Leinster vs Ulster

ISSUE 4 | LEINSTER RUGBY OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME 

LEINSTER 

VS 

ulster 

SAT 27 TH NOV 

RDS ARENA 

KO 8PM

Newstead Building A, 

UCD, 

Belfield, 

Dublin 4 

#LEIVULS 

The Line up 

Telephone: 

012693224 

Fax: 

012693142 

E-mail: 

information@leinsterrugby.ie 

www.leinsterrugby.ie 

6 

24 

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT 

President: John Walsh 

Chief Executive: Michael Dawson 

Honorary Secretary: Stuart Bayley 

Honorary Treasurer: Michael McGrail 

RUGBY MANAGEMENT 

Head Coach: Leo Cullen 

Senior Coach: Stuart Lancaster 

Head of Rugby Operations: 

Guy Easterby 

Assistant Coach: Robin McBryde 

Backs Coach: Felipe Contepomi 

Kicking Coach: Emmet Farrell 

Contact Skills Coach: Denis Leamy 

14 

PROGRAMME CREDITS 

Editorial Team: Marcus Ó Buachalla, 

Ryan Corry & Paul Cahill 

Advertising: Gary Nolan 

Design: Julian Tredinnick, 

Ignition Sports Media 

Photography: Sportsfile 

Chief Steward: Sword Security 

Ambulance: St. John’s Ambulance 

Medilink 

Event Control & Safety Services: 

Eamonn O’Boyle & Associates 

62 

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CONNECTED 

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www.leinsterrugby.ie | 3

PRESIDENT, LEINSTER RUGBY 2020/22 

john walsh welcome 

We extend a warm welcome to all 

rugby fans joining us for tonight’s 

Round 6 fixture of the United 

Rugby Championship in what 

promises to be a classic “derby” 

encounter featuring the current top 

two clubs in the competition. 

Leinster are undefeated having won their 

five fixtures to date for a total of 24 league 

points and in the process scoring 162 

points and conceding 46 points. 

Ulster won their first four games for a total 

of 20 league points but that momentum 

was halted by Connacht who recorded 

a 36 points to 11 points victory over the 

Ulster side at the Aviva Stadium in Round 

5. Ulster have scored 136 points and 

conceded 86 points while both sides have 

recorded four try bonus points. 

The rivalry between Leinster and Ulster 

date’s back to 1895 and has always been 

intense. This fixture will mark the 104th 

occasion that we have met with Leinster 

winning 62 of the encounters and Ulster 

with 35 wins and just six draws. 

On behalf of Leinster Rugby we welcome 

the Ulster management team of Dan 

McFarland (Coach), Iain Henderson 

(Captain) and the squad to the RDS. 

We also look forward to renewing 

acquaintance and friendships with Gary 

Leslie (President), Philip Gregg (Senior 

Vice President), Denis Gardiner (Junior 

Vice President, David Dobbin (Honorary 

Secretary), Michael Boyd (Honorary 

Treasurer). While we may be rivals on 

the pitch we continue to work with our 

colleagues in Ulster, Connacht and 

Munster for the continued development of 

the game at all levels on this island and we 

share many common goals and objectives. 

World Rugby has 128 countries 

representing over 10 million players (28% 

are Women and Girls) affiliated to the 

global organisation which is estimated to 

have in excess of 877 million followers. 

Promoting our game in it’s various formats 

to new audiences in this digital age 

and various communication platforms is 

essential and I know we in Leinster Rugby 

are committed to the task. 

Our digital match programmes have 

proved to be very successful in promoting 

not only the professional game but 

also our club and school competitions 

throughout our 12 county Province. Under 

the guidance of Billy Murphy, Chair of 

the Leinster Commercial and Marketing 

committee and his dedicated committee 

members we are establishing a dedicated 

in-house video studio and we welcome 

Robert Maguire to his new role as 

videographer for what promises to be a 

new and exciting development for Leinster 

Rugby. 

On a recent visit to the UK my attention 

was drawn to the Royal Mail’s issuing of a 

new set of eight postal stamps celebrating 

rugby on these islands. I was delighted 

that Ireland’s 37 times capped flying 

winger Simon Geoghegan (depicting 

him rounding Will Carling to score the 

winning try in Irelands 13-12 victory in 

1994) and Sophie Spence (winner of the 

2013 and 2015 Women’s Six Nations 

Championship) featured as representatives 

of Irish Rugby. 

Congratulations to Leinster’s legendary 

Johnny Sexton on achieving his 100th Irish 

cap on an unforgettable occasion at the 

Aviva in which he played Japan for the first 

occasion. What a reception he received 

from all present and much to delight of all 

he marked the occasion by scoring a try. 

The game also marked a milestone for 

New Ross RFC’s iconic player Tadhg 

Furlong who was making his 50th 

appearance for Ireland. It was also an 

unforgettable day for Leinster’s Dan 

Sheehan in making his debut for Ireland so 

congratulations to him and all associated 

with his player development pathway from 

Bective Rangers and Clongowes Wood. 

He becomes the 31st Leinster player in 

our current squad to have the distinction of 

playing for Ireland. 

Irish captain Johnny Sexton and Ireland 

Head Coach Andy Farrell recently 

acknowledged the positive importance 

that spectators play in the performance of 

a team and that the absence of full houses 

due to the pandemic created unique 

challenges for players. Thankfully we are 

now looking forward to happier times for 

all sports fans and this was very evident 

on the occasion of the staging of the 112th 

Bank of Ireland Leinster Rugby Schools 

Junior Cup Final staged at Energia Park. 

With over 4,500 passionate supporters in 

attendance to witness the clash between 

Blackrock College and Newbridge 

College the occasion served up a game 

was described as a classic and the energy 

of the event produced a worthy final. 

Blackrock College have been serial 

winners of both the Leinster Schools 

Senior and Junior Cups with a total of 

121 victories. Newbridge College have 

contributed enormously to Leinster Rugby 

and indeed to the various clubs in the 

North Midlands Area and have recorded 

three victories in the Senior Cup and were 

in search of their 3rd Junior Cup having 

first won it in 1950. 

It was a great thrill for me as President of 

Leinster and as a County Kildare native 

to present the Junior Cup to Newbridge 

College. The coverage of the final by local 

papers The Kildare Nationalist and The 

Leinster Leader has to be acknowledged 

in terms of its quality and content and 

serves as a timely reminder to us of the 

importance that our local papers play 

in our communities and especially in 

promoting our various local sporting 

organisations. 

Club rugby in Leinster is the bedrock 

on which we can continue to develop 

our sport and I would urge all rugby 

supporters to get involved in supporting 

your local clubs for the future of Leinster 

Rugby. 

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 

Good evening and a warm Dublin welcome to Dan 

McFarland and his Ulster team for our first 

interprovincial derby game of the season. 

After an international break over 

the last few weeks, we’re excited 

to be back in action and delighted 

to have our supporters here at 

the RDS Arena for this evening’s 

game. 

A huge congratulations to everyone 

involved with the Ireland team these 

past weeks. It was a really successful 

international window and sets us up 

nicely for the Six Nations. 

I was one of the lucky ones with a ticket 

for the games this autumn and was able 

to enjoy three brilliant matches with 

my seven-year-old son in tow. Great 

memories! 

It is a thrilling time to be involved in sport 

as stadiums return to full capacity. We 

missed our supporters dearly last season 

– as did all teams – but to see and 

feel the response from the public to the 

Irish team has been really special. The 

6 | www.leinsterrugby.ie 

Tadhg Furlong also notched up a 

significant milestone in winning 

his 50th cap for Ireland. For a 

tighthead prop, a half-century of 

international caps is a hell of an 

achievement... 

atmosphere for the New Zealand game 

was electric. 

Hopefully, we’ll get to experience 

something similar over the coming 

months. 

A special word of congratulations to 

Jonathan Sexton who reached the 

milestone of 100 Ireland caps against 

Japan. It is a remarkable feat for 

Johnny to have achieved; the latest in a 

remarkable career. And to go on and 

lead the team to victory against the All 

Blacks the following week added another 

layer onto the achievement. 

It was probably a little bit lost in 

everything that was going on, but Tadhg 

Furlong also notched up a significant 

milestone in winning his 50th cap for 

Ireland. For a tighthead prop, a halfcentury 

of international caps is a hell 

of an achievement and Tadhg still has 

plenty left in the tank! 

Congratulations to Dan Sheehan on 

making his Ireland debut against Japan 

and then winning his second cap against 

Argentina. Dan worked incredibly hard in 

pre-season so it has been brilliant for us 

coaches to see him get his reward. 

It’s also been nice to see plenty of 

Energia AIL rugby in recent weeks. A 

number of Leinster players, both senior 

and Academy, have featured and the 

quality of games has been excellent. 

We rely heavily on all the volunteer work 

that goes on around the province at 

club and school level and it’s marvellous 

to see the energy and enthusiasm with 

which so many people support and help 

the game. Many of us simply wouldn’t 

be here without the work of the many 

volunteers out there. 

As always, a big thanks to all our 

sponsors, in particular Bank of Ireland. 

These are still challenging times, for all 

companies, but we hugely appreciate the 

backing you give the team. 

There’s lots to look forward to in the 

coming weeks. 

After Ulster tonight, we are back here 

on Friday for the visit of Connacht (with 

some tickets still available at the time of 

writing!). We then kick off our Heineken 

Champions Cup campaign at the Aviva 

Stadium against Bath, and I believe there 

are also tickets left for that – we’re 

going to need a full house and all 

our supporters in full cry. 

In the meantime, thanks to 

everyone for your continued 

support of the team. 

I hope you enjoy 

tonight’s game, and 

that we see you again 

soon. 

Leo


Joann 

Hosey 

PROVINCIAL DIRECTOR 

BANK OF IRELAND DUBLIN 

A warm welcome back to the RDS Arena for a headline 

Saturday night kick-off against Ulster Rugby. 

Ulster’s last outing was also an 

interprovincial fixture against 

Connacht, and there is little doubt 

they will be looking to return to 

winning ways. All of which makes 

the task facing Leo Cullen and his 

players even more challenging as 

they look to pick up where they 

left off before the Autumn Series 

break. 

Our congratulations go to all the Leinster 

men’s players who were involved in 

Ireland’s recent campaign. And a special 

mention must go Johnny Sexton who 

won his 100th cap for Ireland against 

Japan, to Tadhg Furlong on winning his 

50th cap and also to Dan Sheehan for 

winning his first. 

It was also fantastic to see the Ireland 

women’s team return to winning ways 

and having their games hosted in the 

RDS Arena for the first time ever. It has 

been a tough few months for everyone 

involved with that squad of players, so 

it was great for them to finish their own 

Autumn Series on a high. 

While it is great to see the Leinster team 

and indeed the national sides back 

playing (and winning!) it also gives the 

grassroots such a lift to see the return of 

the Energia All-Ireland League, not to 

mention the games taking place across 

junior rugby and in our schools. 

Congratulations must go to Newbridge 

College for winning the Bank of Ireland 

Leinster Rugby Schools Junior Cup, and 

also a word of congratulations to King’s 

Hospital on their win in the Fr. Godfrey 

Cup. 

It was also uplifting to see the opening 

rounds of the Bank of Ireland Shane 

Horgan Cup and the newly titled Sarah 

Robinson Cup take place recently in 

Energia Park. 

I know those five Area squads are now 

busy preparing for the next rounds 

which will be played in December, and 

it is great to see those young men and 

women pull on their Area jerseys with 

such pride and taking those first steps 

towards representative honours. 

This evening’s game is the start of a 

ten-week block of games for Leo and his 

squad of players - and everyone in Bank 

of Ireland wishes them the very best of 

luck. 

This intensive run of matches will be 

season defining in many ways, and when 

we come to the end of this busy block of 

games we will be a lot closer to knowing 

what the end-of-season run-in will look 

like. 

As always, we wish everyone involved 

the very best, and once again must 

remind everyone to do all that they can 

in the RDS this evening to ensure we take 

personal responsibility with regards to 

the public health guidelines. 

JH 

Enjoy the game, 


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Did you 

know? 

• Leinster have won their last 

six United Rugby Championship 

matches since their 12-15 

defeat to Glasgow at Scotstoun 

in Round 5 of last season’s 

Rainbow Cup. 

• The Leinstermen have won 

their last five home games in 

the Championship since their 

3-27 reversal to Munster at the 

RDS Arena in the Rainbow Cup 

in April. 

• Ulster’s five game winning 

run in the United Rugby 

Championship ended with their 

11-36 loss to Connacht at Aviva 

Stadium in Round 5. 

• Ulster have lost their last 

six fixtures against fellow 

Irish provinces since beating 

Munster 15-10 in Belfast on 2 

January. 

• Leinster have lost only one of 

their last eleven fixtures with 

Ulster in all competitions and 

that by a solitary point at 

Kingspan Stadium in the United 

Rugby Championship in April 

2019. 

• Ulster’s only previous win 

at the RDS Arena was 22-18 in 

March 2013. 

COMPARISON 

Overall URC head-to-head record: 

Played 43, Leinster won 33, Ulster won 8 with 2 matches drawn. 

Last 3 URC results: 

9 Oct - Zebre (H) W 43-7 8 Oct - Benetton (H) W 28-8 

16 Oct - Scarlets (H) W 50-15 15 Oct - Lions (H) W 26-10 

22 Oct - Glasgow (A) W 31-15 23 Oct - Connacht (A) L 11-36 

URC 2021/22 

1st - W5 D0 L0 - 24pts 

WWWWW (24pts) 

URC form 

2nd - W4 D0 L1 - 20pts 

WWWWL (20pts) 

Top try scorer 

3 - Ronan Kelleher, Adam Byrne, Dan Sheehan 5 - Nick Timoney 

Top points scorer 

26 - Ross Byrne 43 - Nathan Doak 

Date Venue L U Leinster scorers Ulster scorers 

Fri 20 Dec 19 RDS Arena 54 42 Robbie Henshaw(T) Max Deegan(2T) Harry 

Byrne(7C) Scott Penny(2T) Cian Kelleher(T) 

Rob Kearney(T) Fergus McFadden(T) 

Sat 29 Aug 

20 

Aviva Stadium 28 10 Ross Byrne(C/3P) Harry Byrne(T/C) Scott 

Penny(T) Ed Byrne(T) 

Sat 12 Sep 20 Aviva Stadium (TF) 27 5 James Lowe(T) Robbie Henshaw(T) Ross 

Byrne(2C/2P) Caelan Doris(T) Johnny 

Sexton(C) 

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

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

Johnny Sexton(C) 

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

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

Josh van der Flier(T) 

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

Healy(T) Garry Ringrose(3C) 

Craig Gilroy(T) Matt Faddes(T) Angus 

Kernohan(T) Bill Johnston(6C) Johnny 

Stewart(T) Greg Jones(2T) 

Rob Herring(T) John Cooney(C/P) 

James Hume(T) 

John Cooney(4P) 

Nick Timoney(T) Robert Baloucoune(T) 

John Cooney(C) Marcell Coetzee(T) Mike 

Lowry(C) 

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

Baloucoune(T) Ian Madigan(C) 


14 | www.leinsterrugby.ie

obbie 

henshaw 

the big interview 

The end of the Autumn 

Series usually 

brings with it 

some well-deserved 

downtime for the 

Ireland players 

as they return to 

their provinces. 

But as the 

provincial coaches 

have been busy 

explaining this 

week, there is no 

set-rule for this 

time of the year 

either and instead 

each case will 

be treated on its 

merits. 


Some players will be off on city 

breaks and like we have seen 

some do this week, take in places 

like the Camp Nou, other players 

will hit even sunnier climes and 

will look to really put the feet up 

in places like the Algarve. 

For others though, who have been 

retained by their provinces, it’s about 

trying to find a bite to eat on a Tuesday 

evening in Ranelagh ahead of the down 

day on Wednesday. 

No rest for the wicked. Or for Robbie 

Henshaw. But he’s not complaining. 

“I’m definitely in an unusual position 

heading into this weekend against Ulster 

and still waiting for my first game for 

Leinster but look, I was just delighted 

to get the game under my belt at the 

weekend against Argentina. 

“I felt good and I suppose I’m just keen 

now for my season to kick on now.” 

Far from looking for a break, you get 

the sense that the 28-year-old centre 

from Westmeath is raring to go 

again this weekend, to pull on a 

jersey and that he is happy to be 


ack in the mix after a frustrating start to 

the season. 

After a very positive personal experience 

with the British & Irish Lions during the 

summer where he started all three Test 

matches against South Africa, he was 

good to go until injury cut across his 

plans. 

“It was great to get in for the last game 

first of all because at the start we 

mapped it out with the Leinster medical 

team and then obviously with the Irish 

lads and we had a plan. 

“To be fair, initially, there was a chance 

I wouldn’t be back for the November 

block but the rehab went well thankfully 

and the lads did a great job with me in 

Leinster and Ireland. The medical staff 

and the physios. 

“So in reality I am a little ahead of time 

which has probably been my experience 

with most injuries. I am lucky in that I 

tend to be a relatively fast healer which 

is great but you still have to follow a plan 

and to be fair I couldn’t have asked for 

better guidance and we worked on it 

together and I managed to get back in 

the frame for the Argentina game. 

I...it was a great way to finish the 

Autumn Series with a performance 

and a win like that. The Aviva was 

buzzing and I suppose it was the 

first time for me in a long while 

playing in front of supporters and 

family and friends. 

“It was some first game back! Very 

tough.” 

His comments reveal the relationship that 

exists between a player and his medical 

team and that ultimately needs to flourish 

for these players to return and to hit their 

straps in their first game back. 

“The lads in Leinster, Garreth Farrell 

and Karl Denvir, we had a chat after the 

injury. I picked it up training with Leinster 

so I sat down with the two of them and 

they said ‘let’s not put a number on this, 

let’s not talk about a period of time, let’s 

go day by day, week by week’ and that’s 

what we did. 

“But it was with a view to still pushing 

hard and to seeing how we’d go and that 

was then fed into the Irish medical team 

who got on board then when I came into 

camp here. So not only the relationship 

between me and the medics, but also the 

relationship that’s there between the lads 

here in Leinster and then the lads with 

Ireland. 

“As I mentioned earlier I am fortunate that 

I am a quick healer but not everyone is 

like that so the fact that they were open to 

that approach and just seeing how we’d 

go was great for me and I was fully on 

board with it. 

“I definitely think that approach stood to 

me and then the communication piece 

between the medical staff. We had a 

clear plan and we executed it really well, 

pushing it bit by bit but always staying 


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on top of it and me being comfortable. 

Thankfully on this occasion the plan 

worked really well for me.” 

Another plan that worked really well 

was the plan developed by the Ireland 

coaching team and executed by the 

players last Sunday against Argentina. 

“We had to work to break them down 

especially in the first half and look if they 

kicked a few goals and if the winger 

hadn’t knocked on we could have been 

looking at a much different picture so that 

is the reality check for us too. 

“But it was a great way to finish the 

Autumn Series with a performance and a 

win like that. The Aviva was buzzing and 

I suppose it was the first time for me in a 

long while playing in front of supporters 

and family and friends. 

“Credit to the forwards they definitely 

muscled up and got us over the line when 

we were under pressure and it’s a great 

way to be heading away from camp with 

everyone on a high as they head back to 

their provinces.” 

He mentions the forward pack and with 

all the tries against Argentina coming 

from numbers one to eight, was he and 

the players outside him keen to get in on 

the action? 

“We’re dying to get more chances! But to 

be fair to the work of John Fogarty and 

Paul O’Connell with the pack they are 

motoring really well at the minute and 

they have developed into a force. 

“So it was nice to see them do their thing! 

We could sit back and put the feet up for 

a change!” 

Key to the pack dominance was the 

performance of Munster and Ireland 

back row Peter O’Mahony and after the 

game he was effusive in his praise for the 

Ireland camp and the enjoyment that he 

felt over the month of training and games. 

Henshaw isn’t quite as experienced as 

O’Mahony, but with two Lions series 

under his belt as well as 57 Leinster caps 

and 53 Ireland caps, he is well placed to 

give his own take on what is going well at 

the moment. 

“It’s hard to say but I just feel that 

everyone is being themselves and is 

comfortable in their own skin. There is no 


hierarchy, everyone has a voice and a 

contribution to make and a platform to 

have that heard. 

“It’s just a really good environment and 

I think the High Performance Centre in 

Abbotstown is really adding to that. You 

are up in the morning and out you go 

and you put in the hours in a brilliant 

facility. But then it’s back to Carton House 

and there is no rugby. Carton is for us 

to relax and catch up and just switch off 

and that has been massive for us I think. 

“We can park the work and switch off 

and that really helps. 

“I think too the integration of the younger 

lads with the more experienced lads has 

gone well. You look at someone like Dan 

Sheehan who comes in and gets capped 

for the first time and then gets his first try 

for Ireland at the weekend. He’s been 

great but also Nick Timoney as well 

and Ryan Baird who came in late at the 

weekend. All of them really, those lads 

finding their feet but they have adjusted 

really well. 

First of all 

it’s really 

exciting to be 

back playing 

an interpro 

because we 

haven’t had 

one yet this 

season and 

now we head 

into a block 

of ten games 

where we have 

four interpros 

as well as 

four European 

games. 

“In the examples of Nick and Ryan they 

obviously came in very late to the squad 

on Sunday but you saw how seamlessly 

they adapted. That doesn’t happen unless 

the cohesion is there during the week or 

during the whole camp really. So yeah, 

it’s all little things but when you add them 

all up it does make a difference.” 

Before we bring him back to matters 

Leinster, it would be remiss of us not to 

chat about the Lions selection and while 

it was unfortunately a Series lost for the 

tourists, from a personal point of view, 


Henshaw felt that a monkey was finally 

off his back after his tour was cut short 

four years previous. 

“It was definitely a weird feeling coming 

home from the 2017 tour early with that 

injury and I suppose it was on my mind 

a fair bit that I hadn’t given it my full 

performance or given my all to the jersey 

because of that injury and coming 

home. 

“That was definitely on my mind 

coming into this tour to South 

Africa and I was determined 

that no matter what 

happened I’d give it my all 

and give it my best shot. 

“Thankfully I got the three 

Test starts and it was a really 

enjoyable tour as well, a really 

good group of lads.” 

Collectively though they came up 

just short against the reigning Rugby 

World Cup champions. 

“It’s small margins, isn’t it? Kick 

of a ball in the end really and 

that’s the frustration. It’s 

not like you can go out 

and rectify it next 

week! It’s a long 

wait for the next 

tour!” 

Conversations around a tour four years 

away can definitely wait for another day 

but what can’t wait is his assessment of 

this Ulster Rugby team that visit the RDS 

Arena this evening. 

They started in a blistering fashion 

winning their opening four games in the 

United Rugby Championship but they 

came unstuck the last day in Dublin 

against Connacht Rugby. 

“First of all it’s really exciting to be back 

playing an interpro because we haven’t 

had one yet this season and now we 

head into a block of ten games where 

we have four interpros as well as four 

European games so the intensity in this 

block will go up a notch or two that’s 

for sure. 

“And then you’ve got lads who only last 

week you were going to battle with for 

Ireland and now you’re looking to knock 

lumps out of each other! But that’s the 

beauty of the rivalries isn’t it and you 

wouldn’t have it any other way. I love 

these games. 

“I suppose Ulster will be coming down 

here to Dublin again and that trip to the 

Aviva Stadium and the game against 

Connacht will be in their minds. That will 

be stewing for a few weeks and no more 

than ourselves they will just want to start 

this next block in a really positive fashion 

and they’ll look at this as the perfect 

game to get up and running.” 

The last time he played against Ulster 

in the RDS it was a high-scoring 54-42 

win for Leinster in December 2019 so he 

knows well what can happen when both 

these teams click. 

What has he seen of Dan McFarland’s 

side so far in their five games and are 

they capable of a similar performance? 

“Absolutely they are. They are a really 

well-drilled side and Dan is an excellent 

coach who I know from his time with 

Connacht. He’s a coach with great 

experience and he has turned them 

into a really competitive side whether 

that’s in the URC or in Europe. They are 

competing consistently for trophies now. 

“When they are on the money, they can 

score from anywhere and the flip of that 

is that when we have the ball you are 

coming up against a defensive system 

coached by Jared Payne who I’d have a 

lot of time for as well. 

“So a dangerous side but well capable 

of keeping you at bay as well and we 

know we will have to be at our best to 

get a performance and to start this block 

positively.” 

He experienced fans at the Aviva on 

Sunday for the first time in a long while, 

but this will be his first game at the RDS 

Arena with fans since January 2020 

when he lined up against Lyon in the 

Heineken Champions Cup. 

But that’s not to say that he hasn’t 

experienced the match days. 

“It will be my first game back playing 

alright with fans at the RDS but I was 

actually here for the Scarlets game but I 

sat over the Grand Stand rather than over 

with the others in Anglesea Stand and it 

was brilliant. Atmosphere was something 

else so I’d imagine now with Ulster 

coming down and they usually travel in 

numbers as well that it will be brilliant. 

“That Scarlets game gave me a really 

good taste for what a match day at the 

RDS can be like for the supporters and it 

will be class to get in front of them now 

on Saturday.” 

And with that he was gone. Off to find a 

bite to eat. There will be time enough to 

put the feet up because right now, Robbie 

Henshaw has catching up to do. 


Action 

replay 15 31 

GLASGOW WARRIORS 

Ross Thompson; Kyle Steyn, Sione 

Tuipulotu (Nick Grigg, 70), Sam 

Johnson, Rufus McLean; Duncan Weir 

(Cole Forbes, 56), Ali Price (George 

Horne, 53); Jamie Bhatti (Oli Kebble, 

45), Johnny Matthews (George Turner, 

41), Zander Fagerson (Enrique 

Pieretto, 53), Rob Harley (Lewis Bean, 

75), Richie Gray, Ryan Wilson (C), 

Rory Darge (Matt Fagerson, 61) Jack 

Dempsey. 

SCORERS: 

Tries: Jack Dempsey, Lewis Bean. 

Con: Ross Thompson. 

Pen: Ross Thompson. 

FRIDAY 22ND OCTOBER 2021 

SCOTSTOUN STADIUM 

REFEREE: CRAIG EVANS (WALES) 

UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 

LEINSTER RUGBY 

Hugo Keenan; Adam Byrne, Garry 

Ringrose (Jamie Osborne, 69), Ciarán 

Frawley, James Lowe; Ross Byrne, Luke 

McGrath (C) (Jamison Gibson-Park, 

62); Cian Healy (Ed Byrne, 53), Rónan 

Kelleher (Dan Sheehan, 53), Tadhg 

Furlong (Michael Ala’alatoa, 53), Ross 

Molony, Ryan Baird (Devin Toner, 50), 

Caelan Doris (Rhys Ruddock, 67), Dan 

Leavy (Josh van der Flier, 50), Jack 

Conan (sin bin: 48-58). 

SCORERS: 

Tries: Rónan Kelleher, Hugo Keenan, 

Adam Byrne, Dan Sheehan. 

Cons: Ross Byrne (4). 

Pen: Ross Byrne. 


I started in the 

Bective Minis, then 

went to Clongowes 

for five years. 

Then two years in 

Trinity, two years 

in Lansdowne. Into 

the Leinster subacademy, 

the u18’s, 

the u19’s and now 

finally into the 

Irish squad. There’s 

plenty more to 

come hopefully. 

Dan Sheehan 

If you want to 

be successful 

towards the end 

of the season, 

you need that 

competition in 

the group, and 

guys pushing 

each other on. 

There’s a lot 

of gmaes to 

be played and 

it’s going to be 

hugely exciting 

for us and 

competitive as 

well. 

Leo Cullen 


Club in focus: 

South East Lions 

Enniscorthy RFC / 

Wexford Wanderers RFC 

A Sporting Partnership 

for Women’s Rugby 

It’s a common problem, one faced 

by clubs new and old, in all four 

provinces, that of attendance 

numbers, recruiting new players 

and retaining those already 

involved. The experience is felt at 

all levels, from minis, underage 

and up to senior level, both men’s 

and women’s, boys and girls. In 

recent years, no area has faced as 

many hurdles as Women’s Rugby. 

Indeed, in the clubhouses of Wexford 

Wanderers and Enniscorthy, this very 

real issue raised its head. While both 

clubs have had strong female squads in 

the past, they have both struggled with 

numbers in recent years finding it difficult 

at times to field competitive teams and 

faced with dwindling numbers in the post 

covid world, both clubs faced a stark 

choice, accept the loss of a season of 

rugby and the loss of development for 

underage players or address the problem 

with some creative ideas. 

South East Lions were established in 

August 2021 from a sporting partnership 

between Enniscorthy RFC and Wexford 

Wanderers RFC. 

This merger is a long-term plan between 

both clubs to enable them to field a 

women’s team and to have a pathway for 

their blossoming female youths and minis 

section to aspire to. What was once 

known as women’s teams are now fully 

developed female sections for each club 

with an array of teams, a dream of many 

involved in the clubs for many years. 

While both clubs have always had a 

healthy rivalry, they have also had a spirit 

of comradery which has helped these 

clubs forge a friendship with their love of 

the game. 

With Enniscorthy’s Director of Rugby 

John Murphy and Wexford Wanderers 

counterpart, Des Dempsey, playing key 

roles in the partnership and John Bolger’s 

experience as Head coach this is a team 

who are focused on creating a positive 

environment to enjoy rugby with player 

development at the forefront of their team 

ethos. 

“We knew we would struggle in the 

season ahead, we had several committed 

players and coaches, but we wouldn’t be 

able to provide a full-strength team and 

risked losing these solid volunteers and 

players, and in the process setting back 

participation in women’s rugby along 

with it.” 

Des Dempsey, Director of Rugby, 

Wexford Wanderers RFC acknowledges, 

“we had to address the issue head 

on, and following conversations with 

our local rivals, or I should now say 

colleagues, we ascertained that 

Enniscorthy were also in a similar 

position” 

John Murphy, Director of Rugby, 

Enniscorthy RFC, echoed the position. 

“We faced an awful scenario, we 

have been developing gradually and 

consistently over the past number of 

seasons, our girls’ numbers across minis 

and youths were growing and we were 

seeing some genuine results, but then, 


like so many other clubs, a combination 

of the long covid break and other 

uncontrollable issues left us with a gap in 

numbers for our senior team. 

“We faced the choice of lining out 

uncompetitive, reduced numbered 

teams or further abandoning another 

season, which could have damaged 

our women’s rugby programmes. That’s 

when the discussions happened with 

Wexford, we looked at our combined 

issues, the challenges we both faced and 

decided to run with the positives, take the 

opportunity and what many considered 

the risk and try something new. And well 

so far, it has been successful.” 

The squad is made up of almost 30 

women some of whom have played for 

their respective clubs as senior, youths 

and even mini’s. 

The women have varying degrees of 

experience playing with some players 

new to the game, some recent graduates 

from the youth’s section and some 

with a wealth of experience who are 

intent on improving playing quality and 

progressing their team. The South East 

Lions are currently competing in Division 

4 of the Leinster League. 

Following the initial launch of the 

combined team, there has been interest 

from former players and new members 

looking to get involved. 

There is an air of positivity around the 

squad, a determination to work and a 

desire to make a success of the venture. 

The support from both parent clubs has 

been steadfast and the future is looking 

bright! 

TRAINING 

Training takes place in Wexford 

Wanderers RFC in Parklane on 

Wednesday’s 7:15-8:30 and in 

Enniscorthy RFC on Friday’s 7:15-8:30 

and new players are always welcome. 

If you would like to become a part of 

the South East Lions team contact 

Anna Marie Russell 

annamarierussell@gmail.com 

or 0879054102 

If you are 

interested in 

taking up rugby 

or you would like 

to follow our 

updates, check out 

our social media 

channels: 

Leinster Women’s Rugby 

LeinsterWomensRugby 

@LeinsterWomen 

womenspro@leinsterrugby.ie 


HERE’S TO BEING SHOULDER 

TO SHOULDER AGAIN

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? 

CANARY 

FIRE LAW 

TIC CRACK 

HYMN 

how did you do? 

IN A BLUR? 

DAN SHEEHAN 

ANAGRAMS 

CIARAN FRAWLEY 

NICK MCCARTHY 

ZOOMED IN! 

ANDREW PORTER 

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 

Nick McCarthy 

A – Action: If you could be a 

superhero, which would you be? 

Spiderman 

B – Boyhood: Who was your favourite 

sporting idol growing up? 

Brian O’Meara – ex-Leinster and 

Ireland scrum half. He ended up 

coaching me in school 

C – Childhood: What is your favourite 

childhood memory? 

Summers down in Brittas Bay, in my 

Grandparents house 

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

meal? 

Spaghetti Bolognese 

E – Education: What was your 

favourite subject in school? 

Physics 

F – Film buff: What’s your favourite 

film? 

Saving Private Ryan 

G – Groove: Who is the best dancer in 

the squad? 

Hugo Keenan 

H – Holiday: What’s your favourite 

holiday destination? 

Bali 

I – Inside: Who is the worst to sit 

beside in the dressing room? 

Adam Byrne - burns the ear off you! 

J – Joker: Who is the funniest in the 

squad? 

Ed Byrne is the squad clown! 

K – Kick-off: What’s your favourite 

time of the day to play a match? 

5pm 

L – Languages: How many languages 

can you speak? 

Very basic Spanish 

M – Music: Your favourite artist and 

song right now? 

Polo G, Painting Pictures 


N – Number: Do you have a lucky 

number? 

25 

O – Others: What’s your favourite 

sport outside of rugby? 

Golf 

P – Pal: Who is your best mate in the 

squad? 

James Ryan tells me he is, but he’s 

very hard to meet up with outside 

the office! 

Q – Quirky: Who has the most 

interesting fashion sense? 

Jack Dunne 

R – Red Carpet: Who is the most 

famous contact in your phone? 

I couldn’t say! 

S – Superstitions: Do you have any 

matchday routines? 

Cold shower 

T – Trim: What’s the worst haircut 

you’ve ever had? 

Peroxide bleach when I was about 

13 

U: Under pressure: Who in the squad 

would be the best in a bad situation? 

Jimmy O’Brien 

V – Verified: How often do you use 

social media? 

Every day unfortunately 

W – Worst fear: What are you most 

scared of? 

Rats 

X – X-ray: Have you ever broken any 

bones? 

I broke my wrist a few years ago 

Y – Youth: Where did you grow up? 

I was born in the US but moved back 

to Dublin when I was one 

Z – Zoo: What’s your favourite 

animal? 

Lion 


THE SPIRIT OF 

UNITED RUGBY 

CHAMPIONSHIP. 

Enjoy responsibly 

DISCOVER THE SPIRIT WITHIN | 

#SAVOURTHEMOMENT

Leinster Rugby in the 

Mukuru Slums 

Leinster 

Rugby and 

Kenya Rugby 

have joined 

forces to 

introduce 

rugby to the 

street kids of 

Mukuru slums 

in Nairobi. 

Following the support of Leinster 

Rugby and supporters, a small 

group of Irish volunteers led 

by Paula Cullen has been 

instrumental in introducing the 

game to a group of street kids 

who reside in a rehab centre in the 

slums of Mukuru. 

Finally, after a couple of years of Kenya 

Rugby students teaching the boys the skills 

of 7-a-side rugby, they attended their first 

tournament recently. 

Although they did not win, they were 

without doubt the best dressed players 

in the stadium playing with pride in their 

Leinster Rugby tops. 

For the boys it was a wonderful 

experience to play rugby with other 

privileged teams. This is hopefully the start 

of more to come! 

With the next project, we hope to raise 

enough funds to install suitable playing 

fields in the rehab centre. 

You can donate on the Go Fund Me page 

by clicking the image, where you can also 

see the boys performing the Jerusalema 

challenge! 


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 

6 

CAPS 

Adam Byrne #1213 

WING / FULL BACK 

DOB: 10/04/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 


1 

CAP 

Ed Byrne #1222 

6 

CAPS 

Harry Byrne #1280 

2 

CAPS 

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 

22 

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 

12 

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 

52 

CAPS 

13 

CAPS 

Jamison Gibson-Park #1247 

SCRUM HALF 

DOB: 23/02/1992 

HEIGHT: 1.75m 

WEIGHT: 80kg 

12 

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 


112 

CAPS 

2 

CAPS 

Robbie Henshaw #1251 

53 

CAPS 

9 

CAPS 

Dave Kearney #1158 

19 

CAPS 

Hugo Keenan #1253 

16 

CAPS 

Ronan Kelleher #1277 

16 

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 

9 

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 

40 

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 

37 

CAPS 

Rhys Ruddock #1167 

27 

CAPS 

James Ryan #1259 

40 

CAPS 

Johnny Sexton #1127 

101 

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 


2 

CAPS 

Devin Toner #1128 

LOCK 

DOB: 29/06/1986 

HEIGHT: 2.11m 

WEIGHT: 127kg 

70 

CAPS 

James Tracy #1211 

HOOKER 

DOB: 02/04/1991 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 106kg 

6 

CAPS 

Josh van der Flier #1228 

FLANKER 

DOB: 25/04/1993 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 

WEIGHT: 103kg 

35 

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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Official Media Partner of Leinster Rugby

Arklow’s Favourite 

Barney Hynes 

BY ROBERT KELLY ARKLOW PRO 

On a damp 

and dull 

November 

morning, 

Barney Hynes 

travels 

across the 

leaf strewn 

country 

roads of 

south County 

Wicklow. 

With a boot 

full of rugby 

balls and 

cones he 

approaches 

the village 

of Aughrim. 

The county grounds of Wicklow 

GAA appear on his left but he 

turns right and is soon outside 

the local national school. Within 

minutes he is warmly greeted 

by the young students to calls of 

“Barney” as they queue up to 

report on their weekend exploits 

on the rugby field. In fact, ask any 

youth from Arklow to Avoca and 

on towards Tinahely and they all 

know “Barney –the rugby man”. 

Barney is one of Leinster Rugby’s fortyone 

Club Community Rugby Officer’s 

(CCRO), a role that involves working 

with schools, clubs and the community to 

deliver a tailored programme to expand 

the game throughout the province. 

To find a more suitable candidate for a 

CCRO would be difficult. 

Not many have played rugby over 

five decades, starting with Presentation 

College in 1969 and ending with 

Arklow in 2000, with spells playing 

for Greystones and Clondalkin RFC in 

between. He has played Senior Cup 

and won a Towns Cup, coached youths 

and women’s teams. In fairness, there is 

little that Barney has not done in terms 

of rugby. 

Nine years into the role and the fruits of 

his labour are now being witnessed at 

Arklow RFC. 

There was a time when Arklow had no 

youths system; whereas Arklow now fields 

teams from minis right up to under 18.5’s, 

starting a potential conveyor belt of 

players to feed the senior teams. 

“I go into this job every day like it’s my 

first day”, says Barney as he lines out the 

grids for today’s drills, “doing this job, 

working with kids has been the happiest 

time of my life”. 

Judging by the enthusiasm on the faces of 

those passing balls and taking side steps 

in the school yard, it may very well be 

their happiest time too. 


Carlow Rising 

BY DEBBIE CARTY 

Carlow 

Rugby 

Club, 

officially 

titled 

County 

Carlow 

Football 

Club, is 

about to 

celebrate 

150 

years in 

existence. 

Club members intend to mark this 

important milestone with a major 

rugby renewal and by enhancing 

the role played by the club in the 

community of Carlow and the 

hinterland. 

To mark the 150th anniversary a select 

team from the club, following wide 

consultation, has put together a Five Year 

Strategic Plan. This will drive development 

and growth within Carlow rugby from 

now to 2027. 

Since County Carlow Football Club 

(CCFC) was founded in 1873 it has 

a rich history of on-field cup and 

league success and off-field community 

involvement. Carlow, the oldest provincial 

rugby club in Ireland, holds the record for 

Bank of Ireland Rugby Provincial Towns 

Cup wins and in the 1990’s CCFC won 

promotion to the All-Ireland League. 

The strategic plan aims to build on this 

foundation to further enhance the playing 

of rugby in the Carlow area and to 

open up the club’s facilities for the local 

community. 

The plan outlines a vision for the club’s 

future with real tangible targets for both 

on and off-field activity. 

The targets include: 

• Becoming the most successful, inclusive, 

community centred provincial rugby club 

in Leinster 

• Winning the Towns Cup and gaining 

promotion to Division 1 of the Leinster 

League 

• The revival of women's rugby at all age 

levels in the club and the appointment of 

a women's rugby co-ordinator 


• Increasing co-operation with other 

community organisations and involving 

the community in the 150-year 

celebrations. 

• Promotion of rugby in local schools 

and in the community. 

• A continuation of Carlow’s tradition of 

providing in-house coaches and mentors 

and delivering referees for rugby in 


• A revamp of the grounds at Oakpark 

to include new facilities for minis rugby, 

a walkway for the public and pollinator 

plants along the margins to enhance 

natural diversity as part of a plan to 

achieve Green Flag status 

• Growing club membership by 10% a 

year 

• Development of the club house facilities 

to attract outside commercial usage. 

• A review of fundraising activities which 

will include three different sponsorship 

categories and the creation of a 150th 

anniversary wall built with sponsored 

bricks. 

Overall, the new strategic plan and vision 

for the club and for rugby in Carlow calls 

for investment in the club, its members 

and the community. 

This will be backed by the club’s amateur 

ethos and great tradition of volunteerism 

by its members. 

Speaking after receiving the five-year 

plan then Club President, and now Club 

Chairman, Edel Gibbons, thanked each 

and every person who contributed to it. 

She looked forward to being a part of 

“one of the most exciting periods in our 

County Carlow Football Club’s history as 

we work together to achieve a successful, 

inclusive, community based provincial 

rugby club in Leinster”. 


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 3+2 - - 3+2 - - - - - 3+2 - - 3+2 - - - - - - WS 7 

RYAN BAIRD 1278 27 APR 19 2+3 - - 2+3 - - - - - 14+18 6 30 13+14 6 30 1+4 - - 6 IR 6 

ADAM BYRNE 1213 29 DEC 12 2 3 15 2 3 15 - - - 51+8 23 115 41+8 17 85 10 6 30 1 IR 1 

ED BYRNE 1222 9 FEB 14 1+3 1 5 1+3 1 5 - - - 20+54 11 55 20+43 10 50 0+11 1 5 2 IR 6 

HARRY BYRNE 1280 28 SEP 19 1 - - 1 - - - - - 15+10 6 154 15+9 6 149 0+1 - 5 4 IR 2 

ROSS BYRNE 1236 4 SEP 15 2+2 1 26 2+2 1 26 - - - 72+36 7 676 60+20 3 497 12+16 4 179 4 IR 13 

THOMAS CLARK- 

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

SON 

JACK CONAN 1223 20 FEB 14 2 - - 2 - - - - - 82+25 23 115 61+15 16 80 21+10 7 35 3 IR 22 

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 1 1 5 1 1 5 - - - 121+75 43 215 77+54 26 130 43+19 16 80 1 IR 72 

MAX DEEGAN 1256 3 DEC 16 1+2 1 5 1+2 1 5 - - - 36+32 19 95 33+24 17 85 3+8 2 10 2 IR 1 

PETER DOOLEY 1230 31 OCT 14 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 40+54 5 25 38+48 5 25 2+6 - - 9 - 

CAELAN DORIS 1268 28 APR 18 3 1 5 3 1 5 - - - 35+8 6 30 29+6 4 20 6+2 2 10 2 IR 12 

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 4+1 - 2 4+1 - 2 - - - 21+19 4 145 20+15 3 134 1+4 1 11 10 - 

TADHG FURLONG 1220 1 NOV 13 2 - - 2 - - - - - 75+41 8 40 44+33 3 15 31+8 5 25 5 IR 52 

JAMISON GIBSON-PARK 1247 2 SEP 16 2+2 - - 2+2 - - - - - 51+54 17 85 46+30 14 70 5+24 3 15 9 IR 12 

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 1+4 1 5 1+4 1 5 - - - 157+79 28 140 91+52 14 70 64+26 13 65 2 IR 112 

ROBBIE HENSHAW 1251 8 OCT 16 - - - - - - - - - 56+1 11 55 25 5 25 31+1 6 30 1 IR 53 

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 4 1 5 4 1 5 - - - 31+3 5 25 26+3 5 25 5 - - 1 IR 16 

RONAN KELLEHER 1277 22 FEB 19 2+1 3 15 2+1 3 15 - - - 22+6 12 60 16+4 11 55 6+2 1 5 1 IR 16 

JORDAN LARMOUR 1258 2 SEP 17 2 1 5 2 1 5 - - - 54+10 20 100 33+7 15 75 21+3 5 25 2 IR 30 

DAN LEAVY 1231 31 OCT 14 2+1 - - 2+1 - - - - - 45+30 17 85 37+20 13 65 8+10 4 20 4 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 3 - - 3 - - - - - 55 34 170 37 25 125 18 9 45 6 IR 9 

NICK MCCARTHY 1241 19 DEC 15 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - 6+32 4 20 6+26 4 20 0+6 - - 7 - 

LUKE MCGRATH 1206 5 MAY 12 3+1 - - 3+1 - - - - - 105+50 39 195 72+44 31 155 33+6 8 40 6 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 4+1 - - 4+1 - - - - - 68+53 4 20 66+38 4 20 2+15 - - 7 - 

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 1+2 - - 1+2 - - - - - 3+6 1 5 3+6 1 5 - - - 4 - 

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 1 - - 1 - - - - - 27+9 7 37 25+9 6 32 2 1 5 2 - 

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

TOMMY O'BRIEN 1283 20 DEC 19 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 4+6 3 15 4+6 3 15 - - - 6 - 

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 1 1 5 1 1 5 - - - 24+6 17 85 24+6 17 85 - - - 1 - 

ANDREW PORTER 1246 2 SEP 16 3 2 10 3 2 10 - - - 31+49 13 65 26+30 10 50 5+19 3 15 1 IR 40 

GARRY RINGROSE 1237 12 SEP 15 4 - - 4 - - - - - 88+2 27 143 56+1 16 88 32+1 11 55 5 IR 37 

RHYS RUDDOCK 1167 6 DEC 09 3+2 - - 3+2 - - - - - 146+47 11 55 109+33 9 45 36+12 2 10 9 IR 27 

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

JAMES RYAN 1259 2 SEP 17 3 - - 3 - - - - - 47+6 3 15 25+1 1 5 22+5 2 10 13 IR 40 

JOHNNY SEXTON 1127 27 JAN 06 2+1 - 22 2+1 - 22 - - - 150+26 26 1529 89+20 13 855 59+6 12 643 16 IR 101 

DAN SHEEHAN 1286 23 OCT 20 2+2 3 15 2+2 3 15 - - - 5+12 9 45 5+12 9 45 - - - 1 IR 2 

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 1+1 - - 1+1 - - - - - 207+61 4 20 141+43 4 20 63+18 - - 51 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 3+1 1 5 3+1 1 5 - - - 78+24 12 60 48+18 8 40 30+6 4 20 4 IR 35 


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 0.00% - - - - - - - - - 53 6 52 5 1 1 76 77.63% 

ROSS BYRNE 100.00% 9 1 - 9 1 - - - - 205 76 1 163 51 1 42 25 - 364 77.20% 

CIARAN FRAWLEY 100.00% 1 - - 1 - - - - - 52 7 - 49 7 - 3 - - 73 80.82% 

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 83.33% 8 2 - 8 2 - - - - 242 294 11 128 171 7 107 119 4 672 79.76% 


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6 November 2021 

CONGRATULATIONS ON 

YOUR IRELAND DEBUT 

Dan Sheehan after the Autumn 

Nations Series match between 

Ireland and Japan at Aviva 

Stadium. 


Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile 



50 IRELAND CAPS 

Tadhg Furlong during the Autumn 

Nations Series match between 

Ireland and Argentina at Aviva 

Stadium. 


ENERGIA AIL 

A 30 YEAR RUGBY LEGACY 

Watch now at 

energia.ie/energia-ail-30

New Ross RFC 

Going Green 

BY DEBBIE CARTY 

New Ross RFC has 

taken a step into 

the future by 

being the first 

club grounds in 

the country to 

launch a policy 

discouraging 

the use of single 

use plastics 

on its grounds 

at FBD Park in 

Southknock. 

Simultaneously, it 

has also launched 

a No Smoking 

policy on the 

grounds. 

Speaking at the dual launch last 

Sunday, Club President, David 

Burke said that the club caters for 

large numbers of young players 

across all ages from under six 

years upwards and it was felt by 

the club management committee 

that children and youths needed 

to be discouraged from possibly 

taking up smoking and that 

one of the best ways of doing 

this would be to de-normalise 

smoking in their vicinity. 

“We all know the ill effects smoking can 

have on health and New Ross RFC wants 

to do all in its power to help prevent the 

habit passing on to the next generations' 

he said as he unveiled the specially 

designed signage informing visitors and 

members of the new policy on the club 

grounds.” 

Simultaneously, Chairman Brendan Roche 

launched the ban on single use plastics. 

This policy is aimed at reducing waste 

and encouraging members and visitors to 

use a multi-use bottle while exercising. 

“Everyone is sick and tired of seeing 

plastic bottles dumped all over the 

countryside and at the sides of pitches so 

here, at New Ross RFC, we want to lead 

the way by preventing these items being 

used on our grounds. 

“We believe that we are the first Club in 

Ireland to introduce this policy and would 

Brendan Roche, Chairman 

NRRFC and David Burke, 

President launching the 

policy and signage 

encourage others to follow our lead 

and help improve the environment for 

everybody” he said as he revealed the 

applicable signage. 

“From this season, the club's minis jerseys 

carry 'No Smoking' and 'No single-use 

plastics' logos so that we can begin to 

spread the message wherever we go” 

said Mike Quinn, Minis Co-ordinator. 

“We will be delighted if we can make 

just a little difference to the future health 

and environment of our younger people” 

he added. 


offical leinster 

supporters club 

Round 6 of the 2021/22 United Rugby Championship is upon us and 

it’s hard to believe it’s around five weeks (22/23 Oct) since we 

last saw action as it was the turn of the International teams 

to take centre stage during most of November. 

Previous seasons would’ve seen 

a mix of both provincial and 

international however this year 

was different and so for a lot of the 

players, from all 16 teams, they 

are most certainly raring to go and 

ready to once again take to their 

respective fields of play for what 

is sure to be a mouth-watering 

weekend of rugby. 

This weekend sees us welcome the visitors 

of Ulster to the RDS for this Saturday 

evening (8pm) KO in front of what we 

hope will be a raucous crowd who will 

be looking forward to seeing these two 

go head-2-head once again for what is 

sure to be a highly entertaining fixture 

of rugby. These two are no strangers to 

each other and have fought many classic 

contests down through the years however 

as it currently stands in the head-2-head, 

it’s ourselves who have won all 5 of the 

last and given our run of form coming into 

Round 6, you imagine it will be a case of 

“more of the same please” from Leo, Stuart 

and the rest of the Leinster contingent. 

There were certainly plenty of Leinster 

players on international duty during the 

Autumn series, however we are very 

fortunate in the squad of players that we’re 

able to call on and given as noted above, 

there were no non international fixtures 



Ulster 

160 Points 134 

23 Tries 20 

46 Points Conceded 86 

89% Tackle Success 91% 

Ross Byrne (26) Leading Points Scorer Nathan Doak (43) 

Adam Byrne (3) Leading Try Scorer Nick Timoney (5) 

Jordan Larmour (12) Defenders Beaten James Hume (13) 

Hugo Keenan (256) Metres Gained Ethan McIlroy (196) 

Ross Molony (53) Number of Tackles Alan O’Connor (61) 

Josh Van Der Flier (5) Turnovers Won Nick Tomoney (5) 

since October, those who didn’t pull on the 

green, will be looking to ensure that the 

blue jersey they pull on for this fixture, will 

need to be surgically removed for the next 

one. A couple of busy weeks now with 

both home interprovincial fixtures as well 

as the start of European action, leaves the 

players anxious to ensure that they spend 

as much time on the pitch as possible and 

we the fans want to see them there too as 

we are very lucky to have some incredible 

talent and want to see this nurtured 

through to its fullest extent. 

Don’t forget to drop into the Laighin Out 

before or after the game if you’re looking 

to purchase some OLSC Merchandise. The 

shop will be open and we look forward 

to seeing you all there. You can of course 

purchase, and keep up to date with all 

things OLSC online, and we encourage 

you to visit any of our social media 

platforms. 

A reminder also to all fans to please 

continue to ensure you follow all directions 

of RDS staff and let’s keep each other 

safe. For now though, here’s to a fantastic 

evening of rugby and don’t forget that 

when the boys do take to the field this 

evening, that you welcome them back 

with that familiar Leinster roar. After all, it’s 

been a lifetime since we last roared them 

onto the RDS pitch. 

Be loud, Be proud, Be blue! 

Your OLSC Committee

OFFICIAL 

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Suort us by 

visiting r 

ONLINE 

STORE 

Kp up date 

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Ctact us 

olsc@leinsterrugby.ie 

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For more details, 

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www.leinsterrugby.ie | 57 

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GETTING 

We check social media 

for the latest views 

and thoughts across 

SOCIAL 

the 12 counties 



Virtual Mascot 

Vivian 

King 

Age: 8 

School: Dulargy National School, 

Ravensdale, Dundalk 

Class: 2nd class 

Hobbies: Playing rugby, soccer, 

horse riding & violin 

Favourite Player: Johnny Sexton 


WHERE ARE 

THEY NOW? 

ZANE KIRCHNER 

THEN: Zane 

played 88 

times for 

Leinster over 

four seasons 

(2013-2017) 

winning a 

PRO12 title in 

2014, scoring 

two tries in 

the Final in 

the RDS Arena. 

NOW: He lives 

in Blanco, on 

the Western 

Cape, with his 

wife Tasneem 

and daughter 

Amaris, 

concentrating 

on the launch 

of ‘The Bookz 

and Bootz 

Foundation.’ 


Zane Kirchner has never been 

much of a ‘talker.’ Until now. 

The ex-Leinster and Springbok player is a 

self-admitted “loner,” a man happier in his 

own space than anyone else’s. 

When you delve into his background, this 

makes perfect sense. He is the exception, 

escaping the generational poverty and 

violence that has imprisoned thousands 

in his town. 

“I come from nothing. I come from the 

ghetto,” he says, from his home in Blanco, 

at the foot of the Outeniqua mountains on 

the Western Cape. 

“When you come from very little, you try 

to hold onto whatever it is you have as 

best you can.” 

The psychological battle for territory is 

rooted in the three sections Zane grew 

up around, the Valley, the Pits and the 

Skeem, providing three natural rivals to 

fuel a gangster mentality, based around 

drugs, alcohol abuse and gender-based 

violence. 

“It is just the mentality of our people, 

growing up over the years. They fight for 

a piece of land or a territory that was 

never even theirs. 

At Leinster, I saw people 

with passion, who cared about 

other people, who wanted to 

make a difference. 

“As a child, you deal with a lot of things 

that are tough on the eyes. You see a lot 

of bad things happen every day. This 

turns people towards that life, not because 

they are bad people, but because they 

cannot see any other alternative.” 

It could so easily have been Zane’s life 

too were it not for a steely mentality and 

the escape route rugby provided for him. 

“Sport was my way of getting out. It 

granted me a way of exploring life and 

making me a better man,” he stresses. 

“I always had the feeling that I wanted to 

be different. But, there was no role model 

for me, so I had to do it by myself. 

“At 16, training was my out. When others 

took booze and drugs, I went training. 

Even if I went out, I had to be running on 

the road by 5 or 6 the next morning. 

“What I saw granted me more energy 

and drove me to overcome the life I was 

born into. My difference came through 

rugby. 

“What rugby has done for me is 

something for which I will be forever 

grateful.” 

In 2002, at 17, Zane was invited to play 

rugby for the Griquas on the Northern 

Cape by his coach Abrie Minnie where 

outworking more talented players became 

his mission. 

It was the first time he had left his parents’ 

home. For months, Zane cried himself to 

sleep. It almost got too much to take. 

One night, he made a call home only to 

be told: ‘there is nothing for you here. 

There is nothing to come back to.’ 

He resolved to pursue a better life. Work 

ethic has been his point of difference. 

It was the basis for five years of senior 

rugby at Griquas (2003-2007), for six 

years at the Blue Bulls (2008-2013) and, 

ultimately, for 31 Springbok caps. 

“The harder I worked the further I could 

get away from Blanco in my head. You 

want to stay away from that environment.” 

In 2013, Zane made another difficult 

decision, walking away from the Blue 

Bulls to join the Leinster Blues. 


“I needed something new, a new 

environment, a new challenge, a new 

stimulus,” he recalls. 

“Back then, the European games weren’t 

as often televised in South Africa as they 

are now. Leinster was still a mystery to me. 

“It was a big learning curve for me as a 

player and as a man. You come from a 

South African environment where it is all 

about ‘harder and more’ to Leinster where 

it is about, ‘less, smarter and how can we 

be better?’ 

“You are talking about systems-versusindividuals. 

When it comes to the 

environment, I started feeling a love for 

Leinster, how they develop their players, 

how they improve them. 

“For example, a lot of the Leinster boys 

I saw beating the Bulls in the URC in 

September were in the Academy and 

Sub-Academy when I was there. 

“Everything Leo (Cullen) and Stuart 

(Lancaster) said would happen in 

meetings, it happened year-on-year. 

They had faith in the players they were 

building. 

“The difference is in man management 

and the ability to understand how 

to make each and every player feel 

important. Everyone there holds the pride 

of the badge to their chest. There is that 

brotherhood, a feeling of going the extra 

mile for each other. 

“When Stuart came to Leinster, I enjoyed 

the language he spoke, the detail he 

brought, the clarity, how smart they are 

about everything they do. 

“I have so much respect for those people 

and that environment. World-class. Worldclass.” 

Now, his main goal in life is to take what 

he has learned from what he has seen 

and apply it back home. 

“I have always had a dream to get back 

to and give back to the place I come 

from. I realised the best way to do this 

was by setting up a foundation ‘Bookz 

and Bootz.’ 

“I want to take my platform and use 

it to impact the communities around 

where I am, from a sports development 

perspective. 

“I want them to understand the mental 

toughness you need to be an athlete and 

use that resilience in your daily life. 

“When you see where I come from, the 

challenges are in your face on a daily 

basis. It is a 24/7 decision-making 

process that kids have to go through. 

“While I was playing rugby, I held out 

great hope that progress had been made 

at home. 


“At Leinster, I saw people with passion, 

who cared about other people, who 

wanted to make a difference. 

“When I came home, I took a few months 

out, walking around all the clubs and 

schools in the area. We are so far behind 

in terms of what our kids need. 

“I got to work in soup kitchens on a daily 

basis for most of the year post-April of 

2020. Sadly, nothing has changed,” he 

says. 

It inspired Zane to set up ‘The Bookz and 

Bootz Foundation,’ using rugby to instill 

the discipline and life fundamentals to 

work towards a better life. 

The aim is to attract some European 

support, to tap into the networks and the 

environments he has been exposed to. 

“I want a Multiple Purpose Recreational 

Facility where everyone from 13-18 can 

come and take part in rugby,” he says. 

“The plan is to build towards a squad of 

100-150 athletes which will be known as 

The Bookz and Bootz All Stars. 

“The hope is to grant them the exposure 

to knowledge I’ve been fortunate to 

experience. Hopefully, through that, their 

perspective on things will change.” 

The veteran Springbok returned home to 

a deprived area to bring about change, 

to give hope to the hopeless and a voice 

to those who have no platform to be 

heard. 

The current process for securing a facility, 

which is more or less a field, is hugely 

frustrating. 

“Around here many don’t want to 

understand the potential and influence of 

Sport, especially rugby,” Zane states. 

“To know and understand the potential 

this project holds, it sometimes makes you 

wonder why there are so many obstacles 

in place. 

“I want to share the vision and dream that 

I have to give our kids, another way to 

look at the world, to open their eyes to 

other possibilities. 

“Rugby will only teach them the ability to 

be resilient, from a mental perspective. 

If they can overcome those shuttle runs, 

tackles, training sessions, they can 

compete in life. 

“It goes far beyond the four lines of 

competition. But, every single day you 

have to make a decision because you are 

surrounded by those four lines every day. 

“When you come from an environment 

like this, it is a decision between doing 

good and bad, saying yes or no. It is a 

responsibility that most of our kids don’t 

understand. 

“I want to serve and assist our current 

leaders. It won’t be easy. I know that. It 

wasn’t for me. 

“Achieving what I did is not what I’m 

driving, even though anything is possible. 

But, allowing our future generations to 

dream is a privilege we can’t starve them 

from. 

“The discipline and resilience taken from 

‘Bookz and Bootz’ can be core values 

for a new life, to be paid forward for 

generations to come. 

“The fear of change is a curse that will 

forever limit our growth. I want our kids to 

embrace change - for the better.” 


Referees 

Corner 

BY DAN WALLACE 

Welcome to another edition of Referees Corner and a warm 

welcome to Frank Murphy, today’s match referee and his 

team. Frank is a former rugby player. Originally from Cork, 

Murphy played for his native province of Munster before 

moving to the English side Leicester Tigers, with whom 

he won a Premiership title, and then finished his career 

with Connacht, another Irish province, making over 100 

appearances for the side. 

He began refereeing in the 

All-Ireland League in 2015, 

progressing to referee in the 

British and Irish Cup later that 

year. He began refereeing at 

international level in 2016, and 

has taken charge of games in 

the European Nations Cup. In 

November 2016, Murphy took 

charge of his first PRO12 game, 

and has since gone on to referee 

in the Heineken Challenge Cup at 

European level. 

Last week I had a chance to catch up 

with Katie Byrne. Katie is a Leinster 

Rugby Referee, currently progressing 

speedily through the ranks in Leinster 

with aspirations for the Energia All- 

Ireland league. 

What made you decide to take up 

the whistle? I was playing rugby in 

Tullamore and had undertaken an 

affiliate referee course. I didn’t have 

any aspirations to become a referee at 

the time, but Declan O’Reilly who was 

a referee in the club asked me to do 

an u16 girls game one weekend and 

that’s where I started out. I always had 

Want to get 

involved? 

Feel free to make contact with the Leinster Rugby Referees 

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

in becoming a referee get in contact with us through our 

Facebook, our website www.leinsterrugbyreferees.ie or 

through twitter @leinsterreferee. 


gpfoto.ie 

a decent understanding of the law while 

playing but I quickly realised there were 

a lot more variations to it. After seven 

years the challenge of refereeing on a 

more permanent basis appealed to me. 

How long are you refereeing now? 

It’s four years since I became a trial 

member. I was still playing during my 

year as a trialist but retired the following 

year, and subsequently became a full 

member of the ARLB. 

What is the biggest thing you have 

learned since you started out? The 

importance of good communication. You 

need to be able to explain decisions to 

players and prevent negative behaviour. 

Your whistle tone and signals play a big 

part in this. 

What was the process like to become 

a referee? I started out as an affiliate, 

then progressed as a trial member, and 

after passing my trial game, became 

elected as a full member. 

gpfoto.ie 

What is your training regime like? 

Steve Griffiths won’t thank me for saying 

this but I’m not a big fan of running (nor 

are my achilles!). I find it tedious when 

you’re not on the pitch, so the bulk of my 

training is done between the gym and 

the pool. I normally do two days cardio 

and two days of weights per week, 

along with a game or two. 

What is your favourite thing about 

refereeing? As cliche as it sounds, 

the people. You meet such a variety 

of people in different roles and from 

different backgrounds. I’ve been 

fortunate enough to get to work with 

a number of high profile international 

referees including Hollie Davidson, Sara 

Cox and Aimee Barrett-Theron during 

the Women’s 6 Nations and referees 

from other provinces. 

What is the most memorable game 

you have refereed so far? This was 

probably the most difficult question to 

answer. I think I’ve done 120+ in the 

last few years. I’ve really enjoyed the 

opportunity to travel to Connacht and 

Munster for my opening IPAS fixtures. I 

was down in Newcastle West recently 

for a Munster Junior A fixture, and the 

standard of rugby was great. 


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What is your pre – match routine 

like? I’m a sucker for being early, I’ve 

had nightmares about being late for 

games. I normally have a good carb 

filled breakfast in the morning of protein 

pancakes and fruit. I always try to arrive 

60-90 minutes before KO. I like to get 

all the formalities out of the way early, 

so the team sheets, stud check, front row 

chat and coin toss are out of the way 

between 30 - 45 minutes before KO. I 

tend to wait until 20 minutes before KO 

to do my warm-up, which is a mixture of 

static stretching, dynamic stretching and 

running. I head back into the dressing 

room about five minutes before KO and 

then give the teams a time check before 

following them back out. 

What are your refereeing aspirations 

- you are currently on IPAS, what 

is IPAS about? My aspirations have 

changed every season. When I first 

started out, I never imagined that I 

would be on IPAS - It wasn’t on my 

radar. This season, it’s obviously to 

pass IPAS and make it onto the national 

panel. IPAS is short for Inter Provincial 

Assessment System. It’s essentially a 

set of six games, two in each province, 

where you’re assessed by a local 

assessor. The IRFU then decide at the 

end of the season, if your performance 

is good enough to make it onto the 

national panel of referees. One day, it 

would also be nice to tick a women’s 

international off the list, but I’ll cross that 

bridge if I get to it. 

Who is your idol or favourite referee 

and why? Luke Pearce is probably 

my favourite referee at the minute. 

He’s always, cool, calm and collected 

in his approach. He has a good 

gpfoto.ie 

understanding of the law and really 

effective communication with players. 

What will make you improve as a 

referee? Getting on the pitch. The more 

games you get under your belt, the 

better. Even if it’s an under 13 game, 

it’s still valuable in the grand scheme 

of things; you can work on the basics 

which follow through, no matter what 

level you’re refereeing. Also being 

receptive to feedback from mentors and 

other referees will benefit you. 

What advice would you give to 

someone thinking about taking 

up refereeing? Just try it! It’s not as 

daunting as a lot of people think. We’re 

lucky in rugby, that referees are well 

respected and there’s an abundance 

of support available from mentors, 

assessors and fellow referees in your 

local area and beyond. 

Do you do any self-analysis after 

games? I’m probably my biggest critic. 

I tend to analyse decisions and any 

mistakes I make before I acknowledge 

the decisions I’ve got right. 

Wishing Katie the very best for the 

season ahead and her IPAS games. 


MATCHDAY MINIS 

Ashbourne RFC 

First row left to right: Louis O'Connor, Lorcan le Priol, 

Rhys Everard, Jack Fox, Charlie Doherty, James McEntee, 

Michael Blaney 

Second Row: Jasper Zwaan, Luke Moran, Conor 

Weldon, Joe Kinsella, Padraic Tallon, James Dexter, 

Andrew Broughton, Connor Beggy, Philip Gaffney, Tadhg 

O'Buachalla, Sebastian Sadowski, Sam Rees, Donnacha 

Paget 

Not pictured: Charlie Barry, Dylan Cooke, Hamish Crothers, 

John Farrell, James McGeever, James Potterton, Aleksandrs 

Samsonovs, Alfie Woods 

Wicklow RFC 

Players: Adam Armstrong, Alex Birrell, Harry Bowen, Josh 

Callery, Daniel Connolly, Luke Connolly, Tyler Devlin, 

Cian Dunne, Fran Garcia, Bill Guinan, Alex Healy, Adam 

Hughes, Cian Jones, Matt Kelly, Ryan Mahon, Colum 

McCarthy, Alexander McKenna, Elijahjohn Rangitaawa, 

Tamati Rangitaawa, Calum Reid, Toby Salley, Oisin Tallon, 

Eoin Treanor, Patrick Treanor, Alex Tyson, Karl Uhlemann, 

Danny Vickers, Rory Wolohan, Benny Williams, 

Nicholas Zieg. 

Coaches/Managers: Karl Birrell, Niall Callery, Sean 

Connolly, Nigel Kelly, Eimear McCarthy, Alan Reid, 

Alan Vickers. 

Coaches: Scottie Broughton, JP le Priol, Brendan McGeever, 

Jennifer O'Buachalla, Niki Potterton, Emmet Tannum 

Roscrea RFC 

Back row: Ivan Dann (Coach), Keelin Walsh, Liam Nash, 

Ciaran Gill, Kalum Moloney, Nathan Matthews, Conor 

Fogarty, Odhran Mulrooney, Bobby Hayes, Donal Ryan, 

Christian Nolan, Padraig Hayes (Coach). 

Front row: Tom Draper, Noah Delaney, Thomas Shanahan, 

Jonah Dann, John Guidera, Jack Delaney, Craig Fogarty, 

Donnacha Flannery, Kieran Longhurst, Odhran Sloan. 

Ardee RFC 

Back row left to right: Keith Moran (Coach), Charlie 

Murray, Adam Malone, Orla Boyle, Olivia Govern, Jenna 

Jackson, Hayden Higgins Lynch, Ben Reilly 

Middle left to right: Finn Osbourne, Jake Steel, Callum 

Callan, Eoin Sheeran, Jack Moran, Conor Martin, Colm 

Sheeran (Coach) 

Front left to right : Turlough McCague, Dean Tighe, Senan 

Keeley, Pat Smith, Paddy McArdle, Jeremiasz McKal 

Missing from the picture : Dylan Devlin, 

Matthew McCormack 


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

Mon-Fri 10-5pm Sat 10-4pm

About The Alzheimer Society of Ireland 

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is 

the national leader in advocating 

for and providing dementiaspecific 

supports and services. 

Our vision is an Ireland where people 

on the journey of dementia are valued 

and supported and our mission is to 

advocate, empower and champion the 

rights of people living with dementia and 

their communities to quality support and 

services. 

A national non-profit organisation, the 

ASI is person-centred, rights-based and 

grassroots led with the voice of the 

person with dementia and their carer at 

its core. 

OUR RICH HISTORY 

The ASI was founded in 1982. We will 

celebrate our 40th Anniversary next year. 

Winifred Bligh and Imelda Gillespie met 

in January 1982, as they had a sister 

and husband respectively diagnosed with 

forms of dementia. 

As carers they found that not only were 

they unable to access even the most 

basic information about Alzheimer’s 

disease or dementia but that information, 

support, and facilities for families were 

non-existent. 

From this first meeting they founded 

The ASI and set about changing the 

landscape of dementia care in Ireland 

forever. 

ABOUT DEMENTIA 

Dementia is the name for a range of 

conditions that cause damage to the 

brain. This damage can affect memory, 

thinking, language and the ability to 

carry out everyday tasks. There are 

many conditions which cause dementia. 

Alzheimer’s is the most common cause. 

Vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy 

bodies and Frontotemporal dementia are 

other causes. 

Sometimes a person may experience a 

mix of two types of dementia and this is 

called mixed dementia. Some people 

may be diagnosed with dementia and 

it may not be possible to confirm if 

it is Alzheimer’s or another cause of 

dementia. 

There are many diseases that may cause 

dementia. The most common causes 

include Alzheimer’s disease, vascular 

dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies 

and Frontotemporal dementia. 

FACTS ABOUT DEMENTIA 

• There are almost 64,000 people with 

dementia in Ireland and for every one 

person with dementia three others are 

directly affected; 

• The number of people with dementia 

will rise to 113,000 within the next 

twenty years 

• Over 180,000 people in Ireland are 

currently or have been carers for a family 

member or partner with dementia with 

many more providing support and care in 

other ways; 

• There are 11,000 new cases of 

dementia in Ireland each year. That’s at 

least 30 people every day and anyone 

can get dementia - even people in their 

30s/40s/50s; 

• 1 in 10 people diagnosed with 

dementia in Ireland are under 65 

Services provided by The ASI: 

• National Helpline 

• Social Clubs 

• Support Groups 

• Day Care Services 

• Home Care 

• Dementia Adviser Service 

• Mobile Information Bus 

Helpline: The Alzheimer Society 

of Ireland National Helpline is open 

six days a week Monday to Friday 

10am–5pm and Saturday 10am–4pm 

on 1800 341 341. 

Website: www.alzheimer.ie 

GET INVOLVED 

• The Last Song (Song for Jim) 

International singer-songwriter Don 

Mescall has released a beautiful song 

honouring the 30 people every day in 

Ireland diagnosed with dementia ‘The 

Last Song (Song for Jim)’, a song of true 

love, loss and the kindness of strangers. 

Please help us get this track to number 

one in the download charts by 

downloading this track for only €1 at the 

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• Discount Code 

The ASI is offering a special discount for 

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COUNTRY 

IRELAND 

HOME GROUND 

KINGSPAN STADIUM 

FOUNDED 

1879 

CHAMPIONS 

1 | 2005-2006 

The visitors enjoyed a spell of 

territory inside Connacht’s half 

as they looked to make an early 

impression. They earned an early 

penalty when Connacht failed 

to roll away in the tackle. Ulster 

opted for the line-out, but good 

defence from the men in green got 

them the turnover. The decision 

was reversed in Ulster’s favour 

following an altercation. This 

time, Nathan Doak stepped up for 

a pop at the posts and made no 

mistake for the first points on the 

board for Ulster. 

Connacht struck on eleven minutes 

through second row, Niall Murray who 

went on the charge to burst over the line. 

Jack Carty landed the conversion to take 

the lead. 

Ulster got purchase again inside 

Connacht’s 22 when the hosts were 

penalised for going off-side, and Nathan 

Doak nudged over the three points to 

bring the gap to one point. 

ulster 

last time out 

CONNACHT 36 

ULSTER 11 

23 October 2021 | United Rugby Championship | Aviva Stadium 

Ulster fell to their first defeat of the season in the 

United Rugby Championship as Connacht took the spoils 

at Aviva Stadium on Saturday evening. 

The men in white found themselves under 

pressure when winger Mack Hansen 

sniffed out an intercept opportunity to 

run in for Connacht’s second try. Jack 

Carty converted. With the wind in their 

sails, Connacht pressed further and got a 

penalty just two minutes later when Ulster 

crept off-side and Carty landed the three 

to stretch the lead. 

A penalty opportunity came for Ulster on 

the half-hour mark, but Doak’s kick drifted 

just left of the posts. 

Ulster found themselves down to fourteen 

when Alan O’Connor was sent to the 

bin, and just a few minutes later, so did 

Connacht with Ultan Dillane the yellow 

card recipient for repeated infringements. 

After the break, Connacht came charging 

out of the blocks, and Paul Boyle looked 

like he might get over for a try, but Matty 

Rea and Stuart McCloskey did really well 

to hold him up over the line, allowing Billy 

Burns to make the goal-line drop-out. 

Ulster struggled to get out of their half 

in the third quarter of the game. They 

were quick to rip the ball through Iain 

Henderson, and pounced on loose ball 

opportunities, but couldn’t retain the ball 

to build the territory needed. 

The hosts struck twice in quick succession, 

with John Porch bamboozling Ulster’s 

defence for their third, and Diarmuid 


Kilgallen making an intercept to run clear 

for the bonus-point try. Carty slotted the 

conversion for the latter. 

The Ulster men got their sole unconverted 

try on 67 minutes, when Brad Roberts 

bundled over from the Ulster maul. 

With the clock in the red, Ulster looked 

to get another try as Robert Baloucoune 

raced down the wing, but Connacht 

were able to regain possession and 

Mack Hansen broke clear to run in for 

their fifth try, with Jack Carty adding the 

conversion. 

Connacht: (15-9) Tiernan O’Halloran, 

John Porch, Sammy Arnold, Tom Daly, 

Mack Hansen, Jack Carty (CAPT), Kieran 

Marmion; 

(1-8) Matthew Burke, Dave Heffernan, 

Finlay Bealham, Niall Murray, Ultan 

Dillane, Eoghan Masterson, Conor 

Oliver, Paul Boyle. 

Replacements: Shane Delahunt, Jordan 

Duggan, Jack Aungier, Oisín Dowling, 

Jarrad Butler, Caolin Blade, Conor 

Fitzgerald, Diarmuid Kilgallen. 

Tries: Niall Murray, Mack Hansen (2), 

John Porch, Diarmuid Kilgallen 

Cons: Jack Carty (4) 

Pen: Jack Carty 

Ulster: (15-9) Ethan McIlroy, Robert 

Baloucoune, James Hume, Stuart 

McCloskey, Craig Gilroy, Billy Burns, 

Nathan Doak; 

(1-8) Eric O’Sullivan, Rob Herring, Tom 

O’Toole, Alan O’Connor, Iain Henderson 

(Capt.), Matty Rea, Nick Timoney, David 

McCann. 

Replacements: Brad Roberts, Andrew 

Warwick, Ross Kane, Kieran Treadwell, 

Greg Jones, David Shanahan, Mike 

Lowry, Ben Moxham. 

Tries: Brad Roberts 

Pen: Nathan Doak (2) 


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Head Coach 

Dan McFarland 

Dan was born in Oxfordshire, 

England. His playing career 

highlights include winning the 

French Top 14 with Stade Français 

in 2000, before amassing over 

100 caps for Connacht. 

McFarland made the transition from 

player to coach at Connacht, becoming 

Assistant Coach in 2010. He went on 

to be Assistant Coach for Glasgow 

Warriors, who won the PRO12 

Championship for the first time during 

his first season as second in command, 

before moving to BT Murrayfield in 2017. 

McFarland joined Ulster in 2018 from 

the Scottish national team, where he was 

Assistant Coach to Gregor Townsend. 

Captain 

Iain Henderson 

An outstanding schoolboy at 

Belfast Royal Academy the multitalented 

Henderson is regarded 

as world-class in any position in 

the back five of the scrum. 

Carefully guided through the Ulster 

development scheme he was a key 

member, as a teenager, of Ireland’s 

U19 and U20s and his marauding 

runs, tackling and ball-carrying saw 

him elevated to the full international 

side against South Africa in 2012. He 

returned from lengthy injury in 2016 to 

galvanise Ulster and to be immediately 

reinstalled in the Irish touring squad in 

South Africa that summer before going 

on to feature in 2017 British & Irish Lions 

tour of New Zealand. Henderson played 

a vital part of Ireland’s 2019 World Cup 

squad in Japan. 

scarlets squad 

FORWARDS 

JOHN ANDREW 

HOOKER 

SAM CARTER 

LOCK 

IAIN HENDERSON 

LOCK 

ROB HERRING 

HOOKER 

CORMAC IZUCHUKWU 

LOCK 

GREG JONES 

BACK-ROW 

ROSS KANE 

PROP 

MICK KEARNEY 

LOCK 

ADAM MCBURNEY 

HOOKER 

KYLE MCCALL 

PROP 

DAVID MCCANN 

BACK-ROW 

JACK MCGRATH 

PROP 

GARETH MILASINOVICH 

PROP 

MARTY MOORE 

PROP 

JORDI MURPHY 

BACK-ROW 

ALAN O’CONNOR 

LOCK 

DAVID O’CONNOR 

LOCK 

ERIC O’SULLIVAN 

PROP 

TOM O’TOOLE 

PROP 

MATTY REA 

NO. 8 

MARCUS REA 

BACK-ROW 

CALLUM REID 

PROP 

SEAN REIDY 

BACK-ROW 

BRADLEY ROBERTS 

HOOKER 

TOM STEWART 

HOOKER 

NICK TIMONEY 

BACK-ROW 

KIERAN TREADWELL 

LOCK 

DUANE VERMEULEN 

NO. 8 

ANDREW WARWICK 

PROP 

BACKS 

WILL ADDISON 

UTILITY BACK 

ROBERT BALOUCOUNE 

WING 

BILLY BURNS 

FLY-HALF 

JOHN COONEY 

SCRUM-HALF 

ANGUS CURTIS 

CENTRE 

NATHAN DOAK 

SCRUM-HALF 

CRAIG GILROY 

WING 

JAMES HUME 

CENTRE 

MICHAEL LOWRY 

FULLBACK 

ROB LYTTLE 

WING 

IAN MADIGAN 

FLY-HALF 

LUKE MARSHALL 

CENTRE 

STUART MCCLOSKEY 

CENTRE 

ETHAN MCILROY 

WING 

STEWART MOORE 

CENTRE 

BEN MOXHAM 

WING 

AARON SEXTON 

WING 

DAVE SHANAHAN 

SCRUM-HALF 

JACOB STOCKDALE 

WING 


Club in Focus 

WICKLOW 

The world we live in is 

increasingly becoming all 

about the here and now, 

immediate gratification 

for what goes right, instant 

ingratitude for what doesn’t. 

By its very nature, sport is a 

results-based business. Yes, even 

in the amateur arena. When the 

slings and arrows come your way, 

it is easy to lose sight of your 

target, to forget about the hard 

road travelled over many years 

and the grand plan ahead. 

When Wicklow Rugby Club earned the 

right to represent in the Energia Women’s 

All-Ireland League, they did it not as a 

rising offshoot of the traditional, more 

influential men’s clubs. 

They did it through the grind of years 

put down, the push to bring girls into the 

game, to make their club an equal rights 

place to play. 

“In 2019, the IRFU decided to set up the 

10-team All-Ireland League. They did so 

by inviting applications which was an 

interesting way of doing it,” says Wicklow 

club President Brian Clarke. 

Wicklow U14’s Leinster Youths Cup champions 2019 

partly to facilitate the growth in women 

and girl’s rugby. 

club. We ticked a lot of boxes. That was 

it. We were in.” 

“We would have been closer to the top 

of Division One in Leinster and would 

have been a prime candidate on that 

alone. 

“We also have the facilities, three 

fantastic pitches, including a really good 

quality floodlit pitch, a brand new 1,500 

square-foot gym, kitted out to IRFU senior 

standards, eight changing rooms, built 

“We approached the application to the 

AIL like a job interview, presented to the 

IRFU in the head office in Lansdowne 

Road. 

“We shared the history of the club and 

the recent growth particularly from the 

women’s and girls perspectives and told 

them about our fantastic set-up for the 

youths and our ambition for the entire 

Getting into the All-Ireland League is one 

thing, competing as a legitimate force is 

quite another. 

“The luck of the draw meant we had to 

play the four top clubs in the opening five 

rounds, three of them away from home. 

There was a sharp intake of breath when 

we saw that,” says Clarke. 



Wicklow Left to Right Ella Roberts, Brian Clarke, Jess Roberts 

It has been a sobering experience in 

this, Wicklow’s first proper season in the 

AIL. They have been humbled by the 

powerhouses of the AIL, losing out to Old 

Belvedere (63-0), Railway Union (142-0) 

and Blackrock College (63-0) in the 

opening three rounds of the All-Ireland 

League. 

This brought with it a hail of criticism 

about mismatches and the merits of the 

All-Ireland League as the step below 

Interprovincial level, the Railway Union 

whitewash even drawing national 

headlines. 

“In some ways, it doesn’t serve any 

purpose to go over the Railway Union 

match or, indeed, those three matches. 

We had to get on with it and get past it,” 

he says. 

“We were invited into the competition. 

The other side of that is we accepted the 

challenge. To be beaten like we were 

against Railway would have damaged a 

lesser group of women. 


“They are a hardy, determined bunch. 

The girls have done a remarkable job to 

take lessons from those games and apply 

them to the next challenge.” 

In round four, Wicklow weathered that 

physical and psychological storm to 

come out on top against Malone 12-7 at 

Ashtown Lane. 

“I think it showed we can compete at this 

level. It gave the girls so much belief. The 

energy at training is always good. but, it 

was so much better when doing it off the 

back of a win. 

The first girls’ team in Wicklow 

RFC was launched over 15 years ago 

in 2005. Many years of hard work, 

fielding underage teams are now 

paying dividends as these players 

are finally feeding into the adult 

set up. 

“The opportunity to play against better 

players has made our girls better. Their 

physicality and the speed of the game 

has increased. You could say we are 

learning as we go.” 

Since then, a further setback against UL 

Bohemian, where the match points were 

conceded due to Covid-related issues 

and key position unavailability, was 

encouragingly followed by a bounce- 



back win over Ballincollig (15-10) at 

home earlier this month. 

The club is going places. There is a 

pathway there as evidenced by the 

graduation of Ella Roberts to the Ireland 

senior squad and that of Vicky Elmes 

Kinlan to the Ireland Sevens squad. 

“It does make a difference. We have all 

the girls on the U-14s, U-16s and U-18s 

looking at Ella and Vicky, showing how 

they can do it too. It is fantastic for those 

girls. 

“Instead of looking to faraway fields to 

progress, they can reach their potential 

within Wicklow where they have all their 

family and friends.” 

More than that, Roberts and Elmes-Kinlan 

have an eager army of young athletes, 

who are making serious strides at the age 

grade levels. 

“We have one of the biggest girls 

sections in the country,” he adds. 

“In 2019, we went up to Energia Park to 

see our U-14s, U-16s and U-18s all win 

their respective Youths Cup finals on the 

same day. That confirmed the work that 

had been done, leading to a conveyor 

belt of girls coming through the club. 

“The first girls’ team in Wicklow RFC 

was launched over 15 years ago in 

2005. Many years of hard work, 

fielding underage teams are now paying 

dividends as these players are finally 

feeding into the adult set up.” 

The increase in numbers is impressive, 

the total playing members jumping from 

335 five years ago to 755 this season. 

The biggest hike is at the Kinder or minis 

section, from 135 to 269. 

This has led to an increase in 

representative honours whether through 

the collective success of the club or 

through that of personal progress. 

Beth Roberts, Ciara Brennan, Elmes- 

Kinlan, Nicola Schmidt, Emma Curran, 

Naoise O’Reilly, Laura Newsome and 

Eva Phelan have all moved from that 

stellar U-18s squad up to the current 

senior squad. 

There is buy-in from everyone at the club 

as the men of Wicklow continue with their 

ambition to eventually join the AIL ranks. 

“On the social side of things, for the first 

time in a while, there are a lot of the men 

and women players in their 20s. There is 

a good relationship there,” attests Clarke. 

“The men’s team turned up for the 

Blackrock and Malone AIL games and 

actually cheered Malone and Wicklow 

off the pitch at the end of that game. 

“That support has been reciprocated 

by the women and it has brought great 

energy and life to the club.” 

A club working towards an even brighter 

future because it has a plan that stretches 

far beyond the here and now. 



Marcus 

Hanan 

THE ACADEMY 

INTERVIEW 

BY PAUL CAHILL 

Marcus Hanan is very clear 

in who he wants to thank 

for getting him to where he 

is today. 

“If it wasn’t for Clane 

RFC, I wouldn’t be 

playing rugby today” 

he states matter-of-factly 

but it is obvious to see why 

he feels so strongly. 

His hometown club in Kildare laid 

the foundations for what was to 

follow and then he did the rest. 

The Leinster Academy prop made his 

senior debut away to the Dragons on 

February 19th, 2021 in the PRO14, but it 

was a bumpy road to get there. 

Hanan began with Clane RFC as a 

seven-year-old and stayed with his 

hometown club until he was 18. 

During his late teens, he got a taste of 

representative rugby with the North- 

Midlands Area team in the Bank of 

Ireland Shane Horgan Cup. 

“I would go training with them after 

school on a Monday and Wednesday. 

One year it was moved to Naas, which I 

was delighted about because it’s handy 

from Clane! But it was great to get that 


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taste for it because it showed you that 

there was a road ahead if that’s what 

you wanted to go after. 

“The Shane Horgan Cup is the pathway 

that’s there for the club lads and there is 

now the Sarah Robinson Cup for the girls 

as well and it’s a brilliant development 

competition for the clubs’ system.” 

As mentioned, the road ahead had some 

bumps not least when his Clane side 

disbanded at under 18 level but keen 

to kick on, Hanan decided to move to 

North Kildare RFC for the move into the 

adult game. 

But just as he was hoping to start a new 

chapter in his rugby career, disaster 

struck as he broke his leg in his first 

appearance for his new club. 

Having not been selected for the Irish 

under 18 side the previous year, Hanan 

would now miss the opportunity to put 

his best foot forward for selection for the 

Irish Under 19’s side also. 

“That injury meant I didn’t get to play 

too much that year at all,” says Hanan 

now looking back on a time when it 

might have been easier to walk away but 

instead, he renewed his determination to 

make it work. 

“It gave me a chance to get into the gym 

and to really work at that. I did that and 

while there are never any guarantees, 

it definitely helped my physical 

development having that time to dedicate 

to my S&C programme.” 

Once fit, the Irish Under 20’s were now 

unbelievably in his sights. 

Having missed so much rugby the year 

previous, and not being selected for 

the Under 18’s a year earlier, it was an 

ambitious goal for Hanan but it was one 

that he targeted, and ultimately achieved 

with a call-up to the Ireland Under 20s 

for the 2020 Six Nations. 

After performing well in training, Hanan 

thought he had every chance of starting 

the opening game against Scotland. But, 

not for the first time in his career, lady 

luck had other plans and disaster struck 

once again for the Kildare native who 

contracted mumps the week before the 

game. 

Thankfully, he was deemed fit a week 

later to start against Wales at Musgrave 

Park in Cork and he could finally say that 

he had achieved his goal. 

Other than a seven-minute cameo in a 

friendly for the Irish Under 18’s Club 

side, Hanan was finally about to make 

his mark in a green jersey. 

Ireland ran out comprehensive winners 

with a score line of 36-22. It was no 

cameo either as his 70 minutes on the 

pitch were enough for Hanan to retain 

his place in the starting 15 for the round 

three game against England at Franklin’s 

Gardens. 

Once again, Ireland made a real 

statement of intent by winning 39-21 and 


had Italy and France standing in their 

way of a Grand-Slam. 

After overcoming injuries at the worst 

possible times, unfortunately another 

setback was just around the corner for 

Hanan and his Irish teammates, but it 

was one nobody had any control over. 

Having finally established himself in an 

Irish shirt, the 2020 U20’s Six Nations 

was suspended as the Covid-19 situation 

took hold and all rugby activity was 

suspended. 

As the season came to an abrupt halt, 

Marcus Hanan found himself in limbo 

and with no definite sense of what the 

future held either. 

“I was told at the end of that season that 

I wasn’t getting an Academy contract 

yet from Leinster as they needed to see 

me play a bit more rugby, which was 

fair enough given how much time I had 

missed. So I was still in the Sub-Academy 

in the gym in the Ken Wall Centre of 

Excellence in Energia Park and doing 

pitch sessions trying to stay ready.” 

His perseverance and dedication paid 

off and it didn’t take long for that call to 

come. 

“I was in the Centre of Excellence in 

Donnybrook on the Tuesday. At that time, 

I would train in the morning and then go 

and work with my dad in the afternoons. 

So I was working that day thinking I had 

the Wednesday off. 

“I got a call from Dave Fagan to say I 

was to come down for the Senior squad 

meeting. As soon as I walked in Leo just 

said to me, ‘you’re training tomorrow in 

the RDS. See you there.’ 

“I remember just thinking, ‘whoa, this is 

heavy’! 

“It was unbelievable though and the lads 

were so sound from the time I joined 

them. I remember Cian Healy and Peter 

Dooley came up to me straight away, so 

they made me feel really welcome.” 

Having now sampled the professional 

side of the game, Hanan was hoping for 

more and just needed an opportunity to 

show what he could do. 

That chance came on December 12th, 

2020 as Hanan was named to start 

for Leinster ‘A’ against Connacht ‘A’ in 

Energia Park. 

“I knew that was a big game for me. I 

knew I just had to go out and impress,” 

says Hanan. 

Leinster ‘A’ ran out 44-14 winners where 

Hanan was joined by other now senior 

players such as Dan Sheehan, David 

Hawkshaw, Jamie Osborne and Jack 

Dunne to name a few. 


“I was happy how I played that day. I 

had been training with the senior squad 

for a while by then, so I was feeling 

good about myself in that environment 

and about my rugby.” 

Not long after that Connacht game, 

former Leinster Academy manager, Noel 

McNamara rang Hanan to let him know 

that they had now seen enough. 

The man from Clane was being given a 

full Academy contract. Another huge step 

forward. 

Having weathered the storm and the setbacks, 

Hanan was now on a roll of good 

news and less than a month later, he was 

given another huge lift. 

“I remember Leo came up and said 

that I was going to be on the bench 

for the Dragons game that weekend. 

It was brilliant, but we were still very 

much in our bubble, so I didn’t get to 

see too many people from home before 

the game or at the game. But it was a 

Leinster debut and it was unbelievable. 

“Thinking back to the setbacks and the 

disappointments, it was just such a great 

day.” 

It was unbelievable though and 

the lads were so sound from the 

time I joined them. I remember Cian 

Healy and Peter Dooley came up to 

me straight away, so they made me 

feel really welcome. 

At Rodney Parade in south Wales, on 

February 19th 2021, Marcus Hanan 

became Leinster cap number 1295. 

Roughly six months earlier, Hanan was 

still without a full Academy contract, 

unsure of what the future held. 

Now, he had his Academy contract, 

had just won a Leinster senior cap 

and was playing alongside seasoned 

internationals. 

“If I hadn’t had that rocky road 

beforehand, I’d probably be struggling 

now. It’s still tough not being able to 

train, but the other lads doing rehab 

bring you along. 

“Nobody gets left out. It’s a good 

environment. I hope to be back in 

January, so I’m over half-way. I’m hoping 

to hit the ground running as soon as I 

get back.” 

“It was great for everyone in Clane and 

everyone associated with the club. 

“They were all so supportive and I 

received so many messages after that 

game. It was brilliant to see what it meant 

to them all and they deserve to enjoy it 

as much as me. 

“I wish I had come onto a less sloppy 

pitch is the only thing! There wasn’t much 

grass left but I’m well used to that though 

from playing at home, so it reminded me 

of home and it didn’t bother me,” Hanan 

says with a smile. 

Two more senior appearances against 

Zebre and Ospreys made it a debut 

season to remember for Marcus Hanan. 

A knee injury at the start of this season 

has been another slight setback, but it’s 

nothing he can’t handle. 

There is no doubting that Marcus Hanan 

will be raring to go once he is available 

for selection once again. He has college 

assignments and continual assessment 

to keep him busy as well so he won’t be 

idle. 

Whatever heights he goes on to achieve 

on the rugby pitches though, he will 

always remember to thank his first club 

for his start in the game. 

“If it wasn’t for Clane RFC, I wouldn’t be 

playing rugby today. 

“If that first day at under 7s when I went 

down, if that first day hadn’t been as 

good as it was, I’d be in a completely 

different place now.” 

Marcus Hanan and Clane RFC. Where it 

all began. From the ground up. 


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 


& 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 

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

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

played rugby in Old Wesley before coaching back at Clane 

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

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

Management in Griffith College. Instagram: @marcus_hanan 

Back Row 

Martin Moloney #1300 

DOB: 19/10/1999 


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 




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 (9 caps) 

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

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

while his dad played rugby all throughout his life and 

his mum played hockey. Other than rugby, Jamie loves 

all sports especially soccer, GAA and NFL. Jamie is 

currently in a house with fellow Leinster Academy players 

Brian Deeny, Martin Moloney and Max O’Reilly. 

Instagram: @jamieosborne01 


Seán O’Brien #1297 

Lee Barron 

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 




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’. 


Year one 2021/22: 

Scrum half 

Ben Murphy 

DOB: 23/04/2001 



& Leinster Rugby (1 cap) 

Did You Know: Ben played all different sports growing 

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

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

in UCD. Ben’s father Richie played for Leinster 

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

the current Ireland U-20s head coach. 

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. 


fixtures and 

results 2021/22 

Date 

25/09 

03/10 

09/10 

16/10 

22/10 

KO/ 

Result 

W 

31-3 

W 

7-6 

W 

43-7 

Opposiotion Venue 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 1 2 

URC VODACOM 

BULLS 

URC DRAGONS 

Aviva 

Stadium 

Rodney 

Parade 

URC ZEBRE RDS Arena J O’BRIEN 

KEENAN O’LOUGHLIN RINGROSE FRAWLEY LOWE 

SEXTON 

3C 1P 

MCGRATH 

PORTER 

1T 

SHEEHAN 

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

A BYRNE 

2T 

OSBORNE 

FRAWLEY 

W 

50-15 URC SCARLETS RDS Arena KEENAN LARMOUR RINGROSE FRAWLEY 

1C 

W 

15-31 

URC GLASGOW 

Scotstoun 

Stadium 

KEENAN 

1T 

A BYRNE 

1T 

LARMOUR 

1T 

LOWE 

RINGROSE FRAWLEY LOWE 

H BYRNE 

SEXTON 

1C 1P 

R BYRNE 

4C 1P 

MCGRATH 

GIBSON-PARK 

MCGRATH 

E BYRNE 

1T 

PORTER 

1T 

HEALY 

CRONIN 

1T 

KELLEHER 

1T 

KELLEHER 

1T 

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 FLIER DER 

1T 

ALAALATOA MOLONY RYAN RUDDOCK VAN FLIER DER 

ALAALATOA BAIRD TONER LEAVY 

FURLONG MOLONY RYAN 

DORIS 

2T 

PENNY 

1T 

VAN FLIER DER 

DORIS 

DEEGAN 

1T 

RUDDOCK 

CONAN 

FURLONG MOLONY BAIRD DORIS LEAVY CONAN 

TRACY 

1T 

E BYRNE HEALY BAIRD DEEGAN GIBSON-PARK 

R BYRNE 

1T 1C 

TRACY E BYRNE HEALY BAIRD LEAVY N MCCARTHY C FRAWLEY 

KELLEHER 

1T 

SHEEHAN 

2T 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

DOOLEY HEALY MOLONY DEEGAN N MCCARTHY 

HEALY 

1T 

ALAALATOA BAIRD RUDDOCK MCGRATH 

SEXTON 

4C 

R BYRNE 

3C 

OSBORNE 

S PENNY 

[UNUSED] 

RUSSELL 

T O’BRIEN 

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

An Garda Síochána supports the 16 Days of Activism 

against Gender-Based Violence Campaign 

We are supporting the United Nations #16DaysofActivism against 

Gender-Based Violence campaign. 

25th November 2021 (International Day of No Violence against Women) to 

10th December 2021 (International Human Rights Day) 

An Garda Síochána are here to listen, support and protect. 

If you do not feel safe or are concerned about a friend/relative, 

please contact your local Garda Station (details on www.garda.ie). 

Alternatively, contact your local domestic abuse support agency (details can be 

found at https://www.safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/) 

If you require urgent assistance or support, please call 999 or 112. 

Keeping People Safe 


matchday 

Squads 

Jimmy O’Brien 

Adam Byrne 

Robbie Henshaw 

Ciarán Frawley 

Jordan Larmour 

Ross 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 

Mike Lowry 

Craig Gilroy 

James Hume 

Stuart McCloskey 

Ethan McIlroy 

Billy Burns 

John Cooney 

officials 

REFEREE: 

FRANK MURPHY 

(IRFU, 53RD COMPETITION GAME) 

ASSISTANT REFEREES: 

EOGHAN CROSS (IRFU) 

ROBERT O’SULLIVAN (IRFU) 

TMO: 

LEO COLGAN (IRFU) 

Ed Byrne 

James Tracy 

Tadhg Furlong 

Ross Molony 

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 

Andrew Warwick 

Rob Herring 

Marty Moore 

Alan O’Connor [C] 

Sam Carter 

Greg Jones 

Nick Timoney 

David McCann 

Seán Cronin 

Peter Dooley 

Vakh Abdaladze 

Max Deegan 

Will Connors 

Nick McCarthy 

Harry Byrne 

Tommy O’Brien 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

Tom Stewart 

Eric O’Sullivan 

Ross Kane 

Mick Kearney 

Marcus Rea 

Nathan Doak 

Angus Curtis 

Rob Lyttle

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 



100 IRELAND CAPS 

Jonathan Sexton of Ireland with 

a Katana that was presented to 

him by the Japanese captain after 

the Autumn Nations Series match 

between Ireland and Japan at 

Aviva Stadium. 


Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Leinster vs Ulster

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