdaladze(T) 

Bryan Byrne(T) Rory O’Loughlin(T) Carlo 

Canna(2P) 

Jamie Elliott(T) Carlo Canna(2C) Gabriele 

di Giulio(T) Francois Brummer(2T) 

Paolo Pescetto(P) Michelangelo Biondelli(T) 

Antonio Rizzi(2C/4P) Giovanni 

D’Onofrio(T) Eduardo Bello(T) Niccolo 

Taddia(T) 


Dan 

Leavy 

the big interview 

Dan Leavy isn’t of a 

mind to look back. 

It is what it is. It 

happened. Now. 

What’s next? 

That’s his attitude 

and his mindset. 

But with Dan Leavy 

there are two 

things that are 

hard to ignore and 

need asking. 



First up, the performance at the 

weekend against Dragons. 

When so many people were expecting 

a routine away win in the United Rugby 

Championship, where does a narrow 6-7 

win in Rodney Parade come from? 

“Look, first, I think people probably 

haven’t been paying enough attention to 

Dragons and maybe you are right people 

see previous results and think this will just 

happen so when you see a scoreline like 

that, it must have been brutal! 

“But we’ve seen this team under a new 

head coach, or relatively new head 

coach in Dean Ryan, building over the 

last few seasons. Bit by bit. They have 

recruited well and have maybe eight or 

nine Welsh internationals there now, plus 

the new format of the competition means 

that teams will have far more access to 

those senior players. 

“So that is a new challenge for all teams, 

every week, probably facing stronger 

line-ups and then you add into the mix 

that we are the reigning champions and 

you have a target on your back. That is a 

good mix to face into and we have to be 

better prepared for that. 

All the physio team, the medics, 

S&C in Leinster but when you’ve an 

injury like mine you end up working 

very closely with that one physio 

and Karl was it for me. He went 

above and beyond. 

“The conditions were poor, but they were 

poor for both teams, and credit Dragons 

they played really well. But we expected 

that. We had seen them in pre-season 

beating Wasps, narrow loss to Leicester 

and then they should have beaten the 

Ospreys in their first game. 

“We knew what that narrative looks 

like but it’s probably fair to say that 

most others outside of Leinster looking 

ahead to the game, don’t. For us it’s 

important that we learn the lessons from 

that performance good and early in the 

season.” 

What were the harsh lessons dished out 

at the Tuesday morning review? 

“To be honest it wasn’t that bad, as 

in, of course we were critical of areas 

where we can be better and we have 

worked hard this week at training on 

some of those areas but there was also 

a realisation that a lot of this was in our 

own hands. 

“If we got that second score early on and 

that forces them to play a bit more, but 

we didn’t. If we retained the ball better, 

but we didn’t. 

“We also realise that we have been 

shown a few things here, but we still won, 

on the road and go into the game this 

week unbeaten. Other teams will not 

grind out those wins so we have to take 

something from that as well. 

“So the review was fair I think and was 

balanced, we didn’t avoid the issues that 

needed highlighting but we also know 

what we need to get better at and where 

we have to step it up this week against 

Zebre.” 


The game last week was also notable for 

his own return. 

And that is the second area under 

reluctant discussion. The injury nightmare 

that the 27-year-old back row has had 

to endure since March 2019. 

You can understand his reluctance 

to engage too much in 

the subject but he also 

understands the interest in 

a return from a knee injury 

described as ‘a complex knee 

ligament injury’ by the Leinster 

medical team at the time. 

Other words used by media at the time 

included ‘horrific’ and ‘devastating’ and 

indeed the BT Sport production team 

refused to show the incident on screen 

beyond what was shown in the live 

pictures. 

He didn’t shy away from the reality of it 

himself either as the injury put an end to 

his Rugby World Cup ambitions. 

“Struggling to put into words how 

devastated I am with the injury,” Leavy 

said at the time on Instagram. 

“Firstly to miss the business end of the 

season with my Leinster Rugby brothers 

and our opportunity to pursue another 

European and league title. Secondly, to 

miss an opportunity to play in a World 

Cup in Japan is haunting my thoughts. 

All I have ever aimed for in my career is 

the opportunity to shine on the world 

stage for my country and do the 

nation and my family proud.” 

His initial return from the injury this 

time last year saw him play three 

games off the bench before he was 

unleashed against Edinburgh in the 

number six jersey. 

Further games in the PRO14 and then 

in Europe followed and it wasn’t long 

before he was being discussed in the 

context of a return to green and adding 

to his 11 Ireland caps. 

However, in February of this year came 

the news that the nature of the initial 

injury required further work, further 

reinforcing the description by the Leinster 

medical staff around the ‘complex’ nature 

of the issue. 

So, here he is. On the comeback trail 

again. 


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“It was hugely frustrating because I really 

felt good. Good about my body, about 

my knee and where I was at in terms of 

performance levels. 

“I could see things taking shape again. The 

season was going well with Leinster and 

the ambition to get back in with Ireland was 

there and then we had to take a step back.” 

That step back meant missing the end of 

season run-in with Leinster and everything 

else that came with that. 

It can be a lonely road which is why Leavy is 

quick to acknowledge family, friends and his 

physio, Karl Denvir. 

“It can be a dark place at times and 

especially having come back so strong from 

the injury in the first place to then be set 

back a few steps was difficult but I suppose 

we also knew that there would be twists and 

turns in that road. It’s never a straight line 

and there will be ups and downs. 

“I also knew how good I had come back. 

The knee felt great but there was obviously a 

bit more to go so I believed in the process. 

“But yeah, you need your family, you need 

your mates to help you along a bit at times 

and they were great. 

“Karl was brilliant, they all are really. All the 

physio team, the medics, S&C in Leinster but 

when you’ve an injury like mine you end up 

working very closely with that one physio 

and Karl was it for me. He went above and 

beyond. I couldn’t have asked for better but 

hopefully we won’t have to see too much of 

each other going forward!” 

The last bit is of course said with a grin as his 

affection for Denvir and what he has done 

for him is clear. 

Hopefully, the past is now in the past for 

Leavy. Done. Discussed. Dealt with. 

What of the future? 

Right now, Leavy is getting ready to bring 

the family dog, Indy, for a walk and is just 

buzzing for the game against Zebre and his 

first start of the season. 

It will be his 74th cap for Leinster since his 

debut in October 2014. 

And he has a crew of similarly minded 

players around him also keen to make up 

for lost time. 


“Over the last few weeks we have had 

Jordy (Larmour), Garry (Ringrose), Max 

(Deegan), COB (Conor O’Brien), Brian 

Deeny, Vakh (Abdaladze) all come back 

from fairly long-term injuries and it’s great 

to see so many players back out there 

training. 

“It’s like new signings back in the mix. A 

lot of lads that are keen to make up for 

lost time. 

It took a lot of 

work and sacrifice 

so we are all so 

proud of him. He’s 

an Olympian and not 

many people can say 

that, can they? 

“It makes selection even harder for the 

coaches but that is the challenge we all 

want to set for them.” 

It also marks a return to the RDS Arena 

for him and the rest of the players and in 

front of a proper live crowd for the first 

time for him since March 2019. 

“Obviously there have been games over 

the last month or so in particular where 

the lads have played in front of crowds 

at the Aviva and even last week away in 

Dragons, you can see the impact a home 

crowd can have on a team. 

“I personally haven’t played in front of a 

crowd like that since early 2019. Haven’t 

played in front of my family at all in that 

time, or in front of mates. You really miss 

it because like I said earlier it’s for your 

family that you are playing. You want to 

make them proud.” 

One man who certainly made Leavy 

proud is younger brother, Adam, who 

represented Ireland in the Rugby Sevens 

at the Olympics during the summer. 

Leavy revisits the theme of family 

frequently and here it’s the impact that 

Covid has had on athletes and not being 

able to celebrate moments with those 

they hold most dear. 

“We are all so proud of him and them 

all really. I know they wanted to do 

better out there and they will feel they 

left it behind them but I also know how 

hard they had worked to get there in the 

first place. Not just in qualification but 

before that over the years and the various 

qualification tournaments to make it up 

the levels. 

“It took a lot of work and sacrifice so 

we are all so proud of him. He’s an 

Olympian and not many people can say 

that, can they? 


“Just such a pity that we couldn’t be there 

cheering him on. I have been to a few of 

the tournaments and they are great craic, 

but more than that, the family wanted to 

be there and we would have been there 

only for Covid.” 

They will be there for him today certainly. 

With stadium capacity and Covid-19 

guidelines set at 75 per cent at the RDS it 

is sure to be a brilliant atmosphere. 

And they will experience a new ‘walk-out’ 

tune at the RDS Arena for the first time. 

The Metallica song, ‘Enter Sandman’, 

made its debut at the Aviva Stadium two 

weeks ago but this will be its first RDS 

airing. 

Leavy offered some context to the choice 

of song and the players’ hopes for an 

immediate impact. 

“There was nothing wrong with ‘All of the 

Lights’, our previous song, but the players 

just felt that we wanted to mix it up a 

bit and pick a different song that better 

represented where we were at now. 

“And it was the same before that when 

we changed from ‘Welcome to the 

Jungle’. That song had been there for 

years and it was popular but it was 

selected by a different group and didn’t 

represent us as a playing group. 

“So we have tried to take ownership of 

that now and hopefully people will like 

it and hopefully us as players and the 

supporters can take it and make some 

noise before the games and really build 

an atmosphere at the RDS that will make 

it even better than it was before. 

“I think everyone saw the video during 

the summer of the Virginia Tech college 

football team and that’s what made us 

all sit up and think, we would love to 

recreate that at the RDS. Everyone on 

their feet and building an atmosphere 

that can inspire us all. 

“We’ll make sure that Bob turns the 

volume up nice and loud for it anyway! 

We can’t wait.” 

When he runs out at 12.59pm today 

at the RDS Arena he will run out to a 

new song, but more importantly for Dan 

Leavy, to family, to friends and to a loyal 

supporter base and all wishing him the 

very best of luck as he looks to scale 

those heights once again. 


Action 

replay 6 7 

DRAGONS 

Josh Lewis; Jonah Holmes, Jack Dixon, 

Aneurin Owen, Jordan Olowofela; Sam 

Davies, Lewis Jones (Rhodri Williams 50); 

Aki Seiuli (Greg Bateman 47), Elliot Dee 

(Taylor Davies 59), Mesake Doge (Chris 

Coleman 57); Will Rowlands, Ben Carter 

(Joe Maksymiw 53); Ross Moriarty, 

Ollie Griffiths (Taine Basham 32), Aaron 

Wainwright. 

Pens: Sam Davies (2). 

SUN, 3 OCTOBER 

RODNEY PARADE 

UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 

LEINSTER 

Hugo Keenan; Rob Russell, Garry 

Ringrose, Conor O’Brien (O’Loughlin 

66), Rory O’Loughlin (Frawley 54-66); 

Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park (Nick 

McCarthy 61); Andrew Porter (Ed Byrne 

55), Dan Sheehan (James Tracy 55), 

Michael Alaalatoa (Cian Healy 55); 

Ross Molony, James Ryan; Rhys Ruddock 

(Ryan Baird 63), Josh van der Flier, Max 

Deegan (Dan Leavy 55). 

Try: Max Deegan. Con: Ross Byrne. 


It’s a win away 

from home. That’s 

it. It’s traditionally 

a very 

tough place to 

come and the 

lads are frustrated 

with 

themselves. 

Leo Cullen 

Delighted 

to get my 

first cap 

and then 

to win in 

tricky 

conditions 

here, 

makes it a 

bit more 

special. 

Rob Russell after making his 

debut against Dragons 


CUP GLORY FOR LONGFORD, 

TULLAMORE, MU BARNHALL 

AND BLACKROCK COLLEGE 

Eight teams competed over two days in the 

Bank of Ireland Paul Flood and Paul Cusack 

Cup finals held in Tullow RFC and 

Old Belvedere RFC. 

Bank of Ireland Paul 

Cusack Plate Final 

Greystones RFC 0 

Longford RFC 43 

In the first game of Saturday, 

Greystones took on a strong 

Longford side. Longford 

established an early lead and kept 

the Wicklow women scoreless 

throughout the game. 

Captain Hanna Shea led from the front 

and guided the team to a 43-0 win with 

full-back Leanne Keegan putting in a 

player of the match performance. We 

look forward to seeing what Longford 

can bring to the Leinster League 

competition this season after this fantastic 

performance. 

Commiserations to Greystones who were 

holders of the Paul Cusack Plate. Both 

sides will face off home and away in the 

league competition this season. 


Flood Plate Final 

Tullamore RFC 39 

CYM RFC 0 

In the second game of the day, 

Tullamore beat CYM 39-0 in a 

tough contest played on Tullow 

RFC’s new 3G pitch. CYM will 

rue not taking advantage and 

closing out some crucial scoring 

opportunities which may have 

changed the sway of the game. 

Leading 17-0 at half-time, Tullamore 

extended their lead scoring a further 

22 points in the second half led ably by 


co-captains Sinead Rigney and Kate 

McCann. 

Player of the match was awarded to 

Tullamore’s Shannon Touhey following an 

exceptional performance. Both sides will 

face off over the season in Division 1 of 

the Leinster League. 


Cusack Cup Final 

Portlaoise RFC 7 

MU Barnhall RFC J1 28 

Portlaoise and MU Barnhall 

contested the last game of 

the day and treated those in 

attendance to a tense affair. 

With the differences split 7-7 at 

half-time it took a hat trick from 

MU Barnhall’s player of the match 

Ciara Faulkner to decide the 

game. 

Portlaoise had their chances to claw it 

back but some missed opportunities sent 

the Paul Cusack Cup back to the Kildare 

side. 

Both sides will take a great deal of 

experience from this game into the 

League competition. 


Flood Cup Final 

Blackrock College RFC J1 31 

Old Belvedere RFC J1 10 

Those in attendance on Sunday 

for the Paul Flood Cup final were 

treated to a fantastic game of 

rugby. 

Blackrock established an early lead with 

two tries in the opening 10 minutes. Old 

Belvedere had some chances to get back 

into the game but it took them until almost 

the end of the first half to get onto the 

scoreboard following a prolonged period 

of pressure on Blackrock’s try line. 

Blackrock scored early in the second 

half and began to pull away from their 

Division 1 rivals scoring three more tries 

in the second half. A late consolation 

score for Belvo came just before full-time. 

Hat-trick hero Roisin Crowe was awarded 

player of the match. The Leinster Rugby 

Women’s Section were delighted to have 

the brother of Paul Flood, Brian Flood, 

and his daughter Jenny in attendance 

to present the cup to Blackrock College 

captain Valerie Power. 

Women’s Section Chairperson, Eugene 

Noble, said: “The finals of the Bank of 

Ireland Paul Flood and Paul Cusack Cup 

and Plate competitions, which were all 

played in great spirit, with great skill 

and determination, demonstrated to all 

that were fortunate to be in attendance 

that all players welcomed the return to 

playing rugby. These competitions have 

served as great stepping stones to the 

return of our league competitions.” 

Clubs will have continued game time now 

with the commencement of the Leinster 

League where a record number of teams 

will be participating across five divisions. 

Thanks to all in Tullow RFC and Old 

Belvedere RFC for hosting the finals days. 


SHOP THE 2021/22 LEINSTER RUGBY RANGE NOW, 

EXCLUSIVELY AT LIFE STYLE SPORTS 


leo 

the lion’s 

kids 

corner 

IN A BLUR! 

Can you name this 

leinster player? 

spot the difference! 

Can you find all six? 

ANAGRAMS 

Can you un-jumble the names of these players? 

NO 

SHAMROCK 

SALT 

TRACK MY 

CINCH 

how did you do? 

IN A BLUR: 

MAX DEEGAN 

ANAGRAMS: 

THOMAS CLARKSON 

NICK MCCARTHY 

ZOOMED IN: 

JAMES LOWE 

zoomed in! 

WHo is this leinster 

player having an 

extreme close-up? 


AJ Products provides unique 

solutions for office, 

warehouse and 

environment 

www.ajproducts.ie

AZTO 

with 

Adam Byrne 

A – Action: If you could be a 

superhero, which would you be? 

Batman, he’s pretty cool. 

B – Boyhood: Who was your favourite 

sporting idol growing up? 

Tiger Woods 

C – Childhood: What is your favourite 

childhood memory? 

My parents sacrificed a summer 

holiday to bring me mountainbiking 

in the Alps! 

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

meal? 

A big bowl of porridge. 

E – Education: What was your 

favourite subject in school? 

Physics 

F – Film buff: What’s your favourite 

film? 

Gladiator 

G – Groove: Who is the best dancer in 

the squad? 

Ross Molony can move them hips 

when he gets going. 

H – Holiday: What’s your favourite 

holiday destination? 

New York 

I – Inside: Who is the worst to sit 

beside in the dressing room? 

I’ve been blessed with good 

neighbours so far! 

J – Joker: Who is the funniest in the 

squad? 

Rhys Ruddock loves a good gag. 

K – Kick-off: What’s your favourite 

time of the day to play a match? 

I like 5pm... not too late or early. 

L – Languages: How many languages 

can you speak? 

English, a little bit of German and 

Irish too from my school days. 


M – Music: Your favourite artist and 

song right now? 

Drake - Fair Trade. 

N – Number: Do you have a lucky 

number? 

9 or 14. 

O – Others: What’s your favourite 

sport outside of rugby? 

Golf 

P – Pal: Who is your best mate in the 

squad? 

I get a long with a lot of the lads, 

can’t single anyone out! 

Q – Quirky: Who has the most 

interesting fashion sense? 

Jamison can pull off most things! 

R – Red Carpet: Who is the most 

famous contact in your phone? 

The Kearney brothers. 

S – Superstitions: Do you have any 

matchday routines? 

A hot shower pre-game! 

T – Trim: What’s the worst haircut 

you’ve ever had? 

Had a stint with dreadlocks for 

awhile. 

U: Under pressure: Who in the squad 

would be the best in a bad situation? 

Ross Byrne has ice in his veins. 

V – Verified: How often do you use 

social media? 

Too often! 

W – Worst fear: What are you most 

scared of? 

Old age 

X – X-ray: Have you ever broken any 

bones? 

A couple! 

Y – Youth: Where did you grow up? 

Kill village 

Z – Zoo: What’s your favourite 

animal? 

Tiger 


THE SPIRIT OF 

UNITED RUGBY 

CHAMPIONSHIP. 

Enjoy responsibly 

DISCOVER THE SPIRIT WITHIN | 

#SAVOURTHEMOMENT

Call for Volunteers 

on Leinster Rugby 

Women’s PR Sub 

Committee 

The Leinster 

Rugby 

Women’s 

PR Sub- 

Committee 

are seeking 

volunteers 

for the 

2021/22 

season and 

want to hear 

from you. 

The Women’s PR committee are the connection between women’s 

domestic rugby and the general public around the province, pushing 

content through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the Leinster Rugby 

website, ensuring consistent, up to date coverage across all platforms. 

The committee are looking for individuals who can give some time to write an article or 

two for Leinster Rugby's website and home match programmes (Champions Cup and 

United Rugby Championship). 

Volunteers will need to follow submissions guidelines and be able to work to deadlines. 

If you have experience working in journalism, social media or promoting a women’s 

team, we want to hear from you! 

If you are interested in applying or if you have any questions, please feel free to 

contact Rachael O'Brien at womensadmin@leinsterrugby.ie 

Follow Leinster Women’s Rugby on Social Media: 

Facebook: Twitter: Instagram: 

@LeinsterWomen @LeinsterWomen @LeinsterWomensRugby 


leinster 

squad 

2021/22 season 

Vakh Abdaladze #1263 

PROP 

DOB: 06/02/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.88m 

WEIGHT: 121kg 

Michael Ala’alatoa #1301 

prop 

DOB: 28/08/1991 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 

WEIGHT: 127kg 

7 

CAPS 

Ryan Baird #1278 

LOCK 

DOB: 26/07/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.98m 

WEIGHT: 103.18kg 

5 

CAPS 

Adam Byrne #1213 

WING / FULL BACK 

DOB: 10/04/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 


1 

CAP 

Ed Byrne #1222 

6 

CAPS 

Harry Byrne #1280 

1 

CAP 

Ross Byrne #1236 

13 

CAPS 

Thomas Clarkson 

PROP 

DOB: 09/09/1993 

HEIGHT: 1.8m 


FLY HALF 

DOB: 22/04/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.9m 

WEIGHT: 95kg 

FLY HALF 

DOB: 08/04/1995 

HEIGHT: 1.9m 

WEIGHT: 92kg 

PROP 

DOB: 22/02/2000 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 

WEIGHT: 118kg 


Jack Conan #1223 

20 

CAPS 

7 

CAPS 

Will Connors #1264 

9 

CAPS 

Sean Cronin #1202 

72 

CAPS 

Max Deegan #1256 

1 

CAP 

NO. 8 

DOB: 29/07/1992 

HEIGHT: 1.93m 


BACK ROW 

DOB: 04/04/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.96m 

WEIGHT: 100kg 

HOOKER 

DOB: 06/05/1986 

HEIGHT: 1.78m 


NO. 8 

DOB: 01/10/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.93m 

WEIGHT: 110kg 

Peter Dooley #1230 

Caelan Doris #1268 

9 

CAPS 

Jack Dunne #1276 

Ciaran Frawley #1265 

PROP 

DOB: 04/08/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 117kg 

BACK ROW 

DOB: 02/04/1998 

HEIGHT: 1.93m 

WEIGHT: 107kg 

LOCK 

DOB: 21/11/1998 

HEIGHT: 2.03m 

WEIGHT: 120kg 

FLY HALF 

DOB: 04/12/1997 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 

WEIGHT: 98kg 

Tadhg Furlong #1220 

PROP 

DOB: 14/11/1992 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 125kg 

49 

CAPS 

13 

CAPS 

Jamison Gibson-Park #1247 

SCRUM HALF 

DOB: 23/02/1992 

HEIGHT: 1.75m 

WEIGHT: 80kg 

10 

CAPS 

David Hawkshaw #1290 

FLY HALF / Centre 

DOB: 03/07/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.75m ) 


Cian Healy #1142 

PROP 

DOB: 07/10/1987 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 


109 

CAPS 

2 

CAPS 

Robbie Henshaw #1251 

52 

CAPS 

9 

CAPS 

Dave Kearney #1158 

19 

CAPS 

Hugo Keenan #1253 

13 

CAPS 

Ronan Kelleher #1277 

13 

CAPS 

CENTRE 

DOB: 12/06/1993 

HEIGHT: 1.9m 



DOB: 19/06/1989 

HEIGHT: 1.8m 

WEIGHT: 90kg 

FULL BACK 

DOB: 18/06/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 


HOOKER 

DOB: 24/01/1998 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 105kg 


Jordan Larmour #1258 

30 

CAPS 

Dan Leavy #1231 

11 

CAPS 

WING 

DOB: 10/06/1997 

HEIGHT: 1.78m 

WEIGHT: 90kg 

FLANKER 

DOB: 23/05/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 


for full squad profiles 

please click here 

James Lowe #1262 

6 

CAPS 

Nick McCarthy #1241 

Luke McGrath #1206 

19 

CAPS 

Michael Milne #1279 


DOB: 08/07/1992 

HEIGHT: 1.88m 

WEIGHT: 105kg 

SCRUM HALF 

DOB: 25/03/1995 

HEIGHT: 1.8m 


SCRUM HALF 

DOB: 03/02/1993 

HEIGHT: 1.75m 


PROP 

DOB: 05/02/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 115kg 

Jimmy O’Brien #1272 

Conor O’Brien #1260 

Josh Murphy #1261 

Ross Molony #1233 

LOCK 

DOB: 11/05/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.96m 

WEIGHT: 113kg 

FLANKER 

DOB: 17/02/1995 

HEIGHT: 1.98m 

WEIGHT: 110kg 

CENTRE 

DOB: 06/02/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 

WEIGHT: 100kg 

CENTRE 

DOB: 27/11/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 88kg 

Tommy O’Brien #1283 

Rory O’Loughlin #1248 

1 

CAP 

Scott Penny #1271 

Andrew Porter #1246 

37 

CAPS 

CENTRE 

DOB: 28/05/1998 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 95kg 

CENTRE 

DOB: 21/01/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.88m 


FLANKER 

DOB: 22/09/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 104kg 

PROP 

DOB: 16/01/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 



Garry Ringrose #1237 

34 

CAPS 

Rhys Ruddock #1167 

27 

CAPS 

James Ryan #1259 

37 

CAPS 

Johnny Sexton #1127 

99 

CAPS 

14 

CAPS 

CENTRE 

DOB: 26/01/1995 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 

WEIGHT: 96kg 

BACK ROW 

DOB: 13/11/1990 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 


LOCK 

DOB: 24/07/1996 

HEIGHT: 2.03m 

WEIGHT: 115kg 

FLY HALF 

DOB: 11/07/1985 

HEIGHT: 1.88m 

WEIGHT: 90kg 

Dan Sheehan #1286 

HOOKER 

DOB: 17/09/1998 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 


Devin Toner #1128 

LOCK 

DOB: 29/06/1986 

HEIGHT: 2.11m 

WEIGHT: 127kg 

70 

CAPS 

James Tracy #1211 

HOOKER 

DOB: 02/04/1991 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 106kg 

6 

CAPS 

Josh van der Flier #1228 

FLANKER 

DOB: 25/04/1993 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 

WEIGHT: 103kg 

32 

CAPS 

Coaching 

Staff 

2021/22 season 

LEO CULLEN 

HEAD COACH 

STUART LANCASTER 

SENIOR COACH 

ROBIN MCBRYDE 

ASSISTANT COACH 

FELIPE CONTEPOMI 

BACKS COACH 

EMMET FARRELL 

KICKING COACH AND 

LEAD PERFORMANCE ANALYST 

GUY EASTERBY 

HEAD OF RUGBY OPERATIONS 

DENIS LEAMY 

CONTACT SKILLS COACH 


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Leo Mussini 

Riposare in Pace 

BY MARCUS Ó BUACHALLA, SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA MANAGER, LEINSTER RUGBY 

When I first 

started in 

my role with 

Leinster Rugby 

in early 2014, 

there was a lot 

of learning to 

be done. 

There is no manual for how to 

lead a communications team 

really. 

In a professional sporting organisation, 

even less so and you just hope that the 

skills you have acquired over the years 

have equipped you for the role, but 

really, it’s a shot into the unknown. 

Or it was for me anyway. 

The early days? 

You try as best you can to build trust 

internally and then hope that you can 

leave a positive impression on those 

external to the organisation when they 

engage with the club online or through 

traditional media. 

However, very quickly I realised that at 

least twice a month, there was a cheat 

sheet and I would be exposed to some 

brilliant communications professionals, 

some of whom were far more 

experienced than I, and that their advice 

would be free and quite often delivered 

with a pasty, a pie or even a glass of 

prosecco. 

Those early days and the shared 

experiences were brilliant. 

Time spent in the company of Ben in 

Cardiff, Neil in Belfast, Fiona in Limerick, 

Peter in Swansea, Federico, Katie, 

Jeremy, Nerys, Louise. 

One of the best lessons that I learned 

is that very little that we can do as 

communications professionals matter in 

terms of the 80 minutes on the pitch. 

But we can do a hell of a lot of positive 

work away from the pitch to promote the 

club and the organisation that we work 

for and we should never let the results 

dictate our definition of success. 

The team will do what they do best and 

you, well, you just have to do your best 

off the field, and represent the club as 

best you can. 

Take pride in your work, in your words, 

but also in how you carry yourself and be 

an ally for the men and the women that 

pull on the Leinster blue. 

And that is what Leo Mussini taught me. 

Leo was the Head of Marketing and 

Communications at Zebre since 2012 

and in fact, as I learned this week, he set 

up that department originally. 

He has seen it all during that time with 

Zebre, but he always put his and the 

club’s best foot forward and it was pure 

joy to be in his company and to learn 


from him and to see the passion that 

burned so bright inside him. 

Leo died suddenly last week at the age 

of 41. 

Normally ahead of a game like today, 

Leo and I would be in communication 

during the week. 

How can I help you? Anything you need 

ahead of Saturday? What’s the plan for 

media pre- and post-match? Do you need 

help with imagery, videography? 

There was the time I managed to get him 

an adaptor in Dublin Airport as the fridge 

that Guinness had sent to Italy didn’t 

have the right plug attached! 

And then, when the business was done: 

‘How are you, my friend?’ 

That is the way it always was with Leo. 

“Marcus, my friend, how are you?” 

He cared for and was interested in 

people. 

Over in Parma, his hospitality was 

legendary – “Marcus, my friend, 

prosecco after the game?” – and it is a 

huge regret now of mine as I think back 

to Leinster’s last trip in March that we 

were denied any time together. 

Simone del Latte – his number two – did 

a great job in Leo’s absence but it wasn’t 

the same. 

Because time in Leo’s company was good 

craic, in fact, it was great craic. 

At home, away or at various launches 

and awards, he was great company and 

regardless of what happened on the field, 

you couldn’t meet a more passionate 

advocate for the game of rugby in Zebre 

or indeed, in Italy. 

So, I dropped him a note. 

“Missed you at the weekend, fella?” 

And that is when he first mentioned that 

he had been ill. 

He wasn’t sure what was up exactly, 

he mentioned pneumonia, maybe, he 

mentioned Covid-19, maybe, but he also 

mentioned that they didn’t find serious 

disease and ultimately that the doctors 

were at a loss to explain what had him 

so poorly. 

But typical of Leo, he signed off by saying 

he had faith in the doctors and even more 

so, he took quite a bit of comfort in the 

knowledge that “after nine years, Zebre 

can run a matchday without me!” 

And they did. Simone did a brilliant job 

at running that matchday without Leo 

but not for one minute did I think that I 

wouldn’t be in his company again at a 

game. 

This week I have reached out to Simone, 

as all of us in the other teams have, to see 

if we can help at all. 

Because no doubt Simone and the Zebre 

and Italian rugby family are missing Leo 

far more than I or we ever will. 

They are in our thoughts this weekend 

as they make their first trip abroad since 

Leo died. 

I am grateful for all the shared 

experiences I have had with Leo, but 

my heart breaks for his partner Elisa, his 

family and his close friends. 

Forty-one is far too young to lose anyone. 

As I read more and more about Leo this 

past week, I saw he had a deep interest 

in music, in DJing and old vinyl records 

but what my reading also kept bringing 

me back to, was rugby, and to Zebre. 

He didn’t post much on social media but 

his posts were all about his two passions 

in life. Music. Rugby. 

And the images used? 

Launch days and nights out in the 

company of the crazy band of brothers 

and sisters that work in the various 

communications teams across European 

rugby. 

Those bonds and the people he met 

along his wonderful rugby journey with 

Zebre, mattered more to him than the 

results. 

His final WhatsApp message to me was 

before the final of the Guinness PRO14. 

“Bring my greetings and best luck to the 

final. Also to Leo and Mick Dawson.” 

A mark of the man. 

Thinking of those he had met along the 

way and wishing them well. 

Codladh sámh Leo. Ní bheidh do leithéid 

arís ann. 



LEAMY JOINS SENIOR 

COACHING TEAM IN 

CONTACT SKILLS ROLE 

Leinster 

Rugby has 

confirmed the 

appointment 

of former 

Munster 

and Ireland 

back row 

Denis Leamy 

as Contact 

Skills Coach. 

Thirty-nine-year-old Leamy had 

already been working with 

Leinster Rugby as an Elite Player 

Development Officer since 

October 2019 and has already 

started his new role under head 

coach, Leo Cullen. 

Prior to joining Leinster Rugby, Denis 

played with Munster Rugby until his 

retirement in 2012 at the age of 30 due 

to a hip injury. 

He won 144 Munster caps having made 

his debut in September 2001 and played 

in both the 2006 and 2008 Heineken 

Cup finals. Leamy was also capped 57 

times by Ireland, played in two World 

Cups, was twice a Triple Crown winner 

and was a member of the 2009 Grand 

Slam winning side. 

Commenting on his appointment, Leamy 

said, “I am thrilled to be Leinster Rugby’s 

new contact skills coach. 

“It is my hope to build on the great work 

that Hugh Hogan has done over the last 

four years or so. 

“I would like to thank Leinster Rugby for 

this opportunity. It is an honour for me to 

be to be working with one of Europe’s 

premier clubs and I am very much 

looking forward to the challenge 

ahead in the coming seasons.” 

Leo Cullen welcomed the addition of 

his former Ireland team-mate to his 

senior coaching team where he joins 

Stuart Lancaster, Robin McBryde, Felipe 

Contepomi and Emmet Farrell. 

“Denis has been with us and in and 

around Leinster Rugby for a few years 

now so he is well established and is a 

familiar face. In particular working with 

some of our younger players in their 

development. He has been a huge asset 

to the club. 

“The contact skills role is something we 

see as hugely important to the overall 

success of the senior team on a number 

of fronts. 

“Denis is someone who has achieved 

and experienced so much in terms of his 

own playing career and has accumulated 

vast knowledge over the years. He was 

a fierce competitor on the field and he 

will be a great role model for our current 

crop of players. 

“We are all very excited to see what he 

can bring to the role,” said Cullen. 

Following retirement and prior to joining 

Leinster Rugby, Leamy had been working 

with Rockwell College, with Garryowen 

in the AIL and with Munster’s underage 

teams. 

The Tipperary native also spent time 

working as head coach of Cashel RFC as 

well as being part of Tipperary’s 2016 

All-Ireland hurling winning backroom 

team. 

More recently Leamy has been involved 

with Leinster Rugby age grade sides and 

the Leinster Rugby ‘A’ team and he was 

involved with the Ireland U-20 team as 

Defence Coach during the 2021 Six 

Nations. 


compiled by stuart farmer 

media services limited 

Leinster Player 

Statistics 

SQUAD 

CAP 

NO 

DEBUT 

2021/22 SEASON FOR LEINSTER LEINSTER CAREER 

ALL GAMES URC EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14/URC EPCR 

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

SINCE LAST TRY 

CAPS 

VAKH ABDALADZE 1263 2 DEC 17 - - - - - - - - - 0+12 1 5 0+12 1 5 - - - 11 - 

MICHAEL ALA'ALATOA 1301 25 SEP 21 2 - - 2 - - - - - 2 - - 2 - - - - - - WS 7 

RYAN BAIRD 1278 27 APR 19 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - 12+17 6 30 11+13 6 30 1+4 - - 3 IR 5 

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

ED BYRNE 1222 9 FEB 14 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - 19+53 10 50 19+42 9 45 0+11 1 5 9 IR 6 

HARRY BYRNE 1280 28 SEP 19 - - - - - - - - - 14+10 6 154 14+9 6 149 0+1 - 5 3 IR 1 

ROSS BYRNE 1236 4 SEP 15 1+1 1 9 1+1 1 9 - - - 71+35 7 659 59+19 3 480 12+16 4 179 2 IR 13 

THOMAS CLARK- 

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

SON 

JACK CONAN 1223 20 FEB 14 - - - - - - - - - 80+25 23 115 59+15 16 80 21+10 7 35 1 IR 20 

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

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

SEAN CRONIN 1202 28 OCT 11 - - - - - - - - - 120+75 42 210 76+54 25 125 43+19 16 80 7 IR 72 

MAX DEEGAN 1256 3 DEC 16 1+1 1 5 1+1 1 5 - - - 36+31 19 95 33+23 17 85 3+8 2 10 1 IR 1 

PETER DOOLEY 1230 31 OCT 14 - - - - - - - - - 40+53 5 25 38+47 5 25 2+6 - - 8 - 

CAELAN DORIS 1268 28 APR 18 1 - - 1 - - - - - 33+8 5 25 27+6 3 15 6+2 2 10 10 IR 9 

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

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

CIARAN FRAWLEY 1265 17 FEB 18 1+1 - - 1+1 - - - - - 18+19 4 143 17+15 3 132 1+4 1 11 7 - 

TADHG FURLONG 1220 1 NOV 13 - - - - - - - - - 73+41 8 40 42+33 3 15 31+8 5 25 3 IR 49 

JAMISON GIBSON-PARK 1247 2 SEP 16 1+1 - - 1+1 - - - - - 50+53 17 85 45+29 14 70 5+24 3 15 7 IR 10 

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

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

CIAN HEALY 1142 5 MAY 07 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - 156+77 27 135 90+50 13 65 64+26 13 65 4 IR 109 

ROBBIE HENSHAW 1251 8 OCT 16 - - - - - - - - - 56+1 11 55 25 5 25 31+1 6 30 1 IR 52 

DAVE KEARNEY 1158 16 MAY 09 - - - - - - - - - 147+22 51 255 121+15 44 220 25+6 7 35 7 IR 19 

HUGO KEENAN 1253 5 NOV 16 2 - - 2 - - - - - 29+3 4 20 24+3 4 20 5 - - 5 IR 13 

RONAN KELLEHER 1277 22 FEB 19 - - - - - - - - - 20+5 9 45 14+3 8 40 6+2 1 5 13 IR 13 

JORDAN LARMOUR 1258 2 SEP 17 - - - - - - - - - 52+10 19 95 31+7 14 70 21+3 5 25 1 IR 30 

DAN LEAVY 1231 31 OCT 14 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 43+30 17 85 35+20 13 65 8+10 4 20 2 IR 11 


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 

JAMES LOWE 1262 2 DEC 17 1 - - 1 - - - - - 53 34 170 35 25 125 18 9 45 4 IR 6 

NICK MCCARTHY 1241 19 DEC 15 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 6+31 4 20 6+25 4 20 0+6 - - 6 - 

LUKE MCGRATH 1206 5 MAY 12 1 - - 1 - - - - - 103+49 39 195 70+43 31 155 33+6 8 40 3 IR 19 

MICHAEL MILNE 1279 28 SEP 19 - - - - - - - - - 1+15 2 10 1+15 2 10 - - - 14 - 

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

ROSS MOLONY 1233 20 FEB 15 2 - - 2 - - - - - 66+52 4 20 64+37 4 20 2+15 - - 4 - 

JOSH MURPHY 1261 3 NOV 17 - - - - - - - - - 42+7 5 25 41+6 4 20 1+1 1 5 9 - 

JAMIE OSBORNE 1294 30 JAN 21 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 2+5 1 5 2+5 1 5 - - - 2 - 

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

JIMMY O'BRIEN 1272 23 NOV 18 - - - - - - - - - 26+9 7 37 24+9 6 32 2 1 5 1 - 

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

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

RORY O'LOUGHLIN 1248 2 SEP 16 2 - - 2 - - - - - 66+23 21 105 59+15 18 90 7+8 3 15 32 IR 1 

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

SCOTT PENNY 1271 23 NOV 18 - - - - - - - - - 23+6 16 80 23+6 16 80 - - - 1 - 

ANDREW PORTER 1246 2 SEP 16 2 1 5 2 1 5 - - - 30+49 12 60 25+30 9 45 5+19 3 15 2 IR 37 

GARRY RINGROSE 1237 12 SEP 15 2 - - 2 - - - - - 86+2 27 143 54+1 16 88 32+1 11 55 3 IR 34 

RHYS RUDDOCK 1167 6 DEC 09 2 - - 2 - - - - - 145+45 11 55 108+31 9 45 36+12 2 10 6 IR 27 

ROB RUSSELL 1302 3 OCT 21 1 - - 1 - - - - - 1 - - 1 - - - - - - - 

JAMES RYAN 1259 2 SEP 17 2 - - 2 - - - - - 46+6 3 15 24+1 1 5 22+5 2 10 12 IR 37 

JOHNNY SEXTON 1127 27 JAN 06 1 - 9 1 - 9 - - - 149+25 26 1516 88+19 13 842 59+6 12 643 14 IR 99 

DAN SHEEHAN 1286 23 OCT 20 2 - - 2 - - - - - 5+10 6 30 5+10 6 30 - - - 7 - 

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

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

DEVIN TONER 1128 27 JAN 06 - - - - - - - - - 206+60 4 20 140+42 4 20 63+18 - - 49 IR 70 

JAMES TRACY 1211 4 NOV 12 0+2 1 5 0+2 1 5 - - - 57+74 15 75 50+46 14 70 7+28 1 5 2 IR 6 

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

JOSH VAN DER FLIER 1228 11 OCT 14 2 1 5 2 1 5 - - - 77+23 12 60 47+17 8 40 30+6 4 20 2 IR 32 


ALL GAMES URC EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14/URC EPCR OVERALL 

KICKING 

SUCCESS 

RATE 

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

% 

- - - HARRY BYRNE - - - - - - - - - - 53 6 52 5 1 1 74 79.73% 

ROSS BYRNE 100.00% 2 - - 2 - - - - - 198 75 1 156 50 1 42 25 - 356 76.69% 

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

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

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

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

JOHNNY SEXTON 100.00% 3 1 - 3 1 - - - - 237 293 11 123 170 7 107 119 4 664 79.82% 


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ig picture 

3 October 2021 

Josh van der Flier runs out for his 

100th cap before the United Rugby 

Championship match between 

Dragons and Leinster at Rodney 

Parade in Newport, Wales. 



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BROUGHTON APPOINTED TO 

ROLE OF ACADEMY MANAGER 

The IRFU and 


are delighted 

to confirm 

that Simon 

Broughton has 

been appointed 

to the role 

of Academy 

Manager for 

the province. 

Broughton has led the rugby 

programme at Leinster’s Ken 

Wall Centre of Excellence in 

Energia Park since it opened in 

2019. He has been an Elite Player 

Development Officer at Leinster 

since 2016 but has coached 

Leinster representative sides for 

over 15 years. 

Simon, who originally hails from New 

Zealand, played for Ballymena and DLSP 

in the AIL and represented Leinster at 

senior level. 

He was an assistant coach to Andy 

Wood when Clontarf won AIL titles 

in 2014 and 2016 and has coached 

Leinster representative sides at A, U-20, 

U-19, and Ireland at U-18 Schools and 

U-18 Sevens. He has also coached the 

Ireland Women’s Senior XVs. 

Peter Smyth, IRFU Head of Elite Player 

Development, said, “Simon has been 

doing great work identifying and 

nurturing talent in Leinster’s player 

pathway working with both Leinster 

Provincial Talent Squad and IRFU 

National Talent Squad players. 

“He has a clear vision and understanding 

of the talent identification and player 

development processes and will bring 

a fresh perspective to supporting young 

elite players across the region. His strong 

connections with clubs and schools will 

also be invaluable in further developing 

relationships and identifying opportunities 

for greater collaboration.” 

Broughton commented, “It’s a privilege to 

take on the Leinster Academy Manager’s 

role and to progress the great work Noel, 

Peter and Girvan have delivered before 

me. 

“I’m excited at the opportunity to work 

with a great group of people, to support 

Leo, the senior coaching team and I’m 

committed to enhancing our Academy 

players development both individually 

and collectively as they aspire to 

contribute to the culture and values of 

the team. 

“I also look forward to strengthening our 

relationships within our community and 

collaborating with our rugby department 

to create quality environments within our 

clubs and schools.” 

Leo Cullen, Leinster Rugby head coach, 

said, “This is a critical appointment 

for Leinster Rugby and in particular 

the continuing development of our 

player pathway model. Simon will 

add considerably to the body of work 

already delivered in the past by Noel 

(McNamara), Peter (Smyth), Girvan 

(Dempsey) and Collie (McEntee). 

“Simon has a wealth of experience in 

his own playing capacity and over the 

last number of years with age grade and 

development sides but more than that 

he understands from his work over the 

last few years the value we place on the 

player pathway in Leinster Rugby. 

“It is a pathway that saw 15 players play 

for the Leinster Rugby senior team for the 

first time last season. 

“Those players come from our clubs and 

our schools. They played in the Shane 

Horgan Cup, in the Bank of Ireland Junior 

and Senior Schools Cup and had taken 

their first representative steps at age 

grade level. 

“That pathway is critical to our future 

success and I am delighted that we have 

someone in the position that already 

has a first-hand understanding of its 

importance to us as a club. 

“I look forward to working closely with 

Simon and I wish him all the very best in 

his new role.” 


offical leinster 

supporters club 

Round 3 of the 2021/22 United 

Rugby Championship is quickly 

upon us and we find ourselves 

in a very happy place. We’re 

back home in the familiar 

surroundings of the RDS and 

what an occasion this will be. 

Our last fixture here in front of 

a crowd was the fixture against 

Dragons back on June 11 when 

1,200 spectators witnessed us see 

them off on a scoreline of 38-7. 

This afternoon sees us welcome 

Zebre and with 75 per cent 

capacity, we expect all 12,000+ 

Season Ticket holders to be in 

attendance to welcome the Boys in 

Blue back to the pitch. 

We come into this game with two from 

two having last week secured a very 

nervy and scrappy 7-6 win away in 

Newport against Dragons. That was 

a tough game in what looked to be 

very tough conditions at times, given 

the weather as well as the new playing 

surface which led to a fast pitch, and a 

fast, messy ball to try and control at times. 

Resilience though saw us take the four 

points whilst Dragons will be kicking 

themselves they didn’t clinch the win and 

have to contend with a losing bonus-point. 

The focus this week switches to Zebre 

who come into the game winless. In their 

first fixture they were defeated by the Lions 

while last week they were defeated by 

Ulster. 

Both of their fixtures were home so they 

will be looking to get their away season up 

and running and we can expect a tough 

fixture like so many we have encountered 

in the past against Zebre. The two fixtures 

we had in the 2020/21 season saw 

us secure victory on both occasions, 

63-8 back on October 23 while the 

return fixture in March also saw us run 

out winners, although on a much closer 

scoreline of 31-48. 

With the return to the RDS following on so 

quickly from our opening game against 

the Bulls in the Aviva, the noise and 

atmosphere will certainly help the lads 

get their focus back on track and not a 

moment too soon. 

The RDS has for so many games in the 

past been a Leinster fortress and we know 

that all at Leinster Rugby, management, 

players, backroom staff etc. will want to 

ensure that this remains the case for so 

many more games going forward in the 

2021/22 URC. 

Leo and Co have always dealt with games 

on a match-by-match approach and 

despite having Scarlets next week, the 

focus will be on Zebre for this afternoon, 

as to write off an opposition before they 

take to the field is something that can 

cause a serious backlash from them. 

All of us in the OLSC and especially the 

committee are delighted that games are 

back and that we the fans are here in 

person. It’s of paramount importance we 

continue to follow all matchday guidelines 

to ensure our safety and that of all players, 

officials etc. so that we can continue 

attending in person week after week. We 

all have had a pretty rough time over the 

last 18 or so months so let’s stick together 

and we can and will be able to roar on the 

Leinster Blue in all their games! 

As for us as a committee, we will be 

working with Leinster Rugby and the RDS 

to try to ensure we can get as many of 

our pre-Covid activities back as quickly as 

possible. The best way to keep up to date 

with our news and activities is to follow us 

on our social media channels and we’ll 

hopefully be back to the new normal in 

no time. 

Until then, welcome back to the RDS and 

as always, be loud, be true and be blue. 

Yours in Rugby, 

OLSC Committee 


OFFICIAL 

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SUPPORTERS 

CLUB 

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GETTING 

We check social media 

for the latest views 

and thoughts across 

SOCIAL 

the 12 counties 



Virtual Mascot 

Matthew 

Lynch 

Age: 7 

School: St Mary’s, Donnybrook 

Class: Second Class 

Hobbies: Rugby, GAA, Chess 

Favourite Player: Garry Ringrose 


WHERE ARE 

THEY NOW? 

MATTHEW D’ARCY 

THEN: The St 

Mary’s College 

man joined 

the Leinster 

Academy in 

2005 for three 

years without 

ever playing 

for his 

province. 

NOW: Matthew 

works in 

Management 

Consulting 

for Accenture 

and is living 

in Foxrock 

with his wife 

Michelle, 

daughter 

Rosie (1) with 

another girl 

expected for 

the new year. 


Matthew D’Arcy. Not the Clontarf 

one; the St Mary’s one. Not the 

centre; the scrum-half. It can be 

very easy to mix them up. 

These are two men with two very different 

experiences. Matthew from St Mary’s’ 

story is all about turning disappointment 

into achievement, using what he learned 

in the professional game to underpin his 

career when those boots were removed 

for the final time. 

Originally, he made his way from The 

High School to Trinity College, playing 

for Tony Smeeth for a couple of seasons. 

Upon moving into the first of his three 

years in the Leinster Academy (2005-08) 

an ambitious young out-half convinced 

him to make the move to St Mary’s 

College. 

Jonathan Sexton’s career only truly took 

off in the Heineken Cup semi-final in 

2009. By this time, Matthew had left 

Leinster without playing for the first team. 

“It was a different environment then to 

what it is now, at least looking from the 

outside-in. 

“The organisation has evolved and there 

are more supports in place, like the 

Rugby Players Ireland, providing the best 

opportunity for players to mature and 

develop,” recalls Matthew. 

“In my time, Cheika was working so 

hard to break through the glass ceiling, 

in terms of Leinster’s reputation. He 

battened down the hatches and put his 

trust in experience. 

“I have more A caps than you could 

shake a stick at but I never managed to 

get a senior cap.” 

The closest he came was New Year’s Eve 

2006 when saddled with the expectation 

that he would appear from the bench 

against Munster. 

“Guy Easterby was starting at nine. I 

remember in the run-up to the game 

Cheika called me in to let me know what 

he wanted from me. 

“I still remember him saying, ‘I don’t give 

a f**k if it’s Paul O’Connell running at 

you, you come off the line and you hit 

him’. 

“That line always resonated with me how 

much he wanted us on the front foot and 

not backing down to Munster as perhaps 

had happened in the past and I was 

really ready to try to do that!” 

On the bench, Matthew was taking it 

all in when veteran Ireland loosehead 

Reggie Corrigan came off temporarily. 

“He came back to the bench and just 

said, ‘F**k, that’s like an international 

game out there’. 

“I was sitting there, hearing this, thinking, 

‘Oh my God, if I can get on, I can show 

what I can do at this level’. I was up and 

down, warming up with loads of nervous 

energy but I felt ready. 

“At another stage, Guy went down with 

still about 20 minutes on the clock. I was 

like, ‘Yes, here we go, this is it’. 

“My last thoughts were of my family in 

the crowd, I couldn’t wait to get out there. 

It was brilliant. I was about to find out 

what it was like to play in what was a 

serious competitive derby game.” 

“But, Guy got up and I didn’t make it on 

at all. I ran to the dressing-room, grabbed 

my stuff, didn’t hang around. I just got out 

of there. 

“Worse again, my grandad, Tom D’Arcy, 

who was an ex-President of the Leinster 

Branch came looking for me in the 

dressing-room. But, I was gone. When 

he asked why I wasn’t there, I batted it 

away. 

“That showed where my head was at. I 

was frustrated but also think I felt a bit like 

an imposter. I didn’t feel like I deserved 

to be there. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I was still 

phenomenally determined to make that 

breakthrough and I felt I was quite close 

to making it but my approach was you 

can only really hang around if you have 

had an impact and, at that stage, I hadn’t 

yet.” 

There was a final chance to win that 

elusive first cap in an end of season away 

game at Edinburgh. He travelled as the 

24th man, but was never required to strip 

for the match. 

Thereafter, the curse of injury to his 

shoulder, allied to the frustration at not 

making the progress he craved led to the 

fade of his challenge for senior game time. 


“The environment now seems to help 

players along, give them more time to 

show what they can develop into. 

“I certainly believe I could have made an 

impact but in that narrow window Cheika 

was looking at me, seeing me play, I 

don’t think I demonstrated what I needed 

to at that time. 

“But I mean I represented Leinster 

Schools, 19s, 21s, A, played Ireland 19s, 

21s, Sevens. I won the AIL with St Mary’s 

in 2012. I even played professionally 

for Doncaster in the Championship in 

England for a season, so I have taken a 

huge amount from the game and am very 

proud of that. 

“I also think it equipped me really well for 

my professional career. I have been in the 

corporate world for 10 years now and I 

have transferred a lot of what I learned 

as a professional rugby player.” 

There was a season at the Doncaster 

Knights in the English Championship, 

making his debut in February 2009, three 

months before Sexton and Leinster finally 

crashed through that glass ceiling. 

There was the offer and acceptance of a 

two-year contract extension and Matthew 

took it, only to change his mind by the 

end of the first year. 

“I was looking to get into the proper 

working world, for want of a better 

phrase,” he says. 

“From research, I felt the project-based 

work of Accenture would suit me as 

a regularly changing, competitive 

environment. 

“I interviewed and was offered the job 

Christmas of that year with a start date 

in March of 2011. Jobs were few and far 

between back then and from memory 

Accenture were only taking in seven 

graduates that year. For context, we now 

take in up to 100 in a year.” 

Then, out of the blue, Conor O’Shea, 

the Director of Rugby at Harlequins at 

the time, called to offer him a short-term 

contract. 

“I felt I had given rugby a really good 

go, dedicated myself to it. There were no 

guarantees past the three months with 

Quins. So, I politely turned Conor down. 

“But overall the professional rugby 

environment gave me so much, it was like 

life on fast-forward, in terms of personal 

development and maturity.” 

A decade in the corporate world has 

given D’Arcy enough time to reflect on 

what elements of being a professional 

rugby player are most transferable ‘on 

the outside’. 

And there are many. 

TEAM PLAYER. 

“Professional sport teaches you about 

being the best team player you can be,” 

says Matthew. 

“The first thing you have to be is 

completely focussed on yourself, 

constantly working on self-improvement, 

knowing your role and applying yourself 

to execute it as best you can. 

“You need to prepare yourself to be at 

your best, for the sake of the team. That is 

how you help to elevate the team. 

“The blocks in sport are weekly. You 

evaluate last week and apply ways to 

improve the next week. In the working 

world, it doesn’t move that fast. But, it can 

be every month you stop and reflect. 

“That process of self-evaluation and selfimprovement 

is something I learned very 

early in rugby.” 

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS. 

“The importance of relationships is 

paramount. 

“Looking back now I don’t think I 

was mature enough to develop the 

relationships I needed to in my early-20s, 

those with coaches like Cheika and 

David Knox and also senior players in 

key positions. 

“It is so important to build on them. It is 

your responsibility to do that. You have 

to own and control the key relationships 

you need and can’t expect people to 

know and understand you and how you 

operate at your best. 

“That is something really applicable 

to the corporate world I am in. At any 

point, there are always three-to-five new 

clients or colleagues you need to build 

relationships with, in a natural way but 

taking the initiative to harvest and let 

them get to know you and you them.” 

ENVIRONMENT. 

“Cheika was really trying hard to change 

the Leinster environment at the time so I 


was really close to someone using their 

own force of personality to change an 

environment. He was ruthless. 

“Now, I am often involved in changing 

teams. Can’t say I do it in the way Chieka 

did but it is something that requires 

work and requires you to bring your 

personality to creating the environment 

you want. 

“As the environment you create with the 

team is so important, how often you talk, 

how to push for continuous improvement 

and success and how you engage with 

each other – often this takes a lot of work 

and isn’t something you can just expect to 

happen naturally. 

“In my experience that doesn’t lead to the 

best outcomes.” 

OVERCOMING DISAPPOINTMENT. 

“Dealing with disappointments is an 

absolute inevitability of life, of career and 

non-career life. 

“You have to deal with them, not 

push them to one side. You need to 

acknowledge them, work through them, 

put in place a plan to get back on track. 

“In rugby, you didn’t get picked, you lost 

a game, you suffered an injury, all those 

things happen on the regular and so you 

had to learn quickly how to best pick 

yourself back up, do something about it, 

and apply yourself differently. 

“It can help to equip you with the 

resilience you need.” 

INSTINCT. 

“Another area which I feel has really 

benefited me is trusting your instinct. 

“The 80 minutes of a game moves at 

breakneck speed. For instance, when 

running to a ruck, you don’t have the time 

to stop, think, write down the three key 

factors in making a decision. 

“You get there. You’ve seen something 

and you trust your instinct to take a gap 

or see a pass. You go for it. It works out 

or it doesn’t. 

“In the working world, you make small 

and even big decisions all the time. 

Sometimes, you don’t need to sit and 

think about every factor and evaluate it. 

“Sometimes, the most effective thing you 

can do is follow your gut, your instinct. 

At times, I feel going with my instinct has 

really paid off in my career.” 

KNOWING BODY AND MIND. 

“I think Covid and taking away 

commuting and being present in office 

spaces has really amplified how you get 

the best out of yourself. 

“Rugby is a physical environment where 

you have to maximise yourself to play 

the game. You also need to balance your 

load, rest and recover. 

“In the working world, hard work is often 

seen as being constantly at your desk, 

constantly online, constantly available. 

“I think it is more balanced to ensure 

application and focus when you work 

coupled with the right recovery. 

“So I am applying myself in blocks of 

work, but then doing something different, 

taking a break, reading, going for a walk 

and ensuring full recovery between days. 

“From my years in rugby, this is ingrained 

in me and I have managed over the years 

to ensure my working routine is aligned to 

this now too.” 

******** 

Ten years on, D’Arcy holds no regrets on 

his decision to leave the game. He took 

a long-term view over what would have 

been a short-sighted opportunity. 

“I am really happy now in my life and 

in my career,” he stresses, “and my time 

at Leinster really helped me and were 

formative years for me to get where I 

am.’” 


Referees 

Corner 

BY DAN WALLACE 

Welcome to another edition of Referees 

Corner. With the season in full swing, we’re 

very much looking forward to getting back 

together at our Area Meetings and to finally 

getting back to meeting indoors. 

All meetings will be held 

under IRFU and Sport Ireland 

guidelines and it is great to see 

another step onwards normality. 

This month we will focus on foul 

play and also take a look at 

some examples of the Global 

Laws Trials in action over the 

last few weeks. We will be 

circulating some clips or incidents 

during each meeting and having 

a discussion on each incident and 

identifying potential outcomes. 

Congratulations to Sean Gallagher who 

was appointed to the Canada v Chile 

Rugby World Cup 2023 Qualifier – 

Ulster’s Chris Busby was in the middle. 

Grove-White has refereed in the U-20 

Six Nations, most recently Ireland v Italy 

and he has also refereed in the 2018 

Commonwealth Games. He also has 

experience refereeing in the Japanese 

League as part of a Scottish Rugby 

Union initiative to create links with 

Scotland and Japan and also in the MLR 

Today’s referee is Sam Grove-White 

from the Scottish Rugby Union. Sam 

was picked as a referee for the World 

Rugby Sevens Series of the 2016/17 

season. This has continued through to 

the 2018/19 season. 

Want to get 

involved? 

Feel free to make contact with the Leinster Rugby Referees 

at hayley.whyte@leinsterrugby.ie. If you are interested 

in becoming a referee get in contact with us through our 

Facebook and Google + pages, our website www.arlb.ie 

or through twitter @leinsterreferee. 


in North America. He is assisted today 

by IRFU referees Peter Martin and Oisin 

Quinn and SRU TMO Neil Patterson. 

It was great to see Sara Cox, became 

the first woman to referee a Premiership 

game when she took charge of 

Harlequins’ clash against Worcester a 

couple of weeks ago. She was the first 

female referee to be centrally contracted 

by the Rugby Football Union in 2016, 

and last year became the first female 

assistant referee in English rugby’s top 

flight. 

She hopes that aspiring male and 

female referees will embrace a “no 

barrier to entry” approach in rugby 

union. Another great example is former 

French international and current French 

international referee Aurélie Groizeleau 

who signed a semi-professional contract 

with the Fédération Française de 

Rugby on 1 September and dreams of 

officiating at Rugby World Cup 2021. 

Leinster Rugby Referees have led the 

way in Ireland for many years in terms 

of women in refereeing with the likes 

of Aoife McCarthy and Helen O’Reilly 

making international break throughs and 

others like Susan Carty, Audrey Fulham, 

Hayley Whyte actively refereeing 

on a weekly basis along with Rose 

Alice Murphy who is on our Referees 

Committee and Katie Byrne who is 

currently on IPAS and looking to make 

it through to the National Panel. There 

is of course always room for more so 

please get in touch if you are interested. 

Referees provide a vital function 

in servicing all levels of the game. 

Refereeing is also a fantastic hobby 

and is increasingly becoming a genuine 

alternative to playing the game. 

Whether you have aspirations to referee 

at the highest level or to referee locally, 

there is a place for you. There are 

excellent support structures in place to 

develop referees and a thriving social 

aspect too. 

There are a number 

of benefits 

to becoming a 

referee: 

• Refereeing is a great way to stay 

involved in the game. You are in the 

thick of the action on the pitch. 

• Fitness is a key element to refereeing 

and provides our referees with a great 

incentive to maintain their fitness. 

• Education is an ongoing part of being 

a referee. 

• There are monthly meetings to keep 

all referees up to date with all aspects 

of the law. 

• This means our referees are constantly 

learning and up to date with the latest 

law changes and interpretations. 

• Whatever level you aspire to referee 

at there is a place for you – refereeing 

underage games in your area, or adult 

games throughout your province. 

• For referees who perform at a 

consistently high level there are 

opportunities to referee nationally in the 

Energia All-Ireland League. 

• There is an excellent social aspect 

to refereeing. You will meet a broad 

range of new people and forge new 

friendships. 

• You will gain membership to your 

provincial association/society. Benefits 

of this include access to tickets. 


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DUBLIN UNIVERSITY FC 

TRIUMPH IN METROPOLITAN 

CUP AFTER 54-YEAR WAIT 

The 99th Metropolitan Cup final 

was held in Energia Park last 

Friday evening between Dublin 

University FC, whose last victory 

in the competition was 54 years 

ago, and Terenure College RFC 

who have a winning record 

of nine victories in what is 

considered to be one of Leinster 

Rugby’s most prestigious and 

oldest cup competitions. 

Both sides played out a hard-fought and 

high tempo game in wet conditions. 

Terenure were the dominant team in 

the first half but the only score was a 

successful penalty kick from Mark O’Neill 

which gave them a 3-0 lead at the 

interval. 

Dublin University came out the stronger 

in the second half and despite Terenure’s 

best efforts they slowly gained the 

upper hand going ahead 6-3 with two 

successful penalties kicks at goal from 

Louis McDonagh. 

With 10 minutes left on the clock, Felix 

Campbell scored the only try of the 

game, converted by McDonagh, giving 

the students a 13-3 lead. McDonagh 

secured the victory with another penalty 

in the dying minutes to leave the final 

score 16-3. 

Leinster Branch President, John Walsh, 

congratulated both teams and match 

officials on an excellent game of club 

rugby before he presented the cup to the 

victorious Dublin University team. 

Preparations are already underway for 

the marking of the 100th running of this 

competition in the spring of 2022. 

The competition will be open to both first 

team and J1 teams of 16 Metropolitan 

area Senior and Leinster League clubs. 

The first round of the completion will kick 

off in February 2022. 


TO MAXIMISE YOUR SPORTS AND EXERCISE 

PERFORMANCE THROUGH NUTRITION 

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

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

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

Protein Rich. 

Protein provides your muscles with 

the building blocks to repair & grow. 

Carb-Up. 

Carbohydrate foods are king as they 

power high intensity play. 

Fuel-Up. 

Consume the majority of your 

carbohydrates around training to 

support fuelling and recovery. 

Recover. 

Quality rest & nutrition between 

training sessions is the key to 

recovery. Remember to: 

Repair with protein, 

Refuel with carbohydrate, 

Rehydrate with fluid. 

Hydrate. 

Dehydration can lead to a drop in 

exercise intensity & can impact your 

decision making. Drink 2-3 litres of 

fluid each day to ensure hydration. 

Game Day. 

To fuel performance on the field, 

consume a large carbohydrate rich 

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

chicken & pasta, turkey bolognaise 

wraps. 

Get 20% off all Optimum Nutrition products 

using code Leinster20 on optimumnutrition.ie

KNOWING WHAT ADVICE TO TAKE 

IS ESSENTIAL IN THIS GAME. 

beauchamps.ie 

OFFICIAL LEGAL ADVISOR 

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

travelling sup 

3 October 2021 

Leinster supporters during the 

United Rugby Championship match 

between Dragons and Leinster 

at Rodney Parade in Newport, 

Wales. 


porters 


COUNTRY 

ITALY 

HOME GROUND 

STADIO SERGIO LANFRANCHI 

FOUNDED 

1973 

Zebre Parma 

last time out 

Zebre 3 

Ulster 36 

Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi | Saturday, 2 October 

WORDS: UNITEDRUGBY.COM 

Ulster recorded a second successive bonus-point 

victory in the United Rugby Championship as they saw 

off Zebre 36-3 at Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi. 

The Italians made things difficult 

for Ulster in the first half, but they 

were still way too strong, scoring 

26 unanswered second-half 

points. 

Wing Ethan McIlroy and flanker Nick 

Timoney led the way with try doubles, 

while there were also touchdowns for 

full-back Will Addison and centre James 

Hume, with half-backs Billy Burns, Nathan 

Doak and Mike Lowry each kicking a 

conversion. 

Zebre managed an Antonio Rizzi penalty 

in reply, but they were a distant second 

best despite Ulster never hitting top gear. 

Both sides were far from mistake-free as a 

scrappy first half unfolded, and Zebre cut 

their deficit seven minutes before half-time 

when Rizzi kicked a penalty. 

It was a warning sign for Ulster as Zebre 

grew in confidence ahead of the break, 

but the visitors struck with a high-class 

second score. 

Hume was the architect, cleverly holding 

the ball up as he drew in Zebre’s final 

attacker before sending an unmarked 

McIlroy over to complete a double. 

Ulster, fresh from beating Glasgow 

during last week’s opening round of 

championship action, dominated early 

territory and possession. 

Zebre could not get an attacking look-in, 

and Ulster went close to opening their 

account when prop Tom O’Toole pushed 

for the line, but he was held up short. 

Ulster, though, only had to wait another 

two minutes to go ahead, with pressure 

being rewarded as McIlroy squeezed 

over in the corner to open up a five-point 

advantage. 

It proved a tough opening quarter for 

Parma, who saw captain Giulio Bisegni 

go off injured and be replaced by Rizzi. 


Burns missed the straightforward 

conversion attempt - which summed up 

a patchy first 40 minutes for Ulster - but 

they still led 10-3. 

Ulster began the second period camped 

in Zebre’s 22 as they looked to extend 

their lead, and that overwhelming control 

was rewarded through a try when wing 

Craig Gilroy sent Addison over, with 

Burns converting. 

Zebre found themselves in all kinds of 

trouble, and they fell further behind 

after replacement prop Ion Neculai was 

yellow-carded when Addison made a 

telling attacking thrust and Hume finished 

off for the bonus-point try. 

Maxime Mbanda followed Neculai to 

the sin-bin, and Ulster immediately struck 

as Timoney dived over and Doak added 

the extras, and he completed a double 

two minutes from time. 

ZEBRE – Junior Laloifi; Gabriele Di 

Giulio (Matteo Nocera 52), Giulio 

Bisegni (Antonio Rizzi 11), Tommaso 

Boni (Jacopo Trulla 65), Asaeli 

Atuniasa; Carlo Canna, Alessandro 

Fusco (Guglielmo Palazzani 65); Danilo 

Fischetti (Andrea Lovotti 55), Luca Bigi 

(Oliviero Fabiani 51), Matteo Nocera 

(Ion Neculai 51); David Sisi (Renato 

Giammarioli 58), Leonard Krumov 

(Andrea Zambonin 49); Maxime 

Mbanda, Potu Leavasa, Giovanni Licata. 

ULSTER – Will Addison (Ben Moxham 

65); Craig Gilroy, James Hume, Stewart 

Moore, Ethan McIlroy; Billy Burns 

(Michael Lowry 58), Nathan Doak 

(David Shanahan 63); Eric O’Sullivan 

(Callum Reid 60), Rob Herring (Bradley 

Roberts 58), Tom O’Toole (Marty Moore 

41); Alan O’Connor, Mick Kearney (Sam 

Carter 43); Matthew Rea, Nick Timoney, 

David McCann (Sean Reidy 58). 


Welcome Back! 

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We are also proud to continue our partnership 

with Leinster Rugby as Official Vehicle Supplier. 

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Head Coach 

Michael 

Bradley 

A native of Cork, Michael 

Bradley played as a scrum half 

for Munster Rugby and the Irish 

international team during the 

1980s and early 1990s. 

Since entering the coaching ranks, 

Bradley has held a number of roles both 

at home and abroad. 

From the Ireland U-21 team, he joined 

Connacht in 2003, where he spent seven 

years, including some time as interim 

Ireland head coach. 

He has also worked with Edinburgh, 

narrowly missing out a place in the 

Heineken Cup final, Georgia (Defence 

coach) and CSM Bucuresti before taking 

the reins at Zebre in 2017. 

Captain 

Giulio 

Bisegni 

Giulio Bisegni is a centre who has 

played for Zebre since 2014, as 

well as representing the Italian 

national side with his first cap 

coming in 2015. 

The 29-year-old’s rugby beginnings took 

place at Frascati Rugby Club before he 

moved on to Top 10 club Lazio in 2011. 

After three years, he joined Zebre and 

has been an ever present in the squad 

since, also earning a spot in Italy’s 2019 

World Cup squad. 

Zebre Parma squad 

FORWARDS 

EDUARDO BELLO 

PROP 

LUCA BIGI 

HOOKER 

PAOLO BUONFIGLIO 

PROP 

MASSIMO CECILIANI 

HOOKER 

NICOLO D’AMICO 

PROP 

OLIVIERO FABIANI 

HOOKER 

DANILO FISCHETTI 

PROP 

RENATO GIAMMARIOLI 

FLANKER 

LEONARDO KRUMOV 

LOCK 

POTU LEAVASA 

LOCK 

GIOVANNI LICATA 

FLANKER 

ANDREA LOVOTTI 

PROP 

MARCO MANFREDI 

HOOKER 

MAXIME MBANDA 

FLANKER 

JOHAN MEYER 

FLANKER 

ION NECULAI 

PROP 

MATTEO NOCERA 

PROP 

SAMUELE ORTIS 

LOCK 

DANIELE RIMPELLI 

PROP 

LORENZO ROBIN MASSELLI 

FLANKER 

DAVE SISI 

LOCK 

CRISTIAN STOIAN 

LOCK 

JIMMY TUIVAITI 

FLANKER 

GABRIELE VENDITTI 

LOCK 

ANDREA ZAMBONIN 

LOCK 

GIOSUE ZILOCCHI 

PROP 

BACKS 

MATTIA BELLINI 

UTILITY BACK 

MICHELANGELO BIONDELLI 

FULLBACK 

GIULIO BISEGNI 

CENTRE 

TOMMASO BONI 

CENTRE 

CARLO CANNA 

FLY-HALF 

NICOLO CASILIO 

SCRUM-HALF 

TOMMASO CASTELLO 

CENTRE 

ERICH CRONJE 

CENTRE 

FILIPPO DI MARCO 

FLY-HALF 

ALESSANDRO FUSCO 

SCRUM-HALF 

JUNIOR LALOIFI 

FULLBACK 

ENRICO LUCCHIN 

CENTRE 

GUGLIELMO PALAZZANI 

SCRUM-HALF 

PAOLO PESCETTO 

FLY-HALF 

ANTONIO RIZZI 

FLY-HALF 

MARCELLO VIOLI 

SCRUM-HALF 


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Club in Focus 

ENNISCORTHY 

Enniscorthy Rugby 

Club is the best-kept 

secret in the South East. 

It stands alone as the only club 

in the region to play in the 

Energia All-Ireland League. In 

terms of Leinster, this means a 

representation of one club from 

11, Arklow, County Carlow, 

Enniscorthy, Gorey, Kilkenny, 

New Ross, Normans, Rathdrum, 

Tullow, Wicklow and Wexford 

Wanderers RFC. The number rises 

to 14 when Munster’s Waterpark, 

Dungarvan and Waterford city 

rugby clubs are included. 

RFC 

The club achieved a long-term goal 

in finally making it into the All-Ireland 

League in 2019. In essence,it was the 

culmination of the hard work of so 

many, the head coach list alone reading 

Damien McCabe, Ross Barbour, Joe 

Bulmer, Kieran Hurrell and, now, Ben 

Manion, the emphasis on playing open, 

attacking rugby. 

The latest appointment of Manion is 

a real coup. The Australian’s resume 

includes working with Wallaby legend 

Mark Ella, Fiji national coach John 

McKee and as skills coach with the Japan 

and Tonga national teams. 

It speaks to the ambition within the club 

and the growth mindset that came from a 

can-do attitude to getting better. 

Through all of the tenures, Director of 

Rugby, John ‘Spud’ Murphy, has been 

a constant barometer of the standards 

reached since as far back as 1996, when 

he moved to a club he still blesses with 

his presence. 

“I happened to be invited to play a 10s 

competition in Hong Kong. When we 

arrived over there, we found out the team 

was sponsored by Merrill Lynch, the 

investment company. 

“I was in the Merrill Lynch corporate 

box watching the sevens, drinking pink 

champagne which was beautiful, when 

a fella’ walked towards me wearing an 

Enniscorthy RFC blazer. 

“The President of the club at the time 

was the father of the Chief Executive of 

Merrill-Lynch Hong Kong, Bertie Jacob.” 

It was the beginning of a conversation 

that eventually led to ‘Spud’ moving 

to Enniscorthy in 1996. It began as 

a temporary arrangement that has 

morphed into something much more 

enduring. 

“Originally. I commuted from Bray to 

Enniscorthy and there was even a time, 

for two or three years, when I went back 

to Greystones. But, I have been living 

in Wexford for around 15 years at this 

stage. I spend most of my time in the club 

here,” he admits. 

One funny fella’ even recalled how 

‘Spud’ spends more time at Ross Road 

than the goalposts. He now lives just 

outside of Wexford town, halfway 

between the club and his close friend 

Nick Popplewell. 


“Sometimes I ask myself, why or how am 

I still here?,” he considers. 

“Initially, I suppose, when I came down I 

came here to retire from playing and start 

coaching. In the end, I kept my boots on 

until I was 54, four years ago. 

“Over time, I developed a very strong 

bond, relationship with Declan O’Brien. 

The strengthening of that bond has 

been backed-up by a similar feeling 

about many others in the club, like Stella 

Sinnott, Liam Walsh, David Wrafter. 

“But, Declan has been the key for me. If 

you can blame anyone for me still being 

here, it is him,” laughed Spud. 

“We have always been building towards 

making it into the All-Ireland League. 

We spent 10 years trying to achieve that 

goal.” 

It has been a long and, mostly, successful 

journey, all starting when ‘Scorthy were 

promoted into Leinster League Division 

1A in 2011. 

In 2012, the club celebrated its centenary 

season by winning the Towns Cup, 

repeating the trick in 2015, 2018 and 

2019, winning the Leinster League in 

2016 and 2019 and winning the All- 

Ireland Junior Cup in 2014 and 2016. 

“There have been many disappointments 

on the way, thanks to Wicklow and 

Ashbourne, in particular, who used to 

knock us off our pedestal quite regularly,” 

says John. 

“We missed the boat in 2016. We 

narrowly lost out to Sligo by two points in 

the round-robin series. That was a quiet 

drive home in the car with Declan. 

“We normally don’t travel together. 

There was little said. We thought it 

would be very difficult to get over the 

disappointment, turn things around.” 

They didn’t have to wait too long. The 

next season took them all the way to 


Clifden to play the lesser-known All 

Blacks in Connemara. 

“It was an unbelievably bad day, a galeforce 

wind. The referee was from Ulster 

and he said: ‘You know what, I could 

cancel this game, the weather is so bad.’ 

“Declan said: ‘Under no circumstances 

are you going to do that.’ We had a 

great trip home and a great night in 

Enniscorthy that night. It was fabulous, 

tremendous. 

“As you get older, the involvement is 

more about sitting down in the dressingroom, 

looking around, knowing that you 

achieved something together, something 

that makes a bond that will last forever.” 

The drive to keep the club moving 

onward and upward does not get any 

easier. 

Unlike the city clubs, Enniscorthy has to 

almost exclusively rely on homegrown 

players, even losing them and hoping to 

see them return in time. Killian Lett, now 

retired, and Richard Dunne, still playing, 

are just two who left and returned. 

The senior squad of 65 local players is 

underpinned by the the Youths U-17s 

and U18.5s, coached by Craig Blyth, 

which train alongside them on Tuesdays 

and Thursdays. The amalgamation of the 

two age grade teams provides healthy 

numbers, providing a direct pathway to 

first team rugby. 

Of course, the ultimate pathway was 

forged by Temi Lasisi last season when 

the prop’s Ireland U-20 exploits earned 

him a place in the Leinster Academy. 

“We want to push on, to win the Division 

2C, to make it as high as we can in the 

AIL, while working with limited resources. 

But, there is a pathway there for the 

players to play in the League. We are the 


only club in the South-East that can offer 

that, at the moment. 

“The number of players passing through 

Enniscorthy from nearby clubs to play in 

Dublin and the University of Limerick is 

incredible. 

“It is something we haven’t mastered yet, 

finding a way to show those players they 

don’t have to move to Dublin to play 

in the AIL. We don’t have a third-level 

college, a big population to draw on, so 

the kids are being pulled away to Dublin. 

“We don’t have an U-20 team which is 

also a problem for us. We need that to 

develop depth in the club, to provide the 

stepping stones from U-18 to U-20 to the 

senior team. 

“Anyway, we agree to the players 

leaving with our blessing. We like to think 

they might want to come home later in 

their rugby career.” 

Of course, the whole health of the club 

is about more than life in the All-Ireland 

League. This is reflected in the 200 boys 

playing minis on a Sunday morning and 

the 50 girls playing minis at U-8, U-10 

and U-12. There are the same numbers 

again (250) playing youths rugby. 

Indeed, the prominence of captain Aoife 

Wafer, Katie Whelan, Mia Kelly and 

Ciara Boland on the all-conquering 

Leinster U-18 interprovincial squad is a 

real boost for the club. 

For all that, the pressure on numbers 

has caused Enniscorthy and Wexford 

Wanderers to amalgamate into the South- 

East Lions at Women’s U-18 level for this 

season. 

“In the current environment, we are 

struggling and they are struggling, so it 

makes perfect sense for both clubs,” says 

Spud. 

It does bring home the ongoing struggle 

to attract, develop and keep players that 

will always be Enniscorthy’s greatest 

challenge. 

And how they rise to it. 


JUST EAT ANNOUNCED AS 

LEINSTER RUGBY’S OFFICIAL 

FOOD DELIVERY PARTNER 


and Just Eat 

have come 

together to 

announce 

details of an 

exciting new 

partnership 

which will 

see Ireland’s 

leading food 

delivery 

platform 

become the 

Official Food 

Delivery 

Partner of 

Leinster 

Rugby. 

Joining a strong line out of 

healthy takeaway options now 

available on Just Eat, players 

Adam Byrne, Jack Conan and 

Tadhg Furlong were at the RDS 

in Dublin today to kick off this 

partnership for the 2021/22 

season, which will see Leinster 

Rugby supporters enjoy a host of 

exclusive discounts and special 

offers throughout the season. 

Proudly supporting local and 

independent restaurants, Just Eat and 

Leinster Rugby have a shared commitment 

to their supporters and their local 

communities, with a series of innovative 

collaborations planned over the coming 

months. 

Commenting on the announcement, Just 

Eat Ireland Managing Director, Amanda- 

Roche Kelly said: “This partnership with 

Leinster Rugby is the perfect match for 

Just Eat. 

“As market leaders and now the Official 

Food Delivery Partner of Leinster Rugby 

we’re providing sports fans with an easy 

way to order and enjoy their favourite 

dish from their local restaurant, as they 

watch their Leinster heroes compete at 

the highest level of the game. 

“After an exciting opening victory, the 

2021/22 season is off to a great start, so 

we’re delighted to be adding value to the 

experience for Leinster supporters with 

a host of wholesome healthy matchday 

and mealtime options delivered straight 

to their door, with thanks to our diverse 

and expanding range of over 3,300 

restaurant partners like Chopped, Saba 

To Go and LEON.” 

Eamon de Búrca, Sponsorship Manager 

at Leinster Rugby, went on to say: “We’re 

always looking at innovative ways of 

enhancing our supporter experience in 

stadia but also at home. 

“Our partnership with Just Eat allows us 

to do just that and promises real value 

across those important matchday and 

mealtime occasions that our supporters 

enjoy. 

“Just Eat’s support of local industry as an 

essential service over the course of the 

past 18 months has seen a great increase 

in diversity in the takeaway options 

available to customers, many of whom 

are also Leinster Rugby fans, so we’re 

delighted to welcome Just Eat to the 

Leinster family.” 


Rob 

Russell 

THE ACADEMY 

INTERVIEW 

BY RYAN CORRY 

Last week’s one-point win 

over Dragons at Rodney 

Parade was hard-earned. 

Leinster Rugby were ahead 

7-0 at the break thanks to a 

Max Deegan try before Sam 

Davies kicked two penalties 

in a second half where 

the hosts came back with 

everything in their arsenal. 

Hard-earned. 

The same phrase could be used 

to describe plenty of the events 

surrounding that trip to south 

Wales. 

Dan Leavy’s return from complications to 

an injury that happened in March 2019 

which he had already returned from last 

season. 

Josh van der Flier’s 100th appearance 

for the province in which he led out the 

team and won Player of the Match. 

And at the other end of the scale from 

van der Flier, Rob Russell. 

Starting on the right wing, Russell was 

making his maiden bow for Leinster 

having already been named on the 

bench against Glasgow Warriors in June 

but without getting a chance enter the 

fray. 



RUGBY 

YOU KNOW BETTER 

BECAUSE YOU GET 

Official Media Partner of Leinster Rugby

It’s been hard-earned. 

The young Dubliner is in his first year in 

the Academy, described in Leo Cullen’s 

programme notes today as a ‘late 

bloomer’ in there due to being 22, and 

with a birthday to come in January. 

To truly get insight into Russell’s journey 

to last Sunday afternoon, you have to go 

back a couple of years. 

A decent Gaelic footballer with Kilmacud 

Crokes and promising young player with 

the Leinster U-19 side. 

Coming out of school in St Michael’s 

College and now looking at college 

courses, eventually settling on Business 

and Management in DIT, Russell had 

plenty of sporting options open to him. 

From the U-19 squad, he naturally moved 

up to the U-20 squad, then the national 

side and a Grand Slam in 2019. 

Later that year, he was a mainstay in the 

Leinster ‘A’ team that clinched the Celtic 

Cup for the second year in a row 

Then, limbo. 

“I went on to the Leinster 20s and had the 

win with the Ireland 20s. The same year, 

we won the Celtic Cup with Leinster ‘A’ 

and after that, I was kind of let go from 

Leinster,” he explains. 

“There was maybe a year and a half 

where I didn’t know where I was going 

in terms of my rugby. It felt at times like 

there would be no more opportunities. I 

was hoping to get in off the back of a few 

‘A’ games but it looked as if my chance 

might be gone. 

“To be honest, that was it. I thought my 

chance was gone. I was back playing 

with Trinity and I just trained well. Leinster 

would always be in contact with our 

coach Tony (Smeeth) who would let them 

know if anyone is going well, so then 

there was a bit of feedback and finally, 

there was a time when I did feel I might 

get another opportunity here.” 

Getting a second opportunity is one 

thing, taking it is another. 

Russell hadn’t just sat back for that 

time away from the Leinster set-up, he 

analysed where he could have been 

better, done more and achieved more. 

So, if the phone rang again, he would be 

going there in the best possible position 

to make sure there wouldn’t be another 

hiatus. 

“That encouraged me a lot, knowing I still 

had a chance, that they were watching. 

You know, I probably was in a better 

place then as well because I knew what it 

was like to have the chance taken away 

from you. It’s not that I didn’t give it my 

all, I think I just realised that there was 

more you had to do. 

“Standing on the outside, I was able to 

look and see what I needed to do. And 

luckily this year then I was offered a 


place in the Academy which came as a 

nice surprise. I’d been trying for the last 

two or three years to get the call and 

thought I’d been unfortunate not to get it 

but, as I said, looking back I realise now 

that I didn’t really do enough at the time,” 

he adds. 

Last season was just a start, getting back 

into the frame and working his way into 

that matchday squad to face Glasgow 

Warriors in the Rainbow Cup. 

While he didn’t make it onto the field, it 

was the encouragement needed to show 

that the right steps were being made and 

that staying resilient was paying off. 

Then came last week, another week of 

training, another chance to learn and 

impress the coaches in UCD. 

Early on Monday and Tuesday, plans 

were made for Russell to line out with his 

club, Dublin University FC, in the opening 

round of the Energia All-Ireland League. 

Little did he know how the rest of the 

week would unfold for him. 

“I was told that I’d be playing in the 

AIL for Trinity on Saturday against 

Garryowen. I was meant to be training 

with them on the Thursday night and then 

Leo (Cullen) called me and said that I 

might be needed for the game so I was 

told not to go training. 

“Then, Friday morning, I was told that I 

was starting. It was a bit… not a shock 

but it wasn’t expected. It was a bit of a 

blessing to not have that much time to 

think about it. 

“Going to Glasgow last year meant I was 

used to the trip away, being around the 

squad and none of it was really new to 

me until that first half. Look, it wasn’t the 

best game but we got the win so I was 

happy with that.” 

After the rollercoaster of the previous 

couple of years when it looked as 

though the dream of representing the 

province had escaped him, what were 

the overriding emotions during those two 

days from Friday to Sunday? 

“My thought was just ‘this is it now’. You 

never really know when you’re going 

to get your chance. You’re in around 

training, you’re trying to always prepare 

as if you are involved,” Russell says. 

“If you prepare well, and you’re thrown 

in with not much time to go, you just have 

to be ready and I was ready to go. I was 

in for the captain’s run on the Saturday 

and that was a help too, that made it a 

bit easier. 

“To be fair, we got up there and when 

we were on the bus to the stadium, it was 

lashing rain. I had a feeling then that I 

probably wouldn’t be getting much ball 

in hand. It was wet and they came at us 

very well. It was a good starting point 

for me because it showed me just how 

difficult it is at this level everywhere you 

go.” 

And today marks another objective ticked 

off the list, playing at the RDS Arena, 

something that he’s never been able to 

do before. 

And even better, with friends and family 

there in the flesh to witness him pull on 

the Leinster jersey in a competitive game 

for the very first time. 

“I was ball boy for the last game of the 

season against Dragons and having the 

crowd back in, the 1000 people, that 

just created a huge buzz in training for 

the lads. I’ve never got to play in the RDS 

before so now I’m really looking forward 

to it. 

“I had family and friends there for the 

Harlequins pre-season game but this will 

be so much better because it’s a full-on 

competitive game. It’s going to be pretty 

special to get a chance to play in the 

RDS in front of them. 

“The lads that played in the Bulls game 

were talking about how it’s just a different 

feeling with people in the stadium. 

There’s lads there who have never got 


to experience a full house so it’s great to 

have now.” 

So it’s been a big couple of weeks for a 

lad who, in his own words, “didn’t really 

take to rugby” when his dad first brought 

him to Wanderers RFC all those years 

ago. 

But, in sticking with it and then moving on 

to St Michael’s College where his friends 

were playing the game, he found himself 

immersed in the sport. 

The transition into schools rugby, he 

admits, never would have happened 

without those early beginnings at the 

Ballsbridge club. 

“We were living in Booterstown so it 

probably wasn’t the closest club but my 

dad brought me up to Wanderers. I was 

more into football at that stage. 

“It probably wasn’t until I went into 

Michael’s that I really got into rugby, I 

always would have watched it growing 

up but it was school that got me into 

it. I do know that I wouldn’t have any 

interest at all in school if it wasn’t for the 

experience I had from Wanderers. 

“If I hadn’t played there, I never would 

have played with the school.” 

Even at the point of leaving school, the 

desire to play Gaelic football was always 

the preference. It was the experience 

of Leinster age grade sides that would 

eventually sway Russell towards the oval 

ball and all that would come after. 

“I played football the whole way through 

until I was about 19 and even when I 

was out of school, I was still playing at 

minor level with Crokes. But, I think it was 

that summer I played Leinster U-19 which 

was my first age grade level and that 

was when I decided I wanted to give it a 

proper go in rugby which meant I wasn’t 

going to be able to do both,” he outlines. 

“I never played intercounty underage 

with Dublin but if I had, I probably would 

have went down that route. It was just the 

way it happened, getting on the Leinster 

U-19 squad just showed that there was 

more potential for me there.” 

So, what’s next for Russell after today? 

He knows the dangers of resting on your 

laurels but also acknowledges the more 

limited opportunities that could potentially 

await with the new season’s calendar. 

His first year in the Academy, under the 

tutelage of recently announced new 

Academy Manager, Simon Broughton, is 

going well to date. 

How can he build on the positive start to 

the season that he has had? 

Be ready. 

I was ball boy for the 

last game of the season 

against Dragons and 

having the crowd back in, 

the 1000 people, that just 

created a huge buzz in 

training for the lads. 

“To be honest, I just want to be ready 

for any opportunities that come my way. 

You don’t know if they’re going to come 

around, so you just need to prepare for if 

they do,” Russell continues. 

“There’s less games this season and 

there’s none during the international 

window so the younger lads might have 

to wait for opportunities to come along. 

My aim is to just be ready when they do 

and to appreciate the opportunity that we 

do have.” 


Leinster Rugby Academy 

Year Three 2021/22: 


Year two 2021/22: 

Second Row 

Brian Deeny 

DOB: 02/03/2000 

HEIGHT: 1.99m WEIGHT: 121kg 

HONOURS: Ireland U20 (8 caps) 

Did You Know: Brian played youth rugby with Wexford 

Wanderers RFC. He got his first Irish cap playing for 

Ireland Under-18 Sevens. Brian played midfield for 

his school St Peter’s College in Gaelic football and 

reached the All-Ireland Colleges Final in 2017. He is 

currently studying Science in Trinity and lives in Abbey 

House B&B, Wexford...if you are looking for a room?! 

Instagram: brian_deeny 

wing 

Niall Comerford 

DOB: 06/04/2000 


HONOURS: Ireland U20 

Did You Know: Niall played both hurling and Gaelic 

football with Kilmacud Crokes for 14 years. He also 

represented Dublin in Gaelic football in the U17 

Leinster Championship. He is currently studying 

Commerce in UCD. 

Instagram: niall_c123 

Cormac Foley #1299 

DOB: 24/10/1999 



& Leinster Rugby (1 cap) 

Marcus Hanan #1295 

DOB: 03/10/2000 

HEIGHT:1.8m WEIGHT:110.91kg 

HONOURS: Leinster Rugby (3 caps) 

Scrum Half 

Did You Know: Started playing rugby with Greystones 

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

of show jumping and he is now studying Economics and 

Finance in UCD. 

Instagram: cormacfoley6 

prop 

Back Row 

Martin Moloney #1300 

DOB: 19/10/1999 


HONOURS: Ireland U20 (5 caps) & 

Leinster Rugby (1 cap) 

Did You Know: Martin played hurling for Kildare and 

played GAA and basketball for his secondary school, 

Knockbeg College, and local GAA club, St Laurence’s. 

He played his youth rugby with Athy RFC. He is now 

studying Business and Law in UCD, He also enjoys 

working on the family farm. Instagram: martin_moloney 

Second Row 

Joe McCarthy 

DOB: 26/03/2001 



Did You Know: Joe started playing rugby with Blackrock 

College RFC at the age of six before moving to 

Willow Park and then Blackrock College. He was also 

on the Blackrock swim team for five years. He’s currently 

studying Global Business in Trinity College Dublin. 

Instagram: joetmmcc 

Second Row 

Charlie Ryan 

DOB: 03/02/1999 



Did You Know: Charlie played youth rugby at Blackrock 

College RFC while also attending the school since 

Senior Infants. He captained Ireland to the U20 Grand 

Slam in 2019 and again for the U20s World Cup. His 

friends call him Chuck! He is currently studying Business 

and Legal Studies in UCD. 

Instagram: chuck_ryan5 

hooker 

John McKee 

DOB: 15/02/2000 



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

at Campbell College where he won a Senior Cup. He 

was involved with Ulster at age grade level until moving 

to Dublin after school. He also has multiple medals 

from Northern Irish Schools Judo competitions. 

Instagram: johnmckee_ 

Centre 

Liam Turner #1287 

DOB: 14/07/1999 



& Leinster Rugby (6 caps) 

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

of six at Blackrock College RFC. He later joined 

Blackrock College and was part of the 2018 Senior Cup 

winning team. He was also part of the Ireland U20 team 

that went on to win the 2019 Grand Slam. Liam currently 

studys BESS in Trinity College. Instagram: liamtn123 

Centre / Full Back 

Jamie Osborne #1294 

DOB: 16/11/2001 

HEIGHT:1.93m WEIGHT:96.82kg 

HONOURS: Leinster Rugby (7 caps) 


Seán O’Brien #1297 

Lee Barron 

DOB: 31/07/2000 




DOB: 15/02/2001 


Back Row 

Did You Know: Seán started playing rugby at age 

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

He then played on the Junior and Senior Cup 

teams in Blackrock College. He is currently studying 

Economics and Finance in UCD 

Instagram: seanobrien456 

Hooker 

Did You Know: Lee played golf growing up in the 

Castle Golf Club and in the end was playing off a 

handicap of eight. He has family roots in Carlow but 

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

As well as rugby with his school, he also played 

GAA and even lined out in Croke Park. 

Max O’Reilly #1291 

Chris Cosgrave 

Full Back 

DOB: 26/02/2000 



Leinster Rugby (7 caps) 

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

Business and Management in DIT. His preferred sport 

was soccer until about the age of 15, which he had 

played at centre midfield with Enniskerry FC for over 10 

years and also for Wicklow. 

Instagram: max_oreilly 

full back 

DOB: 24/07/2001 

HEIGHT:1.83m WEIGHT:85kg 

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

he is also an Ad Astra scholar studying Agricultural 

Science. His athleticism is best highlighted by his feats 

in the field of Athletics with All-Ireland honours to his 

name in both the 4x100m relay and the Discus. Before 

the UCD and St Michael’s College days, he played at 

a young age with Old Belvedere RFC. 

Andrew Smith #1292 

Mark Hernan 

DOB: 21/07/2000 



Leinster Rugby (2 caps) 

DOB: 04/07/2000 


Back Three 

Did You Know: Andrew is currently studying Quantity 

Surveying and Construction Economics in TUD. In 

2019, he won the Leinster Schools Senior Cup with St 

Michael’s College. Andrew also played Gaelic football 

with his local club - Clanna Gael Fontenoy GAA Club. 

Instagram: andrew.sm1th 

Flanker 

Did You Know: Mark was coached by Ross Molony, 

Josh Murphy, Ross Byrne and Nick McCarthy when in 

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

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

for Connacht seniors and Ireland u25s. 

Alex Soroka #1296 

Temi Lasisi 

Back Row 

DOB: 19/02/2001 

HEIGHT: 1.95m WEIGHT: 104.5kg 



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

Ukraine shortly before his birth. He was born in Cork 

before moving to Dublin. 

Instagram: alex._.soroka 

prop 

DOB: 09/05/2001 

HEIGHT: 1.78m WEIGHT: 115.8kg 

Did You Know: The TUD Mechanical Engineering 

student originally picked up the oval ball in Enniscorthy 

before later moving to Lansdowne FC. Temi rose 

through the ranks in the Youths system, his first outing 

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

He also describes himself as a ‘competent 

pianist’. 

Ben Murphy 

DOB: 23/04/2001 


Leinster Rugby (1 cap) 


Year one 2021/22: 

Scrum half 

Did You Know: Ben played all different sports growing 

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

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

in UCD. Ben’s father Richie played for Leinster 

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

the current Ireland U-20s head coach. 

Jack Boyle 

DOB: 10/03/2002 


Rob Russell #1302 

DOB: 13/01/1999 


Prop 

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

and Eric, all represented Old Wesley rugby club for 

years. His cousin Stephen Boyle also represented the 

Leinster Rugby youths. Jack is currently studying for a 

Commerce Degree in UCD. 

Full Back / Wing 

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

Business and Management in DIT. He started playing 

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

played football up to minor level with Kilmacud Crokes 

and it took priority over rugby until he left school. 


Date 

KO/ 

Result 

25/09 W31-3 URC VODACOM 

BULLS 

03/10 W7-6 URC DRAGONS 

Opposiotion Venue 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 1 2 

Aviva 

Stadium 

Rodney 

Parade 

09/10 13:00 URC ZEBRE RDS Arena 

fixtures and 

results 2021/22 

KEENAN O’LOUGHLIN RINGROSE FRAWLEY LOWE 

SEXTON 

3C 1P 

MCGRATH 

PORTER 

1T 

SHEEHAN 

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

16/10 17:15 URC SCARLETS RDS Arena 

22/10 19:35 URC GLASGOW Scotstoun 

Stadium 

27/11 20:00 URC ULSTER RDS Arena 

03/12 19:45 URC CONNACHT RDS Arena 

11 Dec 15:15 HCC BATH 

17 Dec 20:00 HCC MONTPELLIER 

26/12 19:35 URC MUNSTER 

01/01 19:35 URC ULSTER 

Aviva 

Stadium 

GGL (Altrad) 

Stadium 

Thomond 

Park 

Kingspan 

Stadium 

07/01 19:35 URC SIGMA LIONS RDS Arena 

16 Jan 13:00 HCC MONTPELLIER RDS Arena 

22 Jan 13:00 HCC BATH 

28/29/30 

Jan 

18/19/20 

Feb 

04/05/06 

Mar 

25/26/27 

Mar 

01/02/03 

Apr 

22/23/24 

Apr 

29/30/01 

Apr 

20/21/22 

May 

TBC 

URC CARDIFF 

RUGBY 

Recreation 

Ground 

Cardiff Arms 

Park 

TBC URC OSPREYS RDS Arena 

TBC 

URC BENETTON 

tadio 

Monigo 

TBC URC CONNACHT Sportsground 

TBC URC MUNSTER RDS Arena 

TBC 

TBC 

URC CELL C 

SHARKS 

URC DHL 

STORMERS 

Jonsson 

Kings Park 

Green Point 

Stagium 

TBC URC EDINBURGH RDS Arena 


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

ALAALATOA MOLONY J RYAN RUDDOCK 

VAN DER FLIER 

1T 

DORIS 

TRACY 

1T 

E BYRNE HEALY BAIRD DEEGAN GIBSON-PARK 

R BYRNE 

1T 1C 

OSBORNE 

ALAALATOA MOLONY RYAN RUDDOCK VAN DER FLIER 

DEEGAN 

1T 

TRACY E BYRNE HEALY BAIRD LEAVY N MCCARTHY C FRAWLEY 

S PENNY 

[UNUSED] 


matchday 

Squads 

Jimmy O’Brien 

Adam Byrne 

Jamie Osborne 

Ciarán Frawley 

Jordan Larmour 

Harry Byrne 

Luke McGrath [C] 

15 

14 

13 

12 

11 

10 

9 

FULL BACK 

RIGHT WING 

OUTSIDE CENTRE 

INSIDE CENTRE 

LEFT WING 

FLY HALF 

SCRUM HALF 

Jacopo Trulla 

Pierre Bruno 

Erich Cronje 

Enrico Lucchin 

Mattia Bellini 

Antonio Rizzi 

Nicolo Casilio 

officials 

REFEREE: 

SAM GROVE-WHITE 

(SRU, 17th league game) 

ASSISTANT REFEREES: 

PETER MARTIN (IRFU) 

OISIN QUINN (IRFU) 

TMO: 

NEIL PATERSON (SRU) 

Ed Byrne 

Seán Cronin 

Michael Ala’alatoa 

Ryan Baird 

Devin Toner 

Dan Leavy 

Scott Penny 

Rhys Ruddock 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

LOOSE HEAD PROP 

HOOKER 

TIGHT HEAD PROP 

SECOND ROW 

SECOND ROW 

BLINDSIDE FLANKER 

OPENSIDE FLANKER 

NUMBER 8 

Andrea Lovotti 

Oliviero Fabiani [C] 

Ion Neculai 

Cristian Stoian 

Andrea Zambonin 

Iacopo Bianchi 

Luca Andreani 

Renato Giammarioli 

Rónan Kelleher 

Peter Dooley 

Cian Healy 

Ross Molony 

Max Deegan 

Nick McCarthy 

Johnny Sexton 

Rob Russell 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

Massimo Ceciliani 

Danilo Fischetti 

Matteo Nocera 

David Sisi 

Giovanni Licata 

Tommaso Boni 

Paolo Pescetto 

Guglielmo Palazzani

At Sword we know how important the Game is. 

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

and enjoy yourself, you're in safe hands. 

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

Dublin: 01-6688220 

info@swordsecurity.com 

www.swordsecurity.com 

Securing Sports Fans around the World.

Parting Shot 

25 September 2021 

Leinster supporters celebrate as 

Andrew Porter scores his side’s 

second try during the United Rugby 

Championship match between 

Leinster and Vodacom Bulls at the 

Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Leinster vs Zebre Parma

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