Leinster vs Munster

ISSUE 13 | LEINSTER RUGBY OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME 

LEINSTER 

VS 

munster 

SAT 21 st MAY 

AVIVA STADIUM 

KO 7.15PM

Newstead Building A, 

UCD, 

Belfield, 

Dublin 4 

#LEIVMUN 

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 

57 

86 

STAY 

CONNECTED 

& KEEP 

UP-TO-DATE 

www.leinsterrugby.ie | 3

john walsh welcome 

PRESIDENT, LEINSTER RUGBY 2020/22 

A week after Leinster’s Heineken 

Champions Cup semi-final win over 

Toulouse, we extend a warm welcome 

to rugby fans to the Aviva Stadium 

for this evening’s rescheduled 

Round 15 fixture in the United Rugby 

Championship. 

It features the defending 

champions and current league 

leaders Leinster on 62 points and 

the second-highest ranked team 

in rivals Munster on 56 points 

(incidentally the same number 

of points as South African teams 

the Cell C Sharks and the DHL 

Stormers). 

This game also marks our final game 

in this phase of this new and exciting 

international competition and it will have 

a bearing as to which clubs will have 

home or away fixtures in the final stages 

of the competition. 

The strength and quality of Irish rugby 

is reflected in the fact that three of the 

top eight clubs in the 16 United Rugby 

Championship clubs are Ulster (11 wins), 

Munster (11 wins) and Leinster (12 wins). 

In relation to our win over Toulouse we 

want to acknowledge the tremendous 

and spectacular support that the team 

was given by the ‘sea of blue’ at the 

Aviva. 

We thank all the 42,000 fans who 

created a magnificent atmosphere. The 

Official Leinster Supporters Club have for 

many seasons played an important role 

in the success story of Leinster at home 

and abroad and we thank all the OLSC 

Committee members and volunteers for 

their commitment to the team. We hope 

to see and hear that ‘sea of blue’ on 

Saturday, 28 May, at the iconic Stade 

Velodrome in Marseille when we play 

La Rochelle in the final of the Heineken 

Champions Cup. 

In what was a short turnaround from our 

win in Leicester, the Leinster marketing 

and ticketing team’s effort was truly a 

magnificent one to sell 42,000 tickets in 

five days so we thank all involved. 

The local derbies between our provincial 

sides no matter at what level are eagerly 

awaited by all rugby fans and indeed 

all players look forward to that extra 

spice that these events generate. No 

doubt the impending Ireland tour to New 

Zealand will be a factor as players seek 

performances that will guarantee a seat 

on the plane. 

A special welcome to our visitors Munster 

and their supporters, Munster President 

Sean McCullough, the officers of the 

Munster Branch, head coach Johann Van 

Graan, players and management team. 

While we may be rivals on the pitch, 

we at Leinster, continue to work with our 

colleagues in Munster, Connacht, and 

Ulster for the sustained development 

of the game at all levels on this island 

and share many common goals and 

objectives and long may that be so. 

As we approach the final months of the 

season, Leinster Rugby wishes to thank 

and acknowledge the contributions that 

departing players have made to our club. 

Leinster Rugby will bid farewell to Devin 

Toner (a record 279 Leinster caps), Seán 

Cronin (204 Leinster caps), Dan Leavy 

(79 Leinster caps) who are all retiring. 

Joining the Connacht squad are Peter 

Dooley (103 Leinster caps), Adam 

Byrne (65 caps), Josh Murphy (60 caps) 

and David Hawkshaw (11 caps). Also 

departing are Rory O’Loughlin (96 caps) 

and Jack Dunne (20 caps) who are 

joining Exeter Chiefs. We wish all the 

very best in their future endeavours. 

I would also like to take this opportunity 

to wish Felipe Contepomi well on his 

return back home at the end of the 

season. The opportunity to coach your 

country is one too good to turn down but 

what a legacy he will leave on this club 

as a player and now as a coach. You 

will always have a warm welcome here 

Felipe, safe home and thank you. 

The Energia All-Ireland League has 

this season resulted in three individual 

Leinster Clubs (Clontarf, Blackrock and 

Enniscorthy) winning three of the five 

titles that were up for decision in what 

has been a most competitive and exciting 

league programme. 

A total of 18 out of the 50 AIL clubs are 

Leinster-based while there are five Leinster 

women’s teams playing in the Energia 

Women’s All-Ireland League which 

currently consists of 10 clubs. The AIL 

fixtures received excellent coverage from 

4 | www.leinsterrugby.ie

all the participating clubs who promoted 

the games on their multiple media 

platforms which continue to develop and 

produce quality content. 

I also wish to remind you that the Leinster 

Rugby charity partner for the month of 

May is CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young) 

and I would like to thank the team in 

BearingPoint for bringing them back to 

the table having previously been partners 

of ours back in 2015 and last year. 

I would strongly recommend to all that 

you log on to their website and make 

yourself fully aware as to the impact 

that this disease and condition can 

have on your life and on the lives of 

your treasured loved ones. CRY was 

established in 2002 and continues to 

do amazing work in the diagnosis and 

management of the cardiac condition. 

Make yourself aware and log on to 

www.cry.ie for further information. The 

CRY HELPLINE is Freephone Republic of 

Ireland 1800 714 080, Northern Ireland 

00 44 8006 40 62 80, and you can 

email info@cry.ie. 

On a related topic Leinster Rugby’s 

‘Operation Life Saver’ has highlighted 

to all the Leinster-based clubs the 

importance of having a defibrillator 

(AED) in their grounds in order to deal 

with emergencies. Furthermore, we have 

highlighted the need for clubs to have in 

place effective emergency protocols, as 

well as full awareness of Eircode location. 

On completion of this Leinster project 

our clubs will be linked to the National 

Emergency Operations Centre and 

National Ambulance Service in order 

that we can provide the best possible 

outcome in these emergency situations. 

Two hugely worthwhile and visible 

campaigns that I would urge you all to 

support. 

Enjoy the game and the next few weeks. 

These are the games and the occasions 

that we have missed so much over the last 

two years! 

John Walsh 

President Leinster Rugby 2020-2022 


Leo Cullen 

head Coach Welcome 

Good evening 

to you all 

and a warm 

welcome to 

Johann van 

Graan and his 

Munster team 

to the Aviva 

Stadium for 

tonight’s 

game. 

The action is coming thick and 

fast, and it has been amazing to 

witness the display of red and 

blue at this ground over the past 

couple of weeks. These games 

are always a reflection of the 

passionate support behind both 

of our teams and that’s something 

we never take for granted. Long 

may it continue. 

Thankfully, we have managed to 

secure top spot in the United Rugby 

Championship. However, we know it is 

very tight with a lot of teams still in with a 

shout of securing a home play-off spot, so 

tonight promises to be a keenly contested 

game. The addition of the South African 

teams has added a whole new dynamic, 

not just on the pitch but in terms of travel, 

logistics and squad management. 

Meanwhile, even though we are involved 

in a European final next week, we also 

have a quarter-final to play the week 

after (we hope to see you all there!). 

That’s a challenge that will require focus 

and renewed energy. The last round of 

the regular season will no doubt throw up 

a few surprises as everyone battles it out 

for the top seedings. 

Many thanks to the 42,000-plus 

supporters who turned out last week to 

create another Leinster ‘Sea of Blue’ at 

the Aviva. It was truly remarkable to get 

such a big crowd in just five days of ticket 

sales (well done Claire, Niamh and all 

the team in what was a massive effort 

behind the scenes). 

I know it’s a big ask and a significant 

expense, but we hope to see as 

many familiar faces as possible in 

Marseille next Saturday. 

Our supporters definitely 

made a difference 

last weekend. The noise and colour 

throughout the match gave us all a big lift 

and I want to say a special thanks to the 

OLSC for their efforts over the last few 

weeks, both here and on the road. 

On this, the last game in our regular 

season, I also want to thank the team’s 

sponsors, especially Bank of Ireland. We 

know it has been a challenging couple of 

years for all organisations but your faith 

and backing makes a huge difference 

to the running of this team. We certainly 

couldn’t do what we do without you. 

Felipe’s announcement this week that 

he will be returning to Argentina really 

drove home the point that every season 

is unique; there is always some personnel 

movement and no two groups are ever 

exactly the same. That’s just the nature of 

our game. 

It’s not just Felipe who will be moving 

on at the end of this season; we’ll be 

saying goodbye to a number of players 

and staff members, and I’d like to take 

this opportunity to wish them all the very 

best. We are lucky to have had so many 

outstanding individuals feeding into the 

group dynamic over many years, and we 

thank them all for their efforts. 

The last few weeks have required huge 

commitment from absolutely everybody 

in the group, and we are still standing 

and fighting on all fronts. That in itself is 

a tribute to the hard work that goes on, 

both on the pitch and behind the scenes. 

We’re in for another battle this 

evening. I hope you enjoy the 

game, and the exciting few 

weeks that lie ahead – the 

games can’t come quick 

enough! 

Leo 


Many thanks to the 42,000-plus 

supporters who turned out last 

week to create another Leinster 

‘sea of blue’ at the Aviva. 


carla 

delaney 

DIRECTOR, BANK OF IRELAND AREA EAST 

A very warm welcome back to Aviva Stadium for the 

last time this season! And what a season it has been 

at this home, away from home, of Leinster Rugby. 

We have seen some breath-taking 

displays in European competition 

in the Aviva Stadium this season, 

not to mention in the URC at the 

start of the season against the 

Bulls, and now we welcome the 

Red Army from Munster for one 

last battle at Lansdowne Road this 

season. 

The performance last weekend against 

Toulouse certainly whets the appetite 

for the game this evening and with 

a European final only around the 

corner, in addition to the United Rugby 

Championship play-offs, the Leinster 

players will look at this as an opportunity 

for some of them to lay down a marker 

ahead of the knock-out games to come. 

As we all know, after this weekend, its 

knock-out rugby all the way until June 18. 

A condensed run of high-stakes matches 

that certainly narrows the focus! 

Well done to both Jimmy O’Brien, 

who won his 50th Leinster cap against 

Toulouse in the European semi-final, 

and also well done to Leo Cullen on the 

occasion of his 200th game as Leinster 

Rugby head coach today. 

A coaching career that commenced 

against Edinburgh Rugby, and has 

taken in the highways and the byways 

of European rugby ever since, has led 

Leinster Rugby to unprecedented success 

since Leo took over in 2015. Thank 

you Leo for all that you have done and 

achieved so far and here’s to many more 

big days ahead. 

Thank you also to Felipe Contepomi 

who announced this week that he will be 

leaving the club at the end of the season. 

As a player and as a coach over many 

years, he brought great joy to all of us 

supporters. Safe home Felipe and best of 

luck with Argentina. 

Players too will exit stage left over the 

coming weeks and we, in Bank of Ireland, 

would like to thank all the players that 

pulled on a Leinster jersey for the men’s 

team and the women’s team this season. 

You may never fully understand the great 

joy that you give to supporters but you 

genuinely do, and we very much thank 

you for it. We wish you all the very best 

of luck as you embark on your next rugby 

adventures. 

As proud sponsors of rugby in all four 

provinces, Bank of Ireland will always 

remain on the fence for days like today! 

But I would like to wish all the players 

a safe and sporting game, and the 

supporters a great day out. 

May the best team win and good luck 

to both in the coming weeks in the URC 

play-offs. 

CD 


THE ULTIMATE 

URC EXPERIENCE 

JOIN FOR FREE 

Personalised team 

experience 

Exclusive offers 

& competitions 

Premium opinion 

articles & analysis 

Match highlights & 

exclusive video content 

WWW.UNITEDRUGBY.COM/MYURC

16 TEAMS, 

2 HEMISPHERES, 

1 LEAGUE

Available Now 

gilbertrugby.com 

The oval trim design is a registered trademark of Gilbert Rugby.

Did you 

know? 

• Leinster have lost their 

last two United Rugby 

Championship matches, both 

in South Africa, at the Cell C 

Sharks and the DHL Stormers 

and have not lost three in 

a row in the United Rugby 

Championship since 2008. 

• Leinster’s only defeat in 

their last twenty-three 

visits to Aviva Stadium in 

all tournaments was 17-25 to 

Saracens in the Quarter Final 

of the European Champions Cup 

in September 2020. 

• Munster have lost just one 

of their last four United 

Rugby Championship matches: 

19-34 to today’s opponents, 

Leinster, in Limerick on 2 

April. 

• The Munstermen have already 

visited Aviva Stadium this 

season drawing there 24-all 

with Toulouse three weeks ago 

in the European Champions Cup 

Quarter Final but going out of 

the competition on a penalty 

shoot-out. 

• Leinster have lost just 

one of their last eight 

encounters with their 

fiercest rivals: 3-27 at the 

RDS Arena in the Rainbow Cup 

last April. 

• Munster’s only victory in 

their last twelve visits 

to Aviva Stadium to face 

Leinster was 34-23 in October 

2014. 

COMPARISON 

Overall URC head-to-head record: 

Played 44, Leinster won 29, Munster won 15. 

Last 3 URC results 

2 Apr - Munster (A) W 34-19 2 Apr - Leinster (H) L 19-34 

23 Apr - Sharks (A) L 23-28 22 Apr - Ulster (A) W 24-17 

30 Apr - Stormers (A) L 13-20 29 Apr - Cardiff Rugby (H) W 42-21 

URC 2021/22 

1ST - W12 D0 L5 - 62PTS 

2ND - W11 D0 L6 - 56PTS 

WLWWLL (18pts) 

URC form 

LLWLWW (16pts) 

Top try scorer 

6 - Scott Penny, Max Deegan 7 - Simon Zebo, Craig Casey 

Top points scorer 

109 - Ross Byrne 95 - Ben Healy 

Date Venue L M Leinster scorers Munster scorers 

Sat 28 Dec 19 Thomond Park 13 6 Ross Byrne(C/2P) Ed Byrne(T) JJ Hanrahan(2P) 

Sat 22 Aug 

20 

Aviva Stadium 27 25 James Lowe(T) Ross Byrne(P) Cian Healy(T) 

Garry Ringrose(T) Johnny Sexton(3C/P) 

Andrew Conway(2T) Keith Earls(T) JJ 

Hanrahan(2C/2P) 

Fri 4 Sep 20 Aviva Stadium (SF) 13 3 Ronan Kelleher(T) Johnny Sexton(C/2P) JJ Hanrahan(P) 

Sat 23 Jan 21 Thomond Park 13 10 Ross Byrne(C) Jordan Larmour(T) Johnny 

Sexton(2P) 

Tadhg Beirne(T) JJ Hanrahan(C/P) 

Sat 27 Mar 

21 

RDS Arena (TF) 16 6 Jack Conan(T) Ross Byrne(C/3P) Joey Carbery(2P) 

Sat 2 Apr 22 Thomond Park 34 19 James Lowe(2T) Ross Byrne(C/4P) Garry 

Ringrose(T) Jimmy O’Brien(T) 

Damian de Allende(T) Joey Carbery(C/4P) 



scott 

penny 

Scott Penny 

is still just 

22 years of 

age. 

It seems like 

he’s been 

around a lot 

longer given 

he already 

has 40 

appearances 

for the 

province 

under his 

belt, not to 

mention his 

22 tries in 

those games. 

the big interview 

BY RYAN CORRY 


However, it’ll come as a surprise 

to many to learn he has yet to 

make an appearance in the 

Heineken Champions Cup despite 

being named to start against 

Montpellier in December as the 

contest was later cancelled and 

the home side were awarded a 

five-point win. 

So, last week, as Leinster Rugby took on 

Toulouse at Aviva Stadium, he held a 

watching brief within the ground after a 

week where he will have done his best 

impressions of Rynhardt Elstadt, Francois 

Cros or Anthony Jelonch. 

But the day itself is one of those, in 

Penny’s opinion, that sees all of the hard 

work pay off. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen that kind 

of atmosphere in the Aviva and that much 

energy,” he says. 

“Hopefully we’ll see that again tonight. 

We were just preparing the lads to the 

best of our ability. We always talk about 

being brothers here and how, if you’re 

not involved, you’re preparing the team in 

the best way you can. 

“Basically, it was about learning off the 

Toulouse plays and trying to play their 

way during the week to get the lads used 

to it, just in the general loose off-loading 

style.” 

This time around, Penny will get the 

chance to lead the line, slotting into 

the number seven shirt for just his third 

appearance against provincial rivals 

Munster. 

He started in the 27-3 reverse at the 

RDS Arena in last season’s Rainbow Cup 

competition and had a four-minute cameo 

in December 2019’s 13-6 win for Leinster 

at Thomond Park. 

“I’ve only played against them twice. The 

Rainbow Cup over a year ago was the 

last time. It was a tough fixture,” he adds. 

“We had a similar enough team to what 

we have out tonight, and they were pretty 

much full strength. They got the upper 

hand with the physicality with a few of 

us coming back having not played for a 

few weeks which is a similar scenario to 

this game. 

“They’re big rivals for us. Anytime we 

play them, no matter what it is, we’re very 

motivated. You want to put your hand 

up for selection for next week and then 

the quarters, semis and hopefully a final 

coming up then as well. 

“Everyone’s motivated and we’ve seen 

during the week, we’re very up for it. A 

lot of people haven’t played in a while, 

maybe since South Africa, so we’re all 

fired up and ready to go.” 

Not playing since the tour to South Africa 

is something he has to contend with 

himself, starting both of those games and 

even being on-field captain for a spell 

after Rhys Ruddock was replaced. 


It was a really good 

opportunity for them 

to get comfortable in 

the environment and 

you saw it in their 

performances. 

And despite losing by a converted try 

or less in both of those games, Penny 

outlines the level of belief that it has 

instilled in the wider squad and some 

of the fresher faces from the Academy 

who were experiencing their first taste 

of the Senior game in such a difficult 

environment. 

From training in the sweltering sun 

to playing games in the midst of 

never-ending rain against seasoned 

Springbok internationals, it threw 

everything at Leinster’s young touring 

squad. 

And, despite the losses, it was 

job done. The losing bonus points 

clinching top spot in the Conference 

and a home route to the final should 

Leinster get there. 

“It was a great experience. We were so 

disappointed not to get a win over there 

but when we went over, the job was to 

secure first place before the end of the 

season which we did by getting two 

losing bonus points,” Penny explains. 

“Especially in the Sharks game, we felt 

we had an opportunity to win towards 

the end of the game and we didn’t. But, I 

think it’s great learning that, in those big 

games, that we are still in it. It’s just those 

small errors – a knock-on on the line, 

getting held up or whatever, they’re the 

winning and losing of it. 

“And, you’re spending a lot more time 

with people that you wouldn’t normally 

have spent too much time with before 

then. You’re with each other all day, 

every day for the guts of two weeks so 

you build these connections. 

“We visited Robben Island, Table 

Mountain, a few of the lads went fishing. 

It was a great trip. It was pretty flat out, 

it was a normal work week while we 

were there too though, training and gym 

sessions. And with the heat, you would 

be fairly tired in the evenings after 20 

degrees all day. 


MORE 

innovation 

As Official Innovation Partner to Leinster Rugby, 

BearingPoint is embarking on a journey with 

Leinster Rugby into the metaverse. 

Contact us to learn more 

01 418 1111 

www.bearingpoint.com 

ireland@bearingpoint.com 

@bearingpoint_ie

“There were lads who were getting 

their first chance to play for Leinster, 

like John (McKee), (Brian) Deeny, 

getting their first cap and being 

surrounded by the environment for the 

whole week with small breaks in the 

evening. 

“It was a really good opportunity 

for them to get comfortable in the 

environment and you saw it in their 

performances.” 

Another of those young players given 

the chance to showcase his ability was 

Alex Soroka, Player of the Match in the 

defeat to DHL Stormers. 

In his post-match interview, the Clontarf 

man spoke about the criticism of the 

chosen squad and widely-held opinion 

that they would simply be fodder for 

the southern hemisphere sides when 

they arrived in Durban and Cape 

Town. 

And Penny elaborates on Soroka’s 

points. Despite defeat, it was the 

unspoken motivation to hold their 

own, show exactly why they are in the 

position they are in by going toe-to-toe 

with fancied home teams. 

“We didn’t talk about it as a group but 

we knew that most people probably 

didn’t have faith in us down there. 

We’re all good athletes, we’ve all 

trained together week in, week out for 

the last year. 

“We knew we had the capability 

to go down there and put on a 

performance. And you’ll always see 

that with Leinster teams, even when the 

internationals are away, we’ll still have 

good performances in us. We had 

confidence that we could go down to 

South Africa and get two wins.” 

While it wouldn’t work out like that, it 

was still job done. And done well. 

So, once again, as the flanker said, 

motivation will be high this weekend as 

the southern neighbours sit in the red 

corner at Aviva Stadium. 

Tensions are always high between the 

provinces and with a home quarterfinal 

within Munster’s grasp, Penny and 

Co will be hoping to put that out of 

arm’s reach. 

While Munster have suffered some 

injuries in the pack, Penny states that 


preparation and application will remain 

the same for him regardless of who 

stands opposite him. 

“There are some injury concerns for the 

Munster back row but they’re all pretty 

much the same type of player, they go 

very hard at the ball, they’re very direct 

ball carriers,” he says. 

“No matter who it is, you have to treat it 

like it’s an international forward in front 

of you whether that’s Peter O’Mahony or 

Alex Kendellen. 

“You have to try and use the footwork 

around them and get over the gainline. 

In defence then, you have to smash them. 

They’re going to run directly at us so 

you have to be prepared to stand up for 

yourself.” 

That ball-carrying aspect is something 

that the former St Michael’s College 

student has earmarked as an area for 

improvement in his own game. 

There’s no doubting his work-rate, ability 

to tackle or knack for scoring tries, but 

making the next step in his career will 

come from building on those strengths. 

It helps that he has someone like Denis 

Leamy, one of Ireland’s greatest backrowers, 

offering him guidance along the 

way. 

“I need to offer myself more in carrying. 

It’s something Josh (van der Flier) did last 

season. He really upped his ball-carrying 

game and there’s a reason now that 

he’s been selected as Players’ Player of 

the Season at the Rugby Players Ireland 

awards this week. 

“Coaches always like to have a good 

ball-carrying seven as well as the other 

natural attributes of a seven – chop 

tackle and poach specialists. 

“It’s such tough competition here in the 

back row, the starting back row here is 

the starting back row for Ireland. 

I always do 

some extras 

with him, 

he’s always 

giving us cues 

and tips that 

he learned 

from his own 

incredible 

career in the 

game. 


“You want to get into those big games 

and that comes from making a name for 

yourself in training, show the coaches that 

you’re training consistently well. 

“I work pretty closely with Leams. I always 

do some extras with him, he’s always 

giving us cues and tips that he learned 

from his own incredible career in the 

game. 

“Especially the young lads, he’s always 

looking to give them a hand when 

anything’s asked of him or going through 

training with them.” 

“And then when you’re given those 

opportunities, you’re not slipping up on 

that chance.” 

The next one of those opportunities is 

tonight – an interprovincial in front of 

35,000 people at Aviva Stadium. 

While the minds of some supporters may 

have been on the planes, trains and 

automobiles-type journey that they may 

need to figure out to find their way to 

Marseille next weekend, in and around 

the team HQ in UCD, all focus was purely 

on Munster and a strong finish to the URC 

Conference. 

“Since we got the win against Toulouse 

last weekend, people have been 

really excited but our focus has been 

solely Munster this week,” Penny says 

assertively. 

“I think, now that we’re here at this part of 

the season, everyone is dialled in. 

“Everyone knows what is at stake and you 

could see last week how clear the detail 

is. Those extra meetings on the small 

detail can lead to a big performance.” 


Action 

replay 40 17 

LEINSTER RUGBY 

Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O’Brien, Garry 

Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw (Ciarán 

Frawley 65), James Lowe; Johnny Sexton 

(68), Jamison Gibson-Park (68); Andrew 

Porter (Cian Healy 68), Rónan Kelleher 

(Dan Sheehan 47), Tadhg Furlong 

(Michael Ala’alatoa 17); Ross Molony, 

James Ryan (Joe McCarthy 76); Caelan 

Doris, Josh van der Flier (Rhys Ruddock 

72), Jack Conan. 

SCORERS 

Tries: James Lowe (2), Josh van der Flier, 

Hugo Keenan. 

Cons: Johnny Sexton (3), Ross Byrne. 

Pens: Johnny Sexton (3), Ross Byrne. 

SATURDAY, 14 MAY 

AVIVA STADIUM 

ATTENDANCE: 42,076 

HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP 

TOULOUSE 

Thomas Ramos; Juan Cruz Mallía, Pierre 

Fouyssac (Zack Holmes 62), Pita Ahki 

(Martin Page-Relo 67), Matthis Lebel; 

Romain Ntamack, Antoine Dupont; 

Cyril Baille (Rodrigue Neti 52-70), 

Julien Marchand (Selevasio Tolofua 

52), Dorian Aldegheri (David Ainu’u 

56); Rory Arnold (Thibaud Flament 56), 

Emmanuel Meafou (Joe Tekori 62); 

Rynhardt Elstadt, Francois Cros, Anthony 

Jelonch (Peato Mauvaka 52). 

SCORERS 

Tries: Antoine Dupont. 

Cons: Thomas Ramos (2). 

Pen: Thomas Ramos. 


They’re the 

special moments 

that you get, 

the honour of 

representing 

this team. We’ll 

have a group of 

players that 

will get to 

run out here 

against Munster 

and hopefully 

we’ll have a big 

turnout again 

and then we 

turn the page to 

Marseille. 

Leo Cullen 

With the form 

he’s been in, and 

when I saw the 

red scrum hat, I 

just thought: ‘Get 

the ball to the 

red scrum hat’. 

Johnny Sexton on his set-up for Josh van 

der Flier’s try 


From the sidelines 

to the engine room 

Women volunteering 

in rugby 

BY BARRY LAMBKIN 

Across the season, we have been 

highlighting the commitment and 

contribution made by women to 

the effective running of our clubs. 

Now, as we look back on another 

wonderful season we would 

like to take this opportunity to 

highlight four more women who 

have stepped up and made a 

significant difference in their clubs 

by volunteering with energy and 

purpose. 

Like all of our contributors, Enniscorthy 

RFC’s Samantha Wafer had her first 

experience of club life as a parent on the 

side line. Her sons were playing minis 

rugby at the club and a request came 

from the house committee for parents to 

help out with the organisation of blitzes. 

Samantha put her hand up to help one 

week and she has been involved in 

various roles ever since then. 

Samantha says that she has always been 

encouraged and supported by other 

club members and that this has made 

it easy to stay involved. She points out 

that like with all aspects of life there are 

challenges around working with other 

strong-minded people and long-serving 

Kathy Cranny 

Samantha Wafer 

volunteers who aren’t as open to new 

ideas as they might be but that at the end 

of the day everyone always puts the club 

first and they find a way to enjoy working 

together to achieve their common goals. 

When we asked her about her proudest 

moment as a volunteer Samantha said: 

“I managed the U-18 girls’ team. At the 

end of the season, we had a bit of a get 

together where the girls and parents were 

invited for a cup of tea and treats. 

“The coaches thanked me for the work 

I had done behind the scenes and the 

parents are still texting to see if I am 

going to be involved this year. Just 

hearing the words and praise spoken by 

the coaches, parents and girls touched 

me deeply.” 

Dundalk RFC is another club that has 

always encouraged women to get 

involved and supported them when they 

have brought new ideas to the table. Two 

such women are Kathy Cranny and Mary 

Murdock whose stories merge when they 

came together to run an incredible event 

at their club. 

Mary first became involved in 2005 

when her eldest son took up rugby. Like 

Samantha, she found herself on the 

side line but wanted to contribute to the 

team. She began taking photographs at 

games, helping with the half-time water 

breaks and organising parties for the 

kids. Committee members at the club 

noticed her enthusiasm and approached 

her to become more involved as they 

recognised her talents and since then she 

has served as an Executive Committee 

member as well taking on roles in 

fundraising, PR, events and youths rugby. 

Kathy’s pathway was similar to Mary’s. 

She always got involved with any 

activities that her kids took part in and she 

wasn’t long on the sidelines at Dundalk 

RFC when former Chairman Larry Steen 

recognised her potential and asked her to 

join the club’s committee. 

Kathy recalls how proud she felt at being 


Mary Murdock 

asked. “He had great belief that I could 

fulfill the role of Honorary Secretary at 

Dundalk RFC. It was a great honor to 

be asked and while I was delighted I 

was unaware of the role or workload 

involved. 

“After a chat with my family and of 

course my employees, Denis and Bridget, 

I decided I would take on the role for one 

year! I’m still here many years later but 

am enjoying every moment of it. It’s good 

to give something back.” 

For both of these Dundalk women 

though, their proudest moment came 

from being involved in events that both 

supported families in the club who had 

been bereaved through tragedy and also 

raised vital funds for important charities. 

Kathy told us, “One of my proudest 

moments has been the confidence in me 

and trust afforded to me by the Executive 

Committee to lead out on Dundalk RFCs 

strategy to tackle breast cancer with the 

hosting of the “No High Tackles, Just 

High Heels” ladies event in February of 

this year. 

It was a celebration of Dundalk RFC 

Ladies and those who have lost their 

battle to breast cancer and those still 

fighting the disease. This is a first for a 

rugby club backed both by Leinster Rugby 

and the IRFU. Its seeds were planted by 

our “Think Pink For Caroline” event in 

2019 to remember Caroline Gray, the 

late wife of our senior player, Jonathon, 

and mummy to Alex and Georgia who 

sadly lost her battle with breast cancer 

at age 27 which started our association 

with the National Breast Cancer Research 

Institute.” 

That sense of family at her club is also 

what encouraged Cill Dara RFC’s PRO 

Bernadette Prendergast to become 

involved. She describes herself as 

someone who is naturally shy but she has 

pushed herself out of her comfort zone so 

that she can be a part of the excitement 

of matchdays at the club. 

That sense of pushing yourself is 

something that means a lot to Bernadette 

and a quality that she admires in rugby 

players of all ages. She tells us that this is 

something that really rubbed off on her 

son who has special needs after he had 

been made to feel like a valuable part 

of a youths team who made him their 

mascot. Seeing them working together 

to achieve the goals and pushing 

themselves as individuals is something 

that Bernadette tells us that she believes 

played a huge part in her proudest 

moment. 

“On his first holy communion day, with 

the aid of a walker, he stood up from 

his wheelchair and walked up to the 

altar to receive his communion. It took 

every single strand of energy, stamina, 

endurance, and determination for him 

to do this. The same qualities that apply 

to most things in life, especially sporting 

activities. Qualities that were without 

doubt influenced by the support and 

the positive actions of the players and 

Berndaette Prendergast 

volunteers that he witnessed from the 

underage team in Cill Dara.” 

More and more, we are seeing our clubs 

encouraging women to take on roles 

where they can make a real difference. 

The energy that new volunteers bring to 

every aspect of club life makes the club a 

more enjoyable place for every member 

and the new ideas that these skilled 

volunteers bring create new possibilities 

and encourage even more volunteers to 

become involved. 

Samantha, Mary, Kathy and Bernadette 

would all like to encourage anyone 

who would like to be a part of the buzz 

at their club to reach out to someone 

on the club’s committee and tell them 

that you would like to contribute. More 

importantly, they would like for more and 

more committee members to recognise 

the potential of the parents on the 

sidelines and offer them an easy way to 

become involved. 

Everyone here at Leinster Rugby applaud 

these four women and every woman 

who has done their bit to make rugby the 

most welcoming and inclusive sport in our 

wonderful province. Thank you to each 

and every one of you. 

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 academy players? 

FRILLED 

MOON CAR 

I BEEN SO 

MAJOR 

how did you do? 

IN A BLUR? 

HUGO KEENAN 

ANAGRAMS 

NIALL COMERFORD 

JAMIE OSBORNE 

ZOOMED IN! 

TOMMY O’BRIEN 

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 

MAX DEEGAN 

A – Action: If you could be a superhero, 

which would you be? 

Thor 

B – Boyhood: Who was your favourite 

sporting idol growing up? 

Ronaldo 

C – Childhood: What is your favourite 

childhood memory? 

Going to the 2009 Grand Slam in 

Cardiff with my dad 

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

meal? 

Carbonara 

E – Education: What was your favourite 

subject in school? 

Maths 

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

Harry Potter 

G – Groove: Who is the best dancer in 

the squad? 

Ed Byrne 

H – Holiday: What’s your favourite 

holiday destination? 

Mexico 

I – Inside: Who is the worst to sit beside 

in the dressing room? 

Ed Byrne smells 

J – Joker: Who is the funniest in the 

squad? 

Michael Bent will never be matched. 

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

of the day to play a match? 

5pm 

L – Languages: How many languages 

can you speak? 

Six 

M – Music: Your favourite artist? 

Arctic Monkeys 

N – Number: Do you have a lucky 

number? 

Nope 


O – Others: What’s your 

favourite sport outside of rugby? 

NFL 

P – Pal: Who is your best mate in 

the squad? 

Devin Toner 

Q – Quirky: Who has the most 

interesting fashion sense? 

Adam Byrne 

R – Red Carpet: Who is the most 

famous contact in your phone? 

Michael Bent 

S – Superstitions: Do you have 

any matchday routines? 

Take a nap before the game! 

T – Trim: What’s the worst 

haircut you’ve ever had? 

Shaved head 

U: Under pressure: Who in the 

squad would be the best in a 

bad situation? 

Will Connors 

V – Verified: How often do you 

use social media? 

Every few hours! 

W – Worst fear: What are you 

most scared of? 

Illuminati 

X – X-ray: Have you ever broken 

any bones? 

Never 

Y – Youth: Where did you grow 

up? 

Stillorgan 

Z – Zoo: What’s your 

favourite animal? 

Gorilla 


THE SPIRIT OF 

UNITED RUGBY 

CHAMPIONSHIP. 

Enjoy responsibly 

DISCOVER THE SPIRIT WITHIN | 

#SAVOURTHEMOMENT

Stillorgan-Rathfarnham RFC 

growing with 

new home 

ground 

Stillorgan- 

Rathfarnham 

RFC have 

been very 

busy in 2022 

and the year 

will get 

busier! 

The 22/23 season marks the clubs 

50th Anniversary but on the pitch 

Stillorgan-Rathfarnham hit new 

milestones with growth in girls’ 

rugby teams and phenomenal 

growth of the minis section. 

Summer 2022 will now see 

eight years of hard work finally 

come to fruition when Stillorgan- 

Rathfarnham RFC open their new 

home ground, Heavy Technology 

Park, on Tibradden Road, 

Rathfarnham. 

The vision dream of Heavy Technology 

Park was born after the club were given 

short notice that the club pitch had been 

sold. Stillorgan-Rathfarnham were at a 

crossroads. It was either look for a new 

base and see if the club could survive or 

attempt to go out on their own with a new 

facility. Stillorgan-Rathfarnham formed 

a strategic committee, and the club are 

ready to move to their new home. 

The new facility will open with: 

• Three natural grass rugby pitches 

• Two pitches with match-standard 

floodlights 

• Pathways and spectator fencing 

• Changing facilities 

•100-space car park and utilities 

connections 

The new ground will meet the demand 

from the phenomenal growth in the 

club’s underage sections. The club is now 

fielding teams with both girls’ and boys’ 

teams. 

• Over 200 minis in 2022 season 

• Establishment of underage rugby 

structure 

• Second year of growth in girls’ rugby 

teams 

• Three adult teams 

Stillorgan-Rathfarmham RFC will officially 

open Heavy Technology Park on 

September 10, 2022, and will mark the 

50th Anniversary with a Gala Dinner in 

April 2023. 


leinster 

squad 

2021/22 season 

Vakh Abdaladze #1263 

PROP 

DOB: 06/02/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.88m 

WEIGHT: 121kg 

Michael Ala’alatoa #1301 

prop 

DOB: 28/08/1991 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 

WEIGHT: 127kg 

7 

CAPS 

Ryan Baird #1278 

LOCK 

DOB: 26/07/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.98m 

WEIGHT: 113kg 

8 

CAPS 

Adam Byrne #1213 

WING / FULL BACK 

DOB: 10/04/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 

WEIGHT: 98.18kg 

1 

CAP 

Ed Byrne #1222 

6 

CAPS 

Harry Byrne #1280 

2 

CAPS 

Ross Byrne #1236 

13 

CAPS 

Thomas Clarkson #1285 

PROP 

DOB: 09/09/1993 

HEIGHT: 1.8m 


FLY HALF 

DOB: 22/04/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.9m 

WEIGHT: 95kg 

FLY HALF 

DOB: 08/04/1995 

HEIGHT: 1.9m 

WEIGHT: 92kg 

PROP 

DOB: 22/02/2000 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 

WEIGHT: 118kg 


Jack Conan #1223 

27 

CAPS 

7 

CAPS 

Will Connors #1264 

9 

CAPS 

Sean Cronin #1202 

72 

CAPS 

Max Deegan #1256 

1 

CAP 

NO. 8 

DOB: 29/07/1992 

HEIGHT: 1.93m 


BACK ROW 

DOB: 04/04/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.96m 

WEIGHT: 100kg 

HOOKER 

DOB: 06/05/1986 

HEIGHT: 1.78m 


NO. 8 

DOB: 01/10/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.93m 

WEIGHT: 110kg 

Peter Dooley #1230 

Caelan Doris #1268 

17 

CAPS 

Jack Dunne #1276 

Ciaran Frawley #1265 

PROP 

DOB: 04/08/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 117kg 

BACK ROW 

DOB: 02/04/1998 

HEIGHT: 1.93m 

WEIGHT: 107kg 

LOCK 

DOB: 21/11/1998 

HEIGHT: 2.03m 

WEIGHT: 120kg 

FLY HALF 

DOB: 04/12/1997 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 

WEIGHT: 98kg 

Tadhg Furlong #1220 

PROP 

DOB: 14/11/1992 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 125kg 

57 

CAPS 

13 

CAPS 

Jamison Gibson-Park #1247 

SCRUM HALF 

DOB: 23/02/1992 

HEIGHT: 1.75m 

WEIGHT: 80kg 

17 

CAPS 

David Hawkshaw #1290 

FLY HALF / Centre 

DOB: 03/07/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.75m ) 


Cian Healy #1142 

PROP 

DOB: 07/10/1987 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 


116 

CAPS 

2 

CAPS 

Robbie Henshaw #1251 

57 

CAPS 

9 

CAPS 

Dave Kearney #1158 

19 

CAPS 

Hugo Keenan #1253 

20 

CAPS 

Ronan Kelleher #1277 

18 

CAPS 

CENTRE 

DOB: 12/06/1993 

HEIGHT: 1.9m 



DOB: 19/06/1989 

HEIGHT: 1.8m 

WEIGHT: 90kg 

FULL BACK 

DOB: 18/06/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 


HOOKER 

DOB: 24/01/1998 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 105kg 


Jordan Larmour #1258 

30 

CAPS 

Dan Leavy #1231 

11 

CAPS 

WING 

DOB: 10/06/1997 

HEIGHT: 1.78m 

WEIGHT: 90kg 

FLANKER 

DOB: 23/05/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 


for full squad profiles 

please click here 

James Lowe #1262 

12 

CAPS 

Nick McCarthy #1241 

Luke McGrath #1206 

19 

CAPS 

Michael Milne #1279 


DOB: 08/07/1992 

HEIGHT: 1.88m 

WEIGHT: 105kg 

SCRUM HALF 

DOB: 25/03/1995 

HEIGHT: 1.8m 


SCRUM HALF 

DOB: 03/02/1993 

HEIGHT: 1.75m 


PROP 

DOB: 05/02/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 115kg 

Jimmy O’Brien #1272 

Conor O’Brien #1260 

Josh Murphy #1261 

Ross Molony #1233 

LOCK 

DOB: 11/05/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.96m 

WEIGHT: 113kg 

FLANKER 

DOB: 17/02/1995 

HEIGHT: 1.98m 

WEIGHT: 110kg 

CENTRE 

DOB: 06/02/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 

WEIGHT: 100kg 

CENTRE 

DOB: 27/11/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 88kg 

Tommy O’Brien #1283 

Rory O’Loughlin #1248 

1 

CAP 

Scott Penny #1271 

Andrew Porter #1246 

43 

CAPS 

CENTRE 

DOB: 28/05/1998 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 95kg 

CENTRE 

DOB: 21/01/1994 

HEIGHT: 1.88m 


FLANKER 

DOB: 22/09/1999 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 104kg 

PROP 

DOB: 16/01/1996 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 



Garry Ringrose #1237 

42 

CAPS 

Rhys Ruddock #1167 

27 

CAPS 

James Ryan #1259 

43 

CAPS 

Johnny Sexton #1127 

105 

CAPS 

14 

CAPS 

CENTRE 

DOB: 26/01/1995 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 

WEIGHT: 96kg 

BACK ROW 

DOB: 13/11/1990 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 


LOCK 

DOB: 24/07/1996 

HEIGHT: 2.03m 

WEIGHT: 115kg 

FLY HALF 

DOB: 11/07/1985 

HEIGHT: 1.88m 

WEIGHT: 90kg 

Dan Sheehan #1286 

HOOKER 

DOB: 17/09/1998 

HEIGHT: 1.91m 


7 

CAPS 

Devin Toner #1128 

LOCK 

DOB: 29/06/1986 

HEIGHT: 2.11m 

WEIGHT: 127kg 

70 

CAPS 

James Tracy #1211 

HOOKER 

DOB: 02/04/1991 

HEIGHT: 1.83m 

WEIGHT: 106kg 

6 

CAPS 

Josh van der Flier #1228 

FLANKER 

DOB: 25/04/1993 

HEIGHT: 1.85m 

WEIGHT: 103kg 

40 

CAPS 

Coaching 

Staff 

2021/22 season 

LEO CULLEN 

HEAD COACH 

STUART LANCASTER 

SENIOR COACH 

ROBIN MCBRYDE 

ASSISTANT COACH 

FELIPE CONTEPOMI 

BACKS COACH 

EMMET FARRELL 

KICKING COACH AND 

LEAD PERFORMANCE ANALYST 

GUY EASTERBY 

HEAD OF RUGBY OPERATIONS 

DENIS LEAMY 

CONTACT SKILLS COACH 


We always strive to be 

A beat ahead 

layahealthcare.ie

Your best support every season 

Managed IT Services IT Disaster Recovery 

Managed IT Security Services Cloud Services 

Delivering bespoke IT services from concept, delivery and support 

support@lantech.ie 

www.lantech.ie 

OFFICIAL 

IT PARTNER

RUGBY 

YOU KNOW BETTER 

BECAUSE YOU GET 

Official Media Partner of Leinster Rugby

THANK YOU 

TO OUR CLUBS 

Leinster Rugby wish to acknowledge the 72 rugby 

clubs across the province for the excellent 

contribution in promoting the domestic game by 

way of their social media platforms, in particular 

over the last 18 months as we all strived to deal 

with and come through the Covid pandemic. 

Who would have envisaged this 

time last year that we would get 

to complete a full season across 

all levels of our domestic game. 

The Leinster Branch domestic 

rugby personnel along with the 

many volunteers on various 

committees strived tirelessly 

as always to ensure that all 

competitions were completed 

successfully. They are to be 

congratulated and thanked for 

their hard work. 

The dedication and expertise by Lisa 

Doyle and the communications team in 

the Branch office in promoting the club 

game through Leinster’s media channels 

are greatly appreciated by all involved 

with domestic rugby. 

However, without the commitment and 

buy-in by all in our rugby clubs across 

the 12 counties post pandemic, this 

past season would not have been the 

wonderful success that it was. 

None more so than the very noticeable 

increase of the use of social media 

platforms by all clubs in promoting 

events and matches across all levels 

of the game. This proved to be a vital 

way of connecting and reaching out to 

club members and players especially 

during lockdown and it is great to see 

there has been little let up in the amount 

of use on these outlets since rugby 

resumed. 

The number of club rugby video clips 

and the promotion of upcoming games 

being shared is increasing and the 

standard of content is ever improving 

and as a result it means our club game 

is reaching a far wider audience. 

Also, a lot of clubs are live-streaming 

matches now allowing members who 

cannot attend or living abroad the 

ability to watch their clubs in action. 

This again is a wonderful and new 

innovation and initial concerns that 

it might keep club members from 

attending in person has not happened. 

Indeed, regular notifications of 

upcoming fixtures on social media has 

no doubt led to the increased number in 

attendances seen at club matches over 

recent months. 

Club websites are another outlet that 

has seen increased usage as clubs 

continue to improve the quality of 

content. 

As a result of all this increased media 

activity by our clubs our domestic game 

is reaching wider audiences which will 

in time only prove to be beneficial to all. 

Congratulations and sincere thanks to 

all 72 clubs, and keep up the posting 

and sharing. 

John Walsh 

President Leinster Rugby 

Jacinta O’Rourke 

Chair of Domestic PR Committee 

PS - Clubs can avail of the Leinster 

domestic website with good news stories 

by forwarding articles to: stories@ 

leinsterrugby.ie or by contacting a 

member of the Domestic PR Committee 


BEARINGPOINT INTRODUCES 

LEINSTER RUGBY TO 

THE METAVERSE 

BearingPoint, 

the official 

innovation 

partner of 

Leinster 

Rugby, has 

hosted a 

milestone 

event 

showcasing 

the 

capabilities 

of metaverse 

technology 

for the 

Leinster Rugby 

sporting 

community. 

In a multi-location demonstration 

of BearingPoint’s virtual reality 

(VR) and innovation capabilities, 

they have unveiled their shared 

ambition with Leinster Rugby. The 

metaverse is a digital environment 

where you can work, collaborate, 

meet friends and have fun, and 

Leinster Rugby is looking to lead 

the way for the future of sport in 

this digital world. 

Business partners, media and Leinster 

Rugby players Jamison Gibson-Park, 

Will Connors and Hugo Keenan were 

in attendance through virtual reality 

technology in four locations across Europe 

including the BearingPoint offices in 

Dublin, London, and Paris as well as the 

Leinster Rugby club facilities in University 

College Dublin. 

Showcasing the convergence between 

the physical and digital worlds through 

cutting-edge technology, guests at the 

event entered the metaverse and went on 

a journey from the BearingPoint offices 

in Paris and finished with a pitchside 

experience and presentation in a VRbuilt 

Aviva Stadium developed by the 

BearingPoint team. 

BearingPoint is planning to play a central 

role in leveraging its VR expertise to 

enable Leinster Rugby to further engage its 

fans through immersive experiences and to 

explore the wider commercial possibilities 

and potential this technology has in the 

sporting world. 

Speaking at the launch, Gillian O’Sullivan, 

Country Leader for BearingPoint Ireland 

said: “Today we unveiled our plans to 

lead Leinster Rugby into the metaverse. 

It is a very exciting day for us as their 

innovation partner and we are committed 

to leading them on this journey. 

“The power of virtual reality is enormous, 

and we wanted to show how this 

technology can expand businesses and 

experiences. What better way to do it 

than by bringing Leinster Rugby into the 

metaverse.” 

BearingPoint’s vision and commitment to 

leading Leinster Rugby on this journey 

were set out by their immersive experience 

expert, Eric Chevallet at the event. 

Speaking at the launch, Eric Chevallet, 

Head of Immersive Labs at BearingPoint 

said, “At BearingPoint, we are an 

innovative company that is ahead of 

the curve with regard to metaverse 

technology and more broadly with virtual 

reality technology. 

“The potential for businesses in the 

metaverse is endless, and we are 

delighted to be working with Ireland’s 

leading sports franchise making this first 

move today.” 


Kevin Quinn, Head of Commercial and 

Marketing at Leinster Rugby who attended 

the event said, “At Leinster Rugby, we’re 

always striving to improve, to nurture 

and drive the pursuit of excellence in 

everything we do both on and off the 

pitch. This exciting initiative is a significant 

and strategic business and brand building 

opportunity for us at Leinster Rugby. 

He added: “By entering the metaverse 

with BearingPoint’s support, we are 

broadening our horizons to identify new 

digital commercial opportunities and 

working to develop immersive rugby 

experiences that provide our community 

with new ways to experience rugby, follow 

their teams and interact with our brand. 

“We have a passionate, engaged and 

growing supporter base and we’re excited 

to work with our innovation partner, 

BearingPoint, to explore new ways to 

improve how we communicate and 

engage with them.” 

The event provided valuable learning 

opportunities for attendees to experience 

first-hand the benefits and potential of the 

metaverse. 

Interest in the metaverse has grown 

exponentially in the past year which is 

causing businesses to rethink and change 

how they can engage more effectively 

with users online. 


compiled by stuart farmer 

media services limited 

Leinster Player 

Statistics 

SQUAD 

CAP 

NO 

DEBUT 

2021/22 SEASON FOR LEINSTER LEINSTER CAREER 

ALL GAMES URC EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14/URC EPCR 

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

SINCE LAST TRY 

CAPS 

VAKH ABDALADZE 1263 2 DEC 17 0+5 1 5 0+4 1 5 0+1 - - 0+17 2 10 0+16 2 10 0+1 - - 2 - 

MICHAEL ALA'ALATOA 1301 25 SEPT 21 12+10 2 10 11+4 1 5 1+6 1 5 12+10 2 10 11+4 1 5 1+6 1 5 10 WS 7 

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

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

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

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

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

ROSS BYRNE 1236 4 SEPT 15 13+8 3 157 11+3 2 109 2+5 1 48 83+42 9 807 69+21 4 580 14+21 5 227 8 IR 13 

THOMAS CLARK- 

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

SON 

JACK CONAN 1223 20 FEB 14 9 2 10 3 - - 6 2 10 89+25 25 125 62+15 16 80 27+10 9 45 7 IR 27 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CAELAN DORIS 1268 28 APR 18 12 2 10 5 2 10 7 - - 44+8 7 35 31+6 5 25 13+2 2 10 9 IR 17 

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

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

CIARAN FRAWLEY 1265 17 FEB 18 12+6 2 31 10+2 1 26 2+4 1 5 29+24 6 174 26+16 4 158 3+8 2 16 7 - 

TADHG FURLONG 1220 1 NOV 13 9+1 2 10 3+1 - - 6 2 10 82+42 10 50 45+34 3 15 37+8 7 35 3 IR 57 

JAMISON GIBSON-PARK 1247 2 SEPT 16 8+4 4 20 3+2 - - 5+2 4 20 57+56 21 105 47+30 14 70 10+26 7 35 3 IR 17 

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

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

CIAN HEALY 1142 5 MAY 07 4+10 2 10 3+5 2 10 1+5 - - 160+85 29 145 93+53 15 75 65+31 13 65 5 IR 116 

ROBBIE HENSHAW 1251 8 OCT 16 8 4 20 3 1 5 5 3 15 64+1 15 75 28 6 30 36+1 9 45 2 IR 57 

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

HUGO KEENAN 1253 5 NOV 16 13 5 25 6 1 5 7 4 20 40+3 9 45 28+3 5 25 12 4 20 1 IR 20 

RONAN KELLEHER 1277 22 FEB 19 8+2 4 20 2+2 3 15 6 1 5 28+7 13 65 16+5 11 55 12+2 2 10 6 IR 18 

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


SQUAD 

CAP 

NO 

DEBUT 


ALL GAMES URC EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14/URC EPCR 

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

SINCE LAST TRY 

CAPS 

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

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

JAMES LOWE 1262 2 DEC 17 10+2 13 65 5+1 3 15 5+1 10 50 62+2 47 235 39+1 28 140 23+1 19 95 1 IR 12 

JOE MCCARTHY 1303 29 JAN 22 5+2 - - 5 - - 0+2 - - 5+2 - - 5 - - 0+2 - - - - 

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

LUKE MCGRATH 1206 5 MAY 12 12+9 1 5 10+4 1 5 2+5 - - 114+58 40 200 79+47 32 160 35+11 8 40 6 IR 19 

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

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

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

ROSS MOLONY 1233 20 FEB 15 17+3 1 5 10+3 - - 7 1 5 81+55 5 25 72+40 4 20 9+15 1 5 13 - 

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

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

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

JIMMY O'BRIEN 1272 23 NOV 18 14+1 8 42 8 3 17 6+1 5 25 40+10 15 79 32+9 9 49 8+1 6 30 5 - 

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

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

RORY O'LOUGH- 

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

LIN 

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

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

ANDREW PORTER 1246 2 SEPT 16 10+1 3 15 4+1 2 10 6 1 5 38+50 14 70 27+31 10 50 11+19 4 20 5 IR 43 

GARRY RINGROSE 1237 12 SEPT 15 13 2 10 6 2 10 7 - - 97+2 29 153 58+1 18 98 39+1 11 55 5 IR 42 

RHYS RUDDOCK 1167 6 DEC 09 13+7 1 5 12+3 1 5 1+4 - - 156+52 12 60 118+34 10 50 37+16 2 10 14 IR 27 

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

JAMES RYAN 1259 2 SEPT 17 5 - - 3 - - 2 - - 49+6 3 15 25+1 1 5 24+5 2 10 15 IR 43 

JOHNNY SEXTON 1127 27 JAN 06 7+2 - 87 2+1 - 22 5+1 - 65 155+27 26 1594 89+20 13 855 64+7 12 708 22 IR 105 

DAN SHEEHAN 1286 23 OCT 20 4+9 7 35 3+3 4 20 1+6 3 15 7+19 13 65 6+13 10 50 1+6 3 15 6 IR 7 

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

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

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

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

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

JOSH VAN DER FLIER 1228 11 OCT 14 12+1 7 35 5+1 1 5 7 6 30 87+24 18 90 50+18 8 40 37+6 10 50 1 IR 40 

KICKING 


ALL GAMES URC EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14/URC EPCR OVERALL 

SUCCESS 

RATE 

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

% 

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

ROSS BYRNE 86.49% 50 14 - 33 11 - 17 3 - 246 89 1 187 61 1 59 28 - 428 78.27% 

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

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

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

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

JOHNNY SEXTON 84.78% 30 9 - 8 2 - 22 7 - 264 301 11 128 171 7 129 126 4 706 80.03% 


TITLE PARTNER 

OFFICAL KIT PARTNER 

PREMIUM PARTNERS 

PARTNERS & SUPPLIERS 

MEDIA PARTNERS 


Proudly Supporting 


Offices in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Mullingar 

Tel: +353 (0)1 266 6000 

Fax: +353 (0)1 266 6620 

Web: aon.com/Ireland 

Aon Ireland Limited t/a Aon, Aon Risk Solutions, Aon Risk Affinity, Aon Claims Management, The Bar of Ireland Financial 

Services and Unity Insurances is a private company limited by shares and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

ig picture 

14 May 2022 

Leinster supporters before the 

Heineken Champions Cup Semi- 

Final match between Leinster and 

Toulouse at the Aviva Stadium in 

Dublin. 


Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile 


Your one stop shop for 

Deep Retrofits 

A deep retrofit will bring your home to the highest level of 

energy efficiency so you’ll see the savings in your energy 

usage immediately. 

Energia’s Cosy Homes Scheme offers all the practical support 

and advice you need to get started. Our expert team has years 

of experience helping homeowners with all kinds of energy 

saving upgrades and retrofits. 

We manage everything on your behalf, including all the SEAI 

grants which are discounted upfront. And with grants of up to 

€35,000 per home now available, as well as additional Energia 

financial support, having a cosy home is easier than ever. 

Talk to us today about how you can improve the 

comfort and BER rating of your home. 

energia.ie/cosy-homes 

0818 300 701

Old Belvedere announce 

partnership with 

Homeless Period Ireland 

Old Belvedere Women’s 

Rugby are proud to announce 

a partnership with Homeless 

Period Ireland. The Old Belvedere 

women’s team will display the 

logo of Homeless Period Ireland 

for the 2022 season and beyond. 

The aim is to promote awareness for 

period poverty and to encourage period 

positivity in today’s society. 

“Old Belvedere women’s rugby is 

delighted to support the important work 

that Homeless Period Ireland is doing to 

provide feminine hygiene products and 

promote awareness of how this issue 

affects the dignity and comfort of those 

experiencing homelessness and other 

barriers to accessing period products. 

“Our team has provided practical 

support for the charity through collections 

and donations for the past several years 

while also raising awareness by proudly 

wearing the Homeless Period Ireland 

logo on our jerseys,” said Yvonne Nolan, 

Director of Rugby at Old Belvedere RFC 

Claire Hunt, CEO of Homeless Period 

Ireland added; “Homeless Period Ireland 

is a volunteer-run initiative. The aim of the 

initiative is to get period products to those 

in need but also to raise awareness to the 

issue of period poverty. 

“Sport has a massive platform, which 

can be used to start a conversation 

about periods in a space that you would 

never expect! A huge thank you to Old 

Belvedere women’s rugby, it is an honour 

to have our logo emblazoned on the Old 

Belvedere jersey. This sends out a very 

positive message to both fans in stadia 

and players.” 


offical leinster supporters club 

And so with the high and the success of our European semi-final 

victory last week, our 2021/22 rugby journey will now roll on for 

the next three weeks at least (with hopefully another two after 

that!). The focus for today is back on URC action and a return to 

the Aviva as we once again welcome another red army, that of our 

interprovincial rivals, Munster, for this rescheduled fixture. 

So much has been written about 

these two sides and their many, 

many head-to-heads down 

through the years that you might 

be forgiven for thinking this is 

just another routine run of the 

mill game, however thankfully 

you’d be wrong! Whilst we 

have secured a home quarterfinal 

for the weekend of June 4, 

Munster will be looking to secure 

as many match points as they 

can today given that the three 

teams in second, third and fourth 

positions of the URC are all on 56 

points and so they’ll no doubt be 

desperate to stay in the top four 

so that they won’t have to travel 

for a quarter-final. 

The last fixture for Munster in the Aviva 

Stadium was a mere two weeks ago 

when their supporters met with the other 

red army of Toulouse in the Heineken 

Champions Cup quarter-final. Victory 

on that day went to the French and well 

we know what happened to them last 

weekend, however given that Munster 

have had an extra week to prepare for 

this fixture, you can be sure that they will 

be primed and ready to overturn Leinster 

at every opportunity and so this is once 

again sure to be an exciting game of 

rugby from start to finish. 

Leo, Stuart and Co took a welcome 

opportunity to get some of the extended 

senior squad some game time last Friday, 

as ‘A’ head coach Simon Broughton 

selected a number of the players as part 

54 | www.leinsterrugby.ie 


Munster 

1st Position 2nd 

L W W L L URC Form L W L W W 

511 Points Scored 499 

69 Tries Scored 63 

7,253 Metres Gained 5,590 

251 Points Conceded 306 

28 Tries Conceded 30 

2,440 Tackles Made 2,317 

89% Tackle Success 89% 

Ross Byrne (109) Leading Points Scorer Ben Healy (97) 

Scott Penny (6) Tries Scored Simon Zebo (7) 

Max Deegan (73) Successful Carries Gavin Coombes (61) 

Rhys Ruddock (22) Defenders Beaten Mike Haley (24) 

of his team that faced a University Student 

Selection in Energia Park. Michael Milne, 

Jack Dunne, Martin Moloney, Ryan Baird 

and Vakh Abdaladze were just some of 

the names who featured and this is sure 

to be a welcome boost to Leo and the 

entire squad as they work to what is a 

very important game both today, and in 

France next week! 

Our form coming into this game reads as 

having lost our last two however those 

fixtures were away from home down in 

South Africa and it was a very youthful 

Leinster team who travelled. Whilst the 

results might not have been what the 

players themselves wanted, those two 

losing bonus points they secured ensured 

our place as the top seed in the URC and 

thus the all-important home quarter-final 

so it was an excellent result that they 

returned home with. 

These fixtures are always tense affairs 

and we expect no different this week 

but what we do know as evidenced in 

the past weeks both home and away is 

that we can come away with the victory 

when we need it most when the crowd 

is behind the team and let’s make sure 

today is no different. We want to wrap up 

the pool stages on a high so let’s ensure 

we get the job done today! 

As always we’re thankful for the support 

we as a committee get from Leinster 

Rugby, Bank of Ireland, Laya (for our 

wonderful TRY/clap banners, and all 

our other sponsors and as always we 

encourage you to show your support 

through our social media channels. 

Be loud, be true, be blue 

Yours in Rugby, 

Your OLSC Committee

OFFICIAL 

LEINSTER 

SUPPORTERS 

CLUB 

Suort Suort Suort Suort Suort us by 

visiting r r r r r 

ONLINE 

STORE 

Kp Kp Kp Kp Kp up date 

OLSC 

NEWS 

Ctact Ctact Ctact Ctact Ctact us 

olsc@leinsterrugby.ie 

Foow Foow Foow Foow Foow us 

#seaofblue P D E Q


thriving in Nairobi 

Paula Cullen and 

three friends, 

Adrienne Keeley 

(Wicklow), 

Catherine Nolan 

(Carlow) and 

Irene Plunkett 

(Castleknock) 

have spent the 

last 15 days 

working at the 

street boys 

rehab centre 

in the Mukuru 

slums. 

Among the many things they 

achieved for the boys during their 

stay included a day at an animal 

sanctuary in National Park, an 

afternoon swimming and a school 

sports day. 

However the highlight of their trip had 

to be the centre’s residents competing at 

a tag rugby tournament in the heart of 

the Ngong Hills about two hours outside 

Nairobi, a most remote area. 

The centre had three teams entered, 

U-14s with the name Carlow, U-16s with 

the name Blackrock and U-16s called 

Leinster. 

The U-14s won their section and the two 

U-16s got to the final with the B team 

beating the A team in their group. It was 

as good as it gets with huge excitement 

among the boys who had all played four 

matches each to make the finals. 

This could not have happened without 

the support of Leinster Rugby who have 

generously supplied the boys kits while 

we were honoured to meet the vice 

chairman of Kenya Rugby Union, Kombo 

Mwalimu who had scouts present on the 

day. 

We had another success when one of 

‘our boys’ was offered a place at a rugby 

boarding school about an hour outside 

Nairobi. 

This is a huge achievement for Mukuru 

Promotion Centre as these homeless boys 

wouldn’t even have known the shape of a 

rugby ball three years ago. 

We must thank all at Leinster including 

many supporters who donate towards the 

expenses of coaches, hiring of buses and 

general expenses in running this rugby 

project. 

Thank you to all for your continued 

support and best wishes to Leinster for the 

remainder of the season. 

Paula Cullen and friends and the boys 

at MPC rehab centre. 


As Official Clean Air Partner to Leinster 

Rugby we are delighted to support the 

team in their pursuit of excellence by 

adding Novaerus Air Disinfection to their 

winning formula. 

Irish-designed and patented Novaerus 

NanoStrike technology strives to give 

Leinster the physical and competitive edge 

by disinfecting the squad and 

management team’s indoor 

air safely, 24/7.

GETTING 

We check social media 

for the latest views 

and thoughts across 

SOCIAL 

the 12 counties 


Try Leinster’s Next Big Dish 

from Mao At Home today

Virtual Mascot 

Alex 

Traynor 

Age: 8 

School: Willow Park Junior School 

Class: Second Form 

Hobbies and Interests: Rugby, football, 

playing drums and piano 

Favourite Player: James Lowe 


WHERE ARE 

THEY NOW? 

STEPHEN KEOGH 

THEN: Stephen 

Keogh won 

85 caps for 

Leinster over 

five seasons 

between 2006 

and 2011. 

NOW: He is 

Head of Retail 

Sales for 

the south 

and west at 

New Ireland 

Assurance and 

married to 

Niamh with 

three children 

Mollie (8), 

Frankie (5) and 

Zoe (3). 


Stephen Keogh was one of them. 

You know the type, a hard-nosed Limerick 

man steeped in the best traditions of 

Munster rugby which amounts to a blood 

and guts approach to this game for 

warriors. 

Back in 2006, the back-row forward 

crossed the great divide in order to 

bring some of that meanness into a 

Leinster pack of forwards that seemed 

demoralised. 

“I was playing with Bruff RFC, but my 

school St Munchin’s was affiliated to 

Shannon where Colm Tucker Senior, who 

unfortunately passed away, was very 

good to me in school. I lived out in the 

country and he used to drop me to the 

bus. So, naturally, Shannon was always 

in my mind to settle into as my club. 

“The world was a much bigger place 

back then,” he recalls. 

“When you travelled to play in 

Clongowes or Blackrock - they were the 

two big schools in Leinster at that stage - it 

just felt like a different place. You had that 

bitterness even then, going up to try and 

win in those places.” 

When school was done and a degree 

pocketed from UCC, Keogh returned 

home to the bosom of all-conquering 

Shannon. 

Stellar form for the club led to 54 

Munster caps between 2003 and 2006, 

marking Stephen as one of the up-andcoming 

forwards in Irish rugby at the age 

of 23. 

“At one time, it was one culture versus 

another culture. Dublin was moving 

ahead in relation to the Celtic Tiger. 

Limerick and Cork were that bit 

behind. 

“It was a clash of two different cultures. 

You had that between Ireland’s two best 

provinces and one of them, Munster, was 

the best in Europe. 

“You always look over the wall at what 

the neighbour has and Munster had 

Heineken Cups when Leinster didn’t. 

“Then, there was the importance of Irish 

selection. When you throw all of that 

together, sparks are going to fly and they 

did back then. 

“But, it was great. The public bought into 

the rivalry and the atmosphere was all 

the better for it.” 

However, Stephen decided to take the 

unusual move of signing for Leinster, just 

weeks before sitting on the bench for that 

epic 2006 Heineken Cup semi-final in 

which Munster won the day once again. 

“While I had played a lot for Munster, 

I was ahead of the curve in my 

appearances because there had been 

a spate of injuries that opened up game 

time for me. 


“I just got a phone call from Michael 

Cheika. Eric Miller was moving on and 

Victor Costello was gone. They needed a 

back-rower to come in. 

“I looked at it and decided there was a 

spot there at Leinster to start regularly in 

the Heineken Cup. I signed in March.” 

It was a smart move given the resources 

in that area for Munster, the list including 

Anthony Foley, Alan Quinlan, Eddie 

Halvey, Denis Leamy, David Wallace, Jim 

Williams and Stephen. 

“The reaction in Munster was fine. It was 

no problem at all. The lads were grand. 

There was no issue,” says Stephen. 

“Even at that stage, rugby was treated 

as a business as well as your passion. 

The lads knew it was a good business 

decision for me, a good rugby decision 

for me to move. They understood it.” 

It was the possibility of becoming more 

relevant on Heineken Cup days that 

made it a relatively easy decision for the 

impatient loose forward. 

“I think the Leinster lads would openly 

say this, there was a vast contrast in the 

two teams at that stage, especially up 

front.” 

In the summer of 2006, the challenge 

was to leave that hatred behind and to 

embrace those who once were enemies. 

“When you move somewhere, you’ve got 

to buy into it,” he adds. 

“It’s not really about the colour of the 

jersey. It is not about the place. It is 

about teammates. At the end of the day, 

everyone’s the same. They all want the 

same things. 

“When you are involved in rugby, 

generally, people will have the same 

motivations, the same common goals. 

Once you buy into those, the men around 

you become your friends. And you 

would do anything for your friends, your 

mates. Those friendships were created in 

Leinster.” 

Those bonds remain. 

“Who am I closest to from the group? It 

is not like the schoolyard thing where: ‘I 

don’t want to say who my best friend is’,” 

he laughs. 

“We had a reunion in 2019, 10 years 

after the first Heineken Cup. It was just 

great craic, like we had never left. 

“It is only when you leave the game that 

you realise what a time you had. I urge 

any player now, to savour it. You will 

never have that time again.” 

When the 2006/07 fixture list came out, 

Stephen would have been excited to see 

where and when Munster would come. 

He still remembers where he was when 

Michael Cheika rang on a Thursday 

afternoon to let him know he wouldn’t be 

starting in that first derby. 

In 2008, there would be another chance 

to exorcise demons and it came on a 

miserable, wet day at Musgrave Park 

when Stephen returned from a broken 

hand in a 10-3 win in Cork, giving 

Leinster much-needed confidence. 

“I am not saying it turned the tide. But, 

it was one of those wins that helped 

along the way, especially for the type 

of day it was, lashing rain in the muck in 

Musgrave. 

“My only memory is of Denis Leamy, my 

great friend, giving me a dig and pulling 

the jersey over my head, so I couldn’t see 

where I was going for 30 seconds. There 

was just good niggle to that game.” 

When you make the change from red to 

blue, you discover that the hype of hate 

built up around the contrast in cultures is 

not real. 


“You grow up with the common belief 

in Munster, albeit wrongly, that Leinster 

players are all posh and what have you. 

You just find out that they are normal 

people. They are the very same as you. 

“I wasn’t long up in Leinster when I did a 

press conference. I was asked a simple 

question: ‘Did you notice any differences 

between Munster and Leinster?’” 

“I said: ‘The only thing I can’t get my 

head around is that there are so many 

takeaway coffees up in Leinster.’” 

There was a headline in the newspaper 

the next day: “I’m not here for the 

coffee.” To this day, the boys in the 

WhatsApp group will hit him with “I’m not 

here for the coffee”. 

“Looking back now, I am as long out of it 

as when I was playing it. They were great 

times, just great craic.” 

The dream of making a difference for 

Leinster in the Heineken Cup never truly 

materialised, Rocky Elsom arriving in 

2008 to be the missing piece in that 

jigsaw. 

“They obviously felt they needed quality 

in the position I was in and that leads to 

you asking questions about yourself. 

“I was a good Magners League player. 

I had two seasons of starting regularly 

in the Heineken Cup and then dropping 

down to be a squad player.” 

When Rocky left, Kevin McLaughlin 

and Seán O’Brien came on the scene. 

In Ireland, there are always back row 

players coming on the scene. 

“Only the world-class players reach the 

top of the game. I wasn’t world-class. 

Therefore, I didn’t reach the top. And 

that is okay. I have no hassle with 

that.” 

It wasn’t too long before Stephen 

had had enough of the professional 

environment. 

“People think professional rugby is 

great. And it is. It is also very frustrating. 

Whether you are a good player, or not, 

or fully-committed, or not, holding a 

tackling bag is not easy. 

“Everyone knows if you are doing a 

good or bad job as a professional rugby 

player because all they have to do is 

read the teamsheet. 

“You are constantly explaining yourself. 

People are asking you, are you injured? 

No. Why aren’t you playing? The coach 

didn’t pick me. 

“I just got sick of it. I could have gone to 

Italy or France. For me, there are other 

things in life outside of rugby.” 

That meant the beginning of a second 

career in 2011. 

A degree in Economics from UCC led 

to a future in finance with New Ireland 

Assurance, working his way up that 

particular ladder to become Head of 

Retail and Sales in April. 

“It is important to join the right company. 

That happened to me. They never treated 

me as an ex-rugby player. I never had to 

do any rugby-related stuff for them. 

“I came in on merit and they helped me 

to build a career. That is really important. 

I fell on my feet that way.” 

Stephen cited determination, clear goals, 

clear plans, clear strategies as some of 

the building blocks that translate from 

rugby into the workplace. 

“You don’t learn management when you 

are a professional sportsman because 

you are mostly worrying about yourself, 

doing your part. 

“You don’t have to motivate people 

because they are already motivated. You 

learn how to be part of a team.” 

In red and blue. 


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

OFF 

ENTER THE CODE BELOW 

LEIN15 

Until June 30th 2022 

ONLINE ONLY SHOP NOW 

T&Cs Apply

Delvin RFC 60s/70s 

Players Get Together 

BY CAROLINE MCFADDEN 

L-R Eamon Cooney,Bill Douglas, Donal 

Henderson, Jim Walker, Christy Lynch, 

Gordon Henderson & Alec Smyth 

The Neptune Hotel in Bettystown 

was the place back in the 1960s 

and 1970s where the ex-Delvin 

RFC club entertained their visiting 

teams following their games at 

their then grounds in Butlin’s 

Mosney. They also celebrated New 

Year’s Eve with their famous ‘sold 

out’ New Year’s Eve Dinner Dances 

in the hotel. 

Those great bygone days were relived 

recently when the club’s players of that era 

once again gathered to celebrate another 

momentous occasion, the 60th anniversary 

of the club winning the Leinster Provincial 

Towns Cup back in 1962. 

The captain of that famous team, Mr 

Billy Reynolds, was in attendance along 

with another member of the team, Hugh 

Cumisky. Others such as Derek Little, Niall 

Delaney and Peter Barry, who were on 

the periphery of the team, were also in 

attendance. 

Perusing old times 

in the Drogheda 

Independent 

Whilst the get together did celebrate 

the 60th anniversary of that great 

achievement, it wasn’t confined to that 

year and was expanded to include 

members and players who played with the 

club throughout the 60s and early 70s. 

An informal lunch was organised and 

there was a great response from those 

who lined out or supported the club 

throughout that period. Pictures of the ‘62 

final were on view as well as page cuttings 

from the Drogheda Independent which 

drew great attention from the gathering. 

There was also a book profiling the club’s 

history, written by former club President 

and player, Jim Walker, for the nostalgic 

gathering to peruse. 

As the afternoon wore on, stories were 

once again retold, embellished and 

friendships were rekindled following many 

years since meetings had taken place 

between many of those who attended. 

The Winning Captains, Seamie 

Briscoe McGowan Cup ‘77 & 

Billy Reynolds PTC ‘62 

There was a splendid surprise when 

an anniversary cake was baked and 

produced for the occasion by Karen 

Hammond which was certainly eaten with 

great nostalgic taste by everybody. 

The club was founded in the early 1950s 

by Des Scaife and played out at the 

Butlin’s Holiday Camp in Mosney. Their 

playing base comprised of players mainly 

from north County Dublin and east Meath. 

Ten years after Delvin RFC was founded, 

they managed to win the prestigious 

Leinster Provincial Towns Cup in 1962 

and their only other senior success was 

the North-East Area LB McGowan Cup 

in 1975/76. The captains of both these 

sides, Billy Reynolds and Seamie Briscoe 

respectively were present at the gathering. 

The winning Delvin Leinster 

PTC Team from 1962 

Team Mates From ‘62 Billy Reynolds 

& Hugh Cumiskey 


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 Challenge Cup at European 

level. 

We’re wrapping up our 2021/22 

season in Referees HQ and it has been 

fantastic to see so many competitions 

back in full swing and see our referees 

back on the pitch. Referees play a 

central role in our game and we are 

justly proud of how we have conducted 

ourselves and our contribution to rugby 

in Leinster this season. 

We had a tricky but successful season 

with our trial referees. We ran one 

new member workshop on October 

30, with the attendance of 25 recruits. 

In total, a record number of 36 trial 

members passed trial matches and 

attained full membership during the 

season. Compliments are due to a 

number of individuals for their hard 

work with our trial referees in achieving 

these outstanding results. The next 

new recruits’ workshop will be held on 

Saturday, August 27. Details further on. 

This season, we also launched a new 

programme of mentoring with IRFU 

guidance. Norman Carter took on the 

role as head of mentors and recruited 

approximately 40 active and former 

referees to act as mentors. Training 

was provided by the IRFU, and as a 

result, almost 70 referees have received 

mentorship during the season. 

Do you want to explore a new way to 

be involved in the game next season? 

Leinster Rugby Referees are inviting applications 

for their next New Referees Course which will 

take place on 27 August. Visit the website… 

And drop Sean Gallagher an email for 

more information… 


During the season, head of evaluation 

Jim Breen and his sub-committee 

deployed approximately 25 evaluators. 

These evaluators are responsible for 

assessing our referees in the field 

and recommending promotions and 

demotions amongst other things. In 

total we completed well over 300 

evaluations, covering our own referees 

and also covering National Panel 

Referees and IPAS Referees. In all 

almost 200 individual referees were 

evaluated, a great return. 

Under the guidance of Barry O’Keefe, 

using a combination of ref cam and 

attendance at matches, we deployed a 

number of coaches who issued almost 

50 coaching reports. This is significantly 

more than previous years. Coaching 

and evaluating differ greatly. Coaching 

focuses more on observing the referee 

and giving them a couple of items to 

work on over the following weeks. 

A referee development team of six 

individuals, directed by Steve Griffiths, 

run the activities of our development 

group. The development group is made 

up of referees that we see as having the 

skill and ability to move to the top level 

of refereeing in Leinster and onwards 

to perhaps the National Panel. This 

group and the work coming from it, 

involves a serious commitment on their 

parts to allow them to become the best 

they can be as referees. The group for 

the season consisted of nine referees, 

three of whom were in IPAS. All three 

IPAS members performed very well 

throughout the season, as a result of 

which Robbie Jenkinson has already 

been promoted to the National Panel, 

and Katie Byrne has already refereed 

at AIL level. 

Our area representatives are one of the 

cornerstones of our association. Their 

level of commitment and work rate can 

never be overstated. A massive thank 

you for all the work they put into their 

areas, especially youth and underage 

games!! Also many thanks go to 

Hayley White in our Administration 

office, who makes sure everything runs 

smoothly. 

For the first time in two years, we 

were able to hold our annual dinner. 

Held in Lansdowne FC on April 9, a 

fabulous night was had by all. Over 

130 attendees and expertly organized 

by Barry Dempsey and his team. The 

presidents from both the IRFU and the 

Leinster Branch were in attendance. A 

full set of awards being handed out on 

the night. 

Harry Ardle Award to 

Keith Spendlove 

Alain Rolland Award to 

Mitch Enderby 

Terry Doyle Award to 

Coolmine RFC 

Denis Collins Award to 

Robbie Jenkinson 

Lifetime Achievement Award to 

Peter Donnelly 


ank of ireland 

MATCHDAY MINIS 

West Offaly Lions 

Front Row: Ellie Flynn, Senan Dunne, James Darcy, Cian 

Dunican, Cathal Molloy, Ultan Keeneghan, Clyde Buckley, 

Jessica Coffey, James Guinan, Noah O’Duffy. 

Back Row: Jason Mullen, Hayley Delaney, Emily Lynam- 

Carroll, Alex Foley, Kayleigh Berry, Callie Hennessy, 

Jasmine McIntyre, Will Browne, Dylan Buckley, Adam 

Delaney. 

Ardee RFC 

Back (left to right): Killian McShane, Paddy McArdle, Adam 

Malone, Turlough McCague, Jake Steel, Daniel Malone, 

Charlie Murray, Jeremiasz Michalski, Pat Smith, Shea 

Campbell, Noel Malone (Coach) 

Front (left to right): Jack Gillick, Shea Devlin, Connor 

Kiernan, Connor Grimes, Odhran Carrlon, Michael Tighe, 

Noah Taaffe, Jay McHugh, Sean Madden. 

Managers: John Mullen, Frances Pillion. 

Old Belvedere RFC 

Players: Alex Rochford, Ben Glynn, Bobby Callanan, 

Cameron Wallace, Charlie Reynolds, Chris Comer, Danial 

Kennedy, David Kelly, Donnacha Cosgrave, Freddie Moore, 

Jack Moyles, Jack O’Rourke, James O’Reilly, John Gunne, 

Kyle Calvert, Lewis Murphy, Mark Bryson, Mark McNally, 

Nathan Keogh, Robin Elliott 

Coaches: Colm Bryson and Alan Wallace 

Athy RFC 

Players: Cailan O’Shaughnessy, Charlie Rafferty, Charlie 

Price, Cian Maher, Conor Brophy, Conor Dooley, Cormac 

Kerrigan, Donnacha Conway, Eoghan Kavanagh, Finbar 

Purcell, Harry Walsh, Henry Hovenden, Jack Farrell, Jerry 

Davis, Mark Boyle, Max Hogan, Oscar Byrne, Saran Buttle, 

Senan Mulqueen, William Cassidy 

Coaches: Brian Kerrigan, Eric Conway, Mark Price, 

Niall Walsh, Paddy Byrne, Steve Mulqueen 


TO MAXIMISE YOUR SPORTS AND EXERCISE 

PERFORMANCE THROUGH NUTRITION 

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

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

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

Protein Rich. 

Protein provides your muscles with 

the building blocks to repair & grow. 

Carb-Up. 

Carbohydrate foods are king as they 

power high intensity play. 

Fuel-Up. 

Consume the majority of your 

carbohydrates around training to 

support fuelling and recovery. 

Recover. 

Quality rest & nutrition between 

training sessions is the key to 

recovery. Remember to: 

Repair with protein, 

Refuel with carbohydrate, 

Rehydrate with fluid. 

Hydrate. 

Dehydration can lead to a drop in 

exercise intensity & can impact your 

decision making. Drink 2-3 litres of 

fluid each day to ensure hydration. 

Game Day. 

To fuel performance on the field, 

consume a large carbohydrate rich 

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

chicken & pasta, turkey bolognaise 

wraps. 

Get 20% off all Optimum Nutrition products 

using code Leinster20 on optimumnutrition.ie

KNOWING WHAT ADVICE TO TAKE 

IS ESSENTIAL IN THIS GAME. 

beauchamps.ie 

OFFICIAL LEGAL ADVISOR 

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

Leinster Rugby charity partner 

Cardiac Risk in 

the Young 

THE FIELDS OF 

LANSDOWNE 

ROAD. 

When it 

comes to 

selecting her 

favourite 

Lansdowne 

Road memory, 

Orla Foley 

has a few to 

pick from. 

Orla’s brother Anthony Foley 

Ireland’s debut in 1995, when 

he scored a consolation try 

against England, came close, but 

she quickly plucked for a game 

almost a decade later. 

“Ronan O’Gara’s try… the Heineken Cup 

semi-final against Leinster in 2006, that’s 

my favourite game,” she smiles. 

“I was in Glasgow watching his Ireland 

debut in 1995 on the TV, so the 2006 

game has to be the best memory.” 

Orla is quick not to rub salt in the wounds 

of the opposition who welcome Munster 

to Dublin today though. “I support all four 

provinces, really! I find I can’t be shouting 

for them in green, and not when they’re 

playing for their provinces… I like to see 

all the provinces do well. 

“I’ll never forget how Leinster wore 

Number 8 shirts in 2016 after Anthony 

died (due to Sudden Cardiac Death) and 

brought a Munster jersey into the dressing 

room. That was the day of the funeral and 

looking at it on TV was unreal. Leo Cullen 

always speaks so well of Anthony and so 

fondly too, and that means the world. 

“I’ll never forget either, how Johnny 

Sexton - after he scored that famous 

drop goal against France to win the Six 

Nations - sent his jersey to Anthony’s boys 

with a beautiful letter. The rugby family 

in Ireland, 

from Ulster, Connacht, Leinster and 

Munster has a special connection. You 

get to meet people from all walks of life 

and I’ve been given lovely memories of 

what Anthony meant to many over the 

past few years.” 

The last time Orla was in the Aviva 

Stadium, it was to hear Hermitage Green 

singer, and former Munster player, Barry 

Murphy launch his song ‘Alone You 

Stand’, in tribute to Anthony Foley to raise 

vital funds for CRY Ireland, Mid-Western 

Cancer Foundation and the children’s 

charity CARI. 

But she won’t walk down Lansdowne 

Road today, instead she’s cycling in 

France as part of her fundraising ‘Orla’s 

Wild Ways’ tour that began almost two 

years ago when she cycled the coast of 

the Wild Atlantic Way. 

Orla’s Wild Ways is in memory of 

Anthony Foley, and has raised over 

€30,000 already for three charities 

including Leinster’s charity partner 

for May, CRY Ireland (Cardiac Risk 

in the Young / CRY), which facilitates 

free access to cardiac assessment and 

provides free support and counselling 

services for families that have been 

affected by the loss of someone to 

Sudden Cardiac Death. 

“I was only in Dublin a couple of weeks 

ago to get my own heart check - I do it 

every few years because of history in the 

family,” Orla said. 

“CRY has a new centre in Dublin, with 

a helpline that wasn’t there for us - it’s 

lovely that it’s there for others now, the 

helpline really goes that extra mile. 

“Everyone has access to this service for 

free, which is amazing. And it covers all 

32 counties - just like rugby, there’s no 

north and south separation, everyone has 

access.” 

You can 

still make a 

donation to 

Orla Foley’s 

Wild Ways 

Cycle 

For more 

information 

about CRY, 

please go to 

cry.ie 


ABOUT CRY 

CRY in Ireland was founded in 

March 2002 by parents Michael 

and Marie Greene who had 

experienced the effects of sudden 

and unexplained death within 

their families. 

We are a self-supporting registered 

Charity. We are therefore dependent 

on fundraising activities and donations 

to help us provide access for families in 

Ireland, north and south, bereaved by 

the sudden cardiac death (SCD) of a 

young person, or who are affected by, 

or at risk from inherited conditions that 

cause SCD. 

TEXT CRY TO 

50300 

TO DONATE €4 

Texts cost €4.00 CRY Ireland will 

receive a minimum of €3.60 Service 

Provider: LIKECHARITY. 

Helpline: 01 4819311 

Our 

Programmes 

CRY facilitates free cardiac 

assessment at the centre at 

Tallaght University Hospital, 

for families who have lost a 

young person through SCD or 

SADS (Sudden Arrhythmic Death 

Syndrome), or who are affected 

by, or at risk from inherited 

conditions that cause SCD. 

CRY supports research into the prevention 

of sudden cardiac death. 

CRY also offers emotional support 

to families, bereaved through SCD 

through the CRY Helpline a freephone 

service available 7-9pm Tuesdays and 

Thursdays, 10am-12pm Wednesdays and 

4-6pm Sundays. 

FREEPHONE: 

Republic of Ireland: 

1800 714 080 

Northern Ireland/UK: 

00 44 8006 

40 62 80 

Looking for a 

challenge? 

Join Team CRY and help us raise 

funds this September as we walk 

the Camino Portuguese from Tui 

to Santiago de Compostela. 

Take part in the VHI Mini Marathon on 

June 5th and consider supporting CRY 

and the families affected by SCD 

To join our fundraisers, please email: 

info@cry.ie 

@CRYIre 

For more see our website 

www.cry.ie 

@cryireland @cry.ireland 

Proudly supported by BearingPoint. 


opposing view 

7 May 2022 

Munster supporters celebrate 

a second half penalty during 

the Heineken Champions Cup 

Quarter-Final match between 

Munster and Toulouse at Aviva 

Stadium in Dublin. 


Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile 


All-New Nissan Qashqai 

Now electrified with mild hybrid power. 

Personalised 3.9% APR finance packages. 

Find out more on windsor.ie

Head Coach 

Johann 

van Graan 

South African Johann van Graan 

joined Munster in November 2017 

from his role as forwards coach 

with the Springboks. 

Prior to that he had enjoyed success with 

the Bulls in Super Rugby, working as both 

their forwards and attack coach. 

He is due to sign English Premiership club 

Bath at the culmination of the current 

season. 

Captain 

Peter O’Mahony 

Flanker Peter O’Mahony made 

his Munster at Ravenhill against 

Ulster in January 2010 as an 

Academy player. 

Awarded a senior contract ahead of the 

2011/12 season, he has since gone on 

to be named the province’s captain after 

Doug Howlett’s departure in 2013. 

He has played 159 times for Munster 

as well as amassing 84 Ireland caps to 

date. 

munster squad 

FORWARDS 

THOMAS AHERN 

LOCK 

STEPHEN ARCHER 

PROP 

DIARMUID BARRON 

HOOKER 

TADHG BEIRNE 

LOCK 

SCOTT BUCKLEY 

HOOKER 

CHRIS CLOETE 

FLANKER 

GAVIN COOMBES 

NO. 8 

JACK DALY 

FLANKER 

MARK DONNELLY 

PROP 

JOHN FORDE 

LOCK 

JAMES FRENCH 

PROP 

JOHN HODNETT 

FLANKER 

CIAN HURLEY 

LOCK 

JASON JENKINS 

LOCK 

ALEX KENDELLEN 

FLANKER 

DAVE KILCOYNE 

PROP 

JEAN KLEYN 

LOCK 

KEYNAN KNOX 

PROP 

JEREMY LOUGHMAN 

PROP 

CONOR MOLONEY 

FLANKER 

KEVIN O’BYRNE 

HOOKER 

LIAM O’CONNOR 

PROP 

EOIN O’CONNOR 

LOCK 

JACK O’DONOGHUE 

FLANKER 

DANIEL OKEKE 

NO. 8 

PETER O’MAHONY 

FLANKER C 

JACK O’SULLIVAN 

NO. 8 

JOHN RYAN 

PROP 

ROMAN SALANOA 

PROP 

NIALL SCANNELL 

HOOKER 

RG SNYMAN 

LOCK 

JOSH WYCHERLEY 

PROP 

FINEEN WYCHERLEY 

LOCK 

BACKS 

GROUP 

TONY BUTLER 

FLY-HALF 

PATRICK CAMPBELL 

FULLBACK 

JOEY CARBERY 

FLY-HALF 

CRAIG CASEY 

SCRUM-HALF 

ANDREW CONWAY 

WING 

LIAM COOMBES 

WING 

ETHAN COUGHLAN 

SCRUM-HALF 

NEIL CRONIN 

SCRUM-HALF 

JACK CROWLEY 

FLY-HALF 

SHANE DALY 

WING 

DAMIAN DE ALLENDE 

CENTRE 

KEITH EARLS 

WING 

CHRIS FARRELL 

CENTRE 

JAKE FLANNERY 

FLY-HALF 

SEAN FRENCH 

CENTRE 

MATT GALLAGHER 

FULLBACK 

DAN GOGGIN 

CENTRE 

MIKE HALEY 

FULLBACK 

BEN HEALY 

FLY-HALF 

CONOR MURRAY 

SCRUM-HALF 

CALVIN NASH 

WING 

ROWAN OSBORNE 

SCRUM-HALF 

PADDY PATTERSON 

SCRUM-HALF 

RORY SCANNELL 

CENTRE 

JONATHAN WREN 

FULLBACK 

SIMON ZEBO 

WING 


TAKE A CAR-CATION TO 

BRITAIN 

FROM ONLY €139 SINGLE CAR & DRIVER 

DUBLIN - HOLYHEAD | BELFAST - CAIRNRYAN 

BELFAST - LIVERPOOL | ROSSLARE - FISHGUARD 

stenaline.ie 

T&Cs apply.

Club in Focus 

ROSCREA 

RFC 

Roscrea is 

a county 

Tipperary 

town with a 

rugby club 

holding 


status. It 

has long 

celebrated 

an 

interesting 

relationship 

with 

Ireland’s 

biggest 

provincial 

rivals. 


“It started as a club playing 

in Munster competitions and 

migrated to Leinster due to the 

grounds being across the border 

in Offaly. We were admitted into 

the Leinster League and we have 

stayed there,” says Club President 

Terry Farrelly. 

“I became a member 35 years ago and I 

haven’t been able to escape since.” 

At one point, in the 1970s, it is 

understood there was a movement within 

the club to switch to Munster as the club’s 

new pitches were inside the Tipperary 

border. This was quickly subdued by an 

IRFU promise to reduce or even wipe out 

tickets for Ireland’s internationals. 

The desire to switch provinces came from 

the fact that the majority of the Roscrea 

players and supporters were and are 

Munster supporters. 

In 1978, one of the members of the 

club, Seamus Dennison, who played 

for Garryowen at the time, was on the 

Munster team that beat the All Blacks. 

“There are certain members of the club, 

who are staunch, staunch Leinster. There 

are certain members of the club, who are 

staunch, staunch Munster,” says Terry. 

“The breakdown of the membership is 

probably close to two-thirds Munster and 

one-third Leinster.” 

They are drawn from counties Laois, 

Offaly, and Tipperary within about a 

12-mile radius, taking in Offaly’s Shinrone 

and Coolderry, Laois’ Borris-In-Ossory 

and Rathdowney and Tipperary’s 

Roscrea, Cloughjordan and Moneygall, 

a village divided between Offaly on one 

side of the main street and Tipperary on 

the other. 

“We have very few Leinster season ticket 

holders. We have a lot more Munster 

season ticket holders. That is really down 

to geography,” he adds. 


“For example, I had a 10-year ticket to 

Munster and I could pop in the car and 

be in my seat in Thomond in 45 minutes 

whereas it would take the guts of two 

hours to make it to the RDS.” 

It would lead an objective observer to 

presume a siege mentality has set in 

over the decades, a sort of outsiders’ 

perspective. 

“No, I wouldn’t say that. It is quite a 

trek for many of the provincial clubs, like 

Longford, Wexford, Mullingar, to make it 

to Dublin,” notes Terry. 

“But, in recent years, the provincial 

clubs are providing a much higher 

representation to Leinster. For example, 

Peter Dooley is from up the road in Birr. 

His father Gerry would have been a mad 

Munster supporter.” 

The nearest Leinster club Birr has 

amalgamated with Roscrea at the youth 

level to play together as the Roscrea and 

Birr Ravens, a union born out of necessity 

for the boys and girls in the area. 

“We don’t have the numbers we used to 

have at underage from U-14 up. While 

the bigger clubs prospering might be the 

ones closer to Dublin, the provincially 

peripheral clubs are finding it difficult. 

“There are healthy numbers at minis. 

But, there is a fall-off from U-14 upwards 

with some of the boys going to school as 

day-boarders at CCR (Cistercian College 

Roscrea), a short walk from the club 

grounds. 

“Consequently, at U-14, U-15, U-16, 

and U-18, we are joined up with Birr 

for boys and girls, training and matches 

alternating between the clubs.” 

The rise in popularity of girls’ and 

women’s rugby has injected a different 

kind of excitement and given the club 

another level of interest from the outside. 

“The number of girls at the club is almost 

as many as the boys. In the minis, we 

could have 120 boys and 100 girls. 

The importance of the girls cannot be 

overestimated.” 

There is also the view that the club has 

to reach out as more than just a place to 

play rugby given the competition from 

various sports and organisations. 

“We are trying to develop the club as 

a community facility. My thoughts are: 

‘If we don’t do that, we won’t survive’,” 

warns Terry. 

“We have to be more than a club 

providing men’s rugby. We are 

diversifying. That process has started 

already. 

“The girls were the start of it. We have 

people with disabilities in the club as 

associate members, coming from St 

Anne’s, the special needs school here. 

That is another step in the right direction. 

We have to encourage everyone to 

come in. 

“At one stage, there were four senior 

men’s teams at the club and no 

underage. Now, it is an underage club 

with one senior team.” 

At present, Roscrea is in the middle of an 

application for planning permission to 

upgrade many of the facilities that have 

aged since the 1970s. 

Floodlights, changing facilities accounting 

for the rise in the numbers of girls, 

wheelchair access, and a walking track, 

designed to encourage locals to come 

into the club, are all part of the plan. 

“From a personal point of view, the 

challenge is to manage the interests of all 

the people in the club from minis, girls, 

adults, so that they all get a fair shake.” 

It means a considerable amount of time 


given over in a voluntary capacity as 

many as six to eight hours a week. 

“Sadly, for some of the older members, it 

is a fundraising thing, trying to keep the 

club going for everyone. 

“Every administrator in every rural club 

would understand. Everyone wants free 

jerseys. Nobody wants to pay for them.” 

Pulling on the maroon and white shirt 

is about generating a sense of identity, 

coming together from different counties, 

even different provinces, to play for the 

same goal. 

“Legendary Liverpool manager Bill 

Shankly once said, to paraphrase, 

‘Football is not life or death. It is much 

more important than that’. 

“The same goes for rugby, in this regard. 

When something is important for a 

10-year-old, it is everything to them. It is 

also important for his or her parents and 

grandparents whereas it is not as big a 

deal for a senior player. 

“We have to do everything we can to 

show all the people of Roscrea and the 

surrounding area how important they are 

to us and how important the club is for 

the whole community.”

joe 

McCarth 

THE ACADEMY 

INTERVIEW 

BY PAUL CAHILL 

As the final whistle 

blew last Saturday 

at Aviva Stadium, Joe 

McCarthy celebrated 

with his teammates as 

Leinster Rugby reached 

their sixth Heineken 

Champions Cup final 

in front of more than 

42,000 supporters. 

But, just three years earlier, 

McCarthy was a fifth year student 

watching the very same fixture 

from the stands with his younger 

brother. 

For many of us, that 2019 semi-final 

against Toulouse seems like only 

yesterday, but the Academy second 

row – who only last month signed his first 

senior contract – has been on quite a 

journey since then. 

As the 2021/22 season was getting 

underway, McCarthy didn’t have the 

lofty ambitions of featuring in a Heineken 

Champions Cup semi-final. 

The extent of his ambitions, was just trying 

to get fit. 

“I was coming back from an injury at the 

start of this season,” says the 21-year-old. 


y 


do.ie 

audit 

tax 

advisory 

consulting 

BDO’s Hospitality 

Sector Sentiment Survey 

is available now 

Hospitality Sector 

Sentiment Survey 

September 2021 

Smart business advisors 

For further information contact: 

Michael Costello, Managing Partner, 

on 01 470 0130 or email mcostello@bdo.ie 

Click here to visit bdo.ie 

The survey consulted with 

almost 1,000 representative 

bars and restaurants, drawn 

from the membership of the 

Licensed Vintners Association, 

Restaurants Association 

of Ireland and the Vintners 

Federation of Ireland. 

Download your copy of the 

survey here. 

Smart business advisors 

BDO is authorised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland to carry on investment business. BDO, a partnership established under Irish Law, is a 

member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent members firms.

“I missed the Irish U-20s through injury, 

and I was out for all of pre-season. 

“So, I was just hoping to try and get back 

playing as many games as possible. 

Whether that was with Trinity in the 

Energia All-Ireland League or wherever, I 

just wanted to play and try to improve.” 

As McCarthy entered his second year in 

the Leinster Academy, he got his first run 

out of the season in November 2021 at a 

wet and blustery Banbridge Rugby Club 

for Leinster ‘A’ against Ulster ‘A’. 

“I felt a bit off after not playing for quite 

a while. But, after coming through that ‘A’ 

game I got a good run of matches with 

Trinity. 

“I managed to play five or six full games 

in a row. I started to feel back on track 

after getting a few 80 minutes in the 

AIL. I definitely improved through those 

games.” 

McCarthy may not have known it then, 

but that period with Dublin University 

Football Club under Tony Smeeth made 

him battle hardened and gave him the 

match fitness required to kick on with 

Leinster. 

“The AIL has been really important this 

year. We know the Leinster coaches 

watch all of the games too. It’s been a 

great springboard for players.” 

With most Leinster Academy players 

playing with their AIL club, there have 

been some huge battles on show each 

weekend, and McCarthy has been in 

some big tussles. 

“I remember we played Clontarf. They 

had Martin Moloney, Alex Soroka and 

David Hawkshaw. Plus a lot of lads who 

would have played with Leinster at some 

stage or age grade. Lots of quality. 

“On our Trinity team we had Jack Dunne, 

Thomas Clarkson, Lee Barron, Liam 

Turner, Rob Russell, Max O’Reilly and 

myself . So, it was a really competitive 

game. Those games are such a high level 

that you really feel match fit when you get 

back to Leinster.” 

After a consistent run of games with 

Trinity, McCarthy was given the news that 

every Academy player hopes for; that 

he would be making his Leinster senior 

debut. 

“A lot of the internationals had gone 

away, so you’re kind of hoping you might 

get an opportunity, but you’re still not 

really sure, because there’s still loads of 

really good players around. 

“It was a Monday morning, and I had 

played with Trinity the week before. I 

was in the gym and I got a tap on the 

shoulder to say that I would be playing 

in the game away to Cardiff. I was 

pretty shocked to hear that and I was just 

delighted really. 

“I was thinking to myself, ‘Don’t look 

so shocked!’. It was hard to go back to 

weights after that.” 

Having found out early in the week that 

he would be involved, the McCarthy 

family had time to make their way over to 

Cardiff for the game. 

But, even if they had been given little 

notice, they would have found a way to 

Cardiff Arms Park. 

“My parents and my brother Andrew go 

to all of my games, no matter where they 

take place. As soon as I told them that I 

was playing, they started booking flights 

straight away. 

“It was nice to have my mum and dad 

and my brother in Cardiff that night. It 

was special.” 

It helps that the McCarthy household is 

rugby mad.

We joke about it at home that 

Andrew has more Leinster gear 

than me! He’s fully dressed in the 

right colours for every game. 

Joe (senior) and Paula McCarthy have 

three rugby mad sons. 

Our Joe is in the middle. Paddy is the 

youngest and was one of the standout 

players on this year’s victorious Blackrock 

College Senior Cup team. 

But, Joe admits that their older brother, 

Andrew, is by far the biggest rugby fan in 

the house. 

“He plays with the Seapoint Dragons, 

which is their special needs team. He 

absolutely loves it, and he just loves 

going to watch games. 

“He’s a big Blackrock College fan. He 

would always be coming into me and 

Paddy telling us that we have to beat 

Michael’s in the Schools Senior Cup! 

“He’s a big Leinster fan too, so I know 

he loves seeing Paddy and I playing 

in Energia Park or in the RDS. We joke 

about it at home that Andrew has more 

Leinster gear than me! He’s fully dressed 

in the right colours for every game. He 

probably takes some of my gear too.” 

So while McCarthy may have burst 

onto the scene this year with Leinster 

Rugby, getting his first run out at Aviva 

Stadium last Saturday, he wasn’t the first 

McCarthy to play on the hallowed turf. 

“Andrew has played in Aviva Stadium a 

couple of times at half-time during Leinster 

games. It would be cool if we got to play 

on the same day. But, Andrew definitely 

played there before I did!” 

After travelling to Cardiff for Joe’s debut, 

the McCarthys had another day out a 

few weeks later as he was named to 

start his first home game alongside Devin 

Toner against the Emirates Lions. 

“That was my first time playing in the 

RDS, so it was really cool. All of my 

family were there. 

“It was really special, because obviously 

for my first cap away to Cardiff we lost 

the game. So we could enjoy the postmatch 

a bit more after getting the win. 

“We put in a pretty good performance 

against the Lions, who were a really 

big, tough team. It was actually really 

satisfying. It’s definitely one of the 

highlights of my year.” 

There was an interesting contrast when 

the Leinster team was announced for that 

Lions game. The second row consisted of 

the clubs most experienced player and 

one of the youngest players. 


“It was just quite funny when the team 

was announced and the second row had 

274 caps. It was my second and Dev 

had 272!” 

As McCarthy starts his journey in 

professional rugby, Toner is winding 

down his, after announcing that he will 

retire at the end of the season. 

But, McCarthy is keen to learn as much 

as he can from the most-capped Leinster 

player. 

“Dev is class. Whenever you play with 

Dev you’re quite confident because he is 

a real calm guy and you can see that he 

knows exactly what he’s doing. 

“It’s kind of crazy to think how many caps 

he’s got, because it’s such a big deal 

getting your first one, and he’s nearly 

got 300. He has so much experience of 

playing in the biggest games and World 

Cups. 

“He’s always giving younger players 

little tips and he puts a lot of confidence 

in you.” 

As the season moved along, McCarthy 

continued to hit new milestones. 

In March, he played three more senior 

games, including his first two interpro 

fixtures at a packed Kingspan Stadium in 

Belfast and the Sportsground in Galway. 

“You hear a lot that interpro games are 

another step up in intensity. I definitely 

found that it was another step up, 

especially when you know the players a 

bit more than against other teams. 

“The travelling Leinster fans were class 

and they really got behind the team. 

They really are the games you want to 

play in.” 

Earlier this month, McCarthy made 

another huge stride in his rugby journey 

by making his European debut away to 

Leicester Tigers. 

“It was a really cool experience. Playing 

in a European quarter-final is the type of 

game you dream of playing in as a kid. 

Especially somewhere like Welford Road. 

“When you’re younger, that is 

somewhere you associate with big 

European games. There’s a lot of 

history there. 

“The whole experience of 

travelling over and then 

seeing the stadium. It’s an 

old school stadium with 

those changing rooms, but 

it has a big capacity, and 

you can really feel the crowd 

on top of you. So it was a 

great experience.” 

While McCarthy has taken 

each new experience in his

Join our FRIENDS 

programme 

and help support 

seriously injured 

rugby players 

For more details, 

click here 

www.irfucharitabletrust.com

stride, even he was a little taken aback 

at the prospect of facing the five-time 

European Champions, Toulouse. 

“I remember in 2019, I went to Aviva 

Stadium with my brother, Paddy for the 

semi-final against Toulouse. I was in fifth 

year in school and Paddy would have 

been in second year. 

“So, it was quite surreal to come on 

against them last week, considering I was 

watching that fixture in the stands a few 

years ago. 

“Toulouse always have some big names 

and French internationals involved. I 

remember my brother saying it was 

surreal that I was playing against them.” 

McCarthy’s fine form has been rewarded 

with a senior contract which begins next 

season. 

But, he knows that there’s no time to 

reflect on his achievements just yet. 

“You have to make sure you kind of 

stay on top of your stuff because there’s 

probably a bit more expectation on you 

as a senior. You’re just trying to make 

sure you just keep the foot on the pedal 

really.” 

There were plenty of ‘pinch me’ moments 

for McCarthy this season, but getting 

a call up to the Irish Six Nations camp 

was certainly another big moment for the 

former Blackrock College student. 

“After I played the Ulster game, I got a 

call to come in and train and see what 

the setup was like. I certainly wasn’t 

expecting it because I had just played 

four games for Leinster. 

“I learned so much while I was there. 

How professional the players were in 

their preparation, and you could see that 

it was another step up again. 

“But being in that environment, I really 

enjoyed it. I trained there for the week 

and learned from all of the coaches. 

“I chatted to Paul O’Connell a lot while I 

was there. We spoke about how to plan 

your day and how you can get better. I 

tried to soak up as much as I could.” 

As we enter the business end of the 

season, McCarthy is keen to contribute. 

“There are a lot of big games coming 

up and I’ll be aiming to just try and put 

my hand up to try and get involved in as 

many of those as possible. They’re the 

kind of games you dream of playing in. 

“Hopefully, I can just put my best foot 

forward in training or whatever games I 

may get selected for.” 


Leinster Rugby Academy 

Year Three 2021/22: 


Year two 2021/22: 

Second Row 

Brian Deeny #1306 

DOB: 02/03/2000 

HEIGHT: 1.99m WEIGHT: 121kg 

HONOURS: Ireland U20 (8 caps) & 

Leinster Rugby (2 caps) 

Did You Know: Brian played youth rugby with Wexford 

Wanderers RFC. He got his first Irish cap playing for 

Ireland Under-18 Sevens. Brian played midfield for 

his school St Peter’s College in Gaelic football and 

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

currently studying Science in Trinity and lives in Abbey 

House B&B, Wexford. Instagram: brian_deeny 

wing 

Niall Comerford 

DOB: 06/04/2000 


HONOURS: Ireland U20 

Did You Know: Niall played both hurling and Gaelic 

football with Kilmacud Crokes for 14 years. He also 

represented Dublin in Gaelic football in the U17 

Leinster Championship. He is currently studying 

Commerce in UCD. 

Instagram: niall_c123 

Cormac Foley #1299 

DOB: 24/10/1999 


HONOURS: Ireland U20 (9 caps) 

& Leinster Rugby (4 caps) 

Marcus Hanan #1295 

DOB: 03/10/2000 

HEIGHT:1.8m WEIGHT:110.91kg 



Scrum Half 

Did You Know: Started playing rugby with Greystones 

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

of show jumping and he is now studying Economics and 

Finance in UCD. 

Instagram: cormacfoley6 

prop 

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

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

played rugby in Old Wesley before coaching back at Clane 

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

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

Management in Griffith College. Instagram: @marcus_hanan 

Back Row 

Martin Moloney #1300 

DOB: 19/10/1999 




Did You Know: Martin played hurling for Kildare and 

played GAA and basketball for his secondary school, 

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

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

studying Business and Law in UCD, He also enjoys 

working on the family farm. Instagram: martin_moloney 

Second Row 

Joe McCarthy #1303 

DOB: 26/03/2001 




Did You Know: Joe started playing rugby with Blackrock 

College RFC at the age of six before moving to 

Willow Park and then Blackrock College. He was also 

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

studying Global Business in Trinity College Dublin. 

Instagram: joetmmcc 

Second Row 

Charlie Ryan 

DOB: 03/02/1999 



Did You Know: Charlie played youth rugby at Blackrock 

College RFC while also attending the school since 

Senior Infants. He captained Ireland to the U20 Grand 

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

friends call him Chuck! He is currently studying Business 

and Legal Studies in UCD. 

Instagram: chuck_ryan5 

hooker 

John McKee #1307 

DOB: 15/02/2000 




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

at Campbell College where he won a Senior Cup. He 

was involved with Ulster at age grade level until moving 

to Dublin after school. He also has multiple medals 

from Northern Irish Schools Judo competitions. 

Instagram: johnmckee_ 

Centre 

Liam Turner #1287 

DOB: 14/07/1999 




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

of six at Blackrock College RFC. He later joined 

Blackrock College and was part of the 2018 Senior Cup 

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

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

studys BESS in Trinity College. Instagram: liamtn123 

Centre / Full Back 

Jamie Osborne #1294 

DOB: 16/11/2001 

HEIGHT:1.93m WEIGHT:96.82kg 

HONOURS: Leinster Rugby (18 caps) 

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

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

while his dad played rugby all throughout his life and 

his mum played hockey. Other than rugby, Jamie loves 

all sports especially soccer, GAA and NFL. Jamie is 

currently in a house with fellow Leinster Academy players 

Brian Deeny, Martin Moloney and Max O’Reilly. 

Instagram: @jamieosborne01 


Seán O’Brien #1297 

Lee Barron #1308 

Back Row 

DOB: 31/07/2000 




Did You Know: Seán started playing rugby at age 

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

He then played on the Junior and Senior Cup 

teams in Blackrock College. He is currently studying 

Economics and Finance in UCD 

Instagram: seanobrien456 

Hooker 

DOB: 15/02/2001 



Did You Know: Lee played golf growing up in the 

Castle Golf Club and in the end was playing off a 

handicap of eight. He has family roots in Carlow but 

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

As well as rugby with his school, he also played 

GAA and even lined out in Croke Park. 

Instagram: @lleebarron 

Max O’Reilly #1291 

Chris Cosgrave #1305 

Full Back 

DOB: 26/02/2000 




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

Business and Management in DIT. His preferred sport 

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

played at centre midfield with Enniskerry FC for over 10 

years and also for Wicklow. 

Instagram: max_oreilly 

full back 

DOB: 24/07/2001 

HEIGHT:1.83m WEIGHT:85kg 


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

is also an Ad Astra scholar studying Agricultural Science. 

His athleticism is best highlighted by his feats in the field 

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

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

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

with Old Belvedere RFC. Instagram: @chriscosgrave1 

Andrew Smith #1292 

Mark Hernan 

DOB: 21/07/2000 




DOB: 04/07/2000 


HONOURS: Leinster Rugby (1 cap) 

Back Three 

Did You Know: Andrew is currently studying Quantity 

Surveying and Construction Economics in TUD. In 

2019, he won the Leinster Schools Senior Cup with St 

Michael’s College. Andrew also played Gaelic football 

with his local club - Clanna Gael Fontenoy GAA Club. 

Instagram: andrew.sm1th 

Flanker 

Did You Know: Mark was coached by Ross Molony, 

Josh Murphy, Ross Byrne and Nick McCarthy when in 

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

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

for Connacht seniors and Ireland u25s. 

Instagram: @mark_hernani 

Alex Soroka #1296 

Temi Lasisi #1304 

Back Row 

DOB: 19/02/2001 

HEIGHT: 1.95m WEIGHT: 104.5kg 



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

Ukraine shortly before his birth. He was born in Cork 

before moving to Dublin. 

Instagram: alex._.soroka 

prop 

DOB: 09/05/2001 

HEIGHT: 1.78m WEIGHT: 115.8kg 

HONOURS: Leinster Rugby (1 cap) 

Did You Know: The TUD Mechanical Engineering 

student originally picked up the oval ball in Enniscorthy 

before later moving to Lansdowne FC. Temi rose 

through the ranks in the Youths system, his first outing 

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

He also describes himself as a ‘competent 

pianist’. Instagram: @lasisi.temi 


Year one 2021/22: 

Scrum half 

Ben Murphy 

DOB: 23/04/2001 



& Leinster Rugby (1 cap) 

Did You Know: Ben played all different sports growing 

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

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

in UCD. Ben’s father Richie played for Leinster 

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

the current Ireland U-20s head coach. I 

nstagram: @ben._murphy01 

Jack Boyle 

DOB: 10/03/2002 



Rob Russell #1302 

DOB: 13/01/1999 



Prop 

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

and Eric, all represented Old Wesley rugby club for 

years. His cousin Stephen Boyle also represented the 

Leinster Rugby youths. Jack is currently studying for a 

Commerce Degree in UCD. 

Instagram: @jackboyle1 

Full Back / Wing 

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

Business and Management in DIT. He started playing 

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

played football up to minor level with Kilmacud Crokes 

and it took priority over rugby until he left school. 

Instagram: @robrussell7 


Date 

25/09 

03/10 

09/10 

16/10 

22/10 

27/11 

03/12 

11/12 

1/12 

1/01 

22/01 

29/01 

11/02 

19/02 

25/02 

05/03 

12/03 

26/03 

02/05 

08/04 

15/04 

23/04 

30/04 

07/05 

14/05 

KO/ 

Result 

W 

31-3 

W 

7-6 

W 

43-7 

Opposiotion Venue 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 1 2 

URC VODACOM 

BULLS 

URC DRAGONS 

Aviva 

Stadium 

Rodney 

Parade 

URC ZEBRE RDS Arena J O’BRIEN 

KEENAN O’LOUGHLIN RINGROSE FRAWLEY LOWE 

SEXTON 

3C 1P 

MCGRATH 

PORTER 

1T 

SHEEHAN 

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

A BYRNE 

2T 

OSBORNE 

FRAWLEY 

W 

50-15 URC SCARLETS RDS Arena KEENAN LARMOUR RINGROSE FRAWLEY 

1C 

W 

31-15 

URC GLASGOW 

Scotstoun 

Stadium 

KEENAN 

1T 

A BYRNE 

1T 

L 

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

1T 

W 

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

1T 

W 

45-20 HCC BATH Aviva 

Stadium 

L 

0-28 

W 

89-7 

W 

64-7 

L 

29-27 

W 

26-7 

W 

29-7 

W 

21-13 

HCC MONTPELLIER 

GGL (Altrad) 

Stadium 

KEENAN 

1T 

HCC MONTPELLIER RDS Arena KEENAN 

HCC BATH 

URC 

CARDIFF 

RUGBY 

Recreation 

Ground 

Cardiff Arms 

Park 

LARMOUR 

1T 

LOWE 

RINGROSE FRAWLEY LOWE 

FRAWLEY 

HENSHAW 

LARMOUR RINGROSE FRAWLEY 

LARMOUR 

LOWE 

LOWE 

1T 

H BYRNE 

SEXTON 

1C 1P 

R BYRNE 

4C 1P 

R BYRNE 

1C 1P 

H BYRNE 

5C 

R BYRNE 

5C 

MCGRATH 

GIBSON-PARK 

MCGRATH 

E BYRNE 

1T 

PORTER 

1T 

HEALY 

CRONIN 

1T 

KELLEHER 

1T 

KELLEHER 

1T 

MCGRATH E BYRNE TRACY 

MCGRATH 

GIBSON-PARK 

2T 

HEALY 

PORTER 

- - - - - - - - - 

KEENAN 

1T 

LARMOUR 

1T 

LARMOUR 

1T 

RINGROSE 

RINGROSE 

FRAWLEY 

HENSHAW 

J O’BRIEN 

1T 

J O’BRIEN 

4T 

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

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

URC OSPREYS RDS Arena J O’BRIEN 

URC 

EMIRATES 

LIONS 

W 

17-61 URC BENETTON Stadio 

Monigo 

L 

13-18 URC ULSTER Kingspan 

Stadium 

W 

45-8 

LARMOUR 

1T 

OSBORNE H BYRNE KEARNEY 

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

J O’BRIEN 

2T 1C 

URC CONNACHT Sportsground J O’BRIEN 

W 

34-19 URC MUNSTER Thomond 

Park 

LARMOUR 

1T 

KEARNEY 

1T 

OSBORNE H BYRNE T O’BRIEN 

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

KEENAN 

W 

26-21 HCC CONNACHT Sportsground KEENAN 

1T 

W 

56-20 HCC CONNACHT Aviva 

Stadium 

L 

23-28 

L 

13-20 

W 

23-14 

URC 

CELL C 

SHARKS 

URC 

DHL 

STORMERS 

HCC 

LEICESTER 

TIGERS 

Jonsson 

Kings Park 

Green Point 

Stadium 

Mattioli Woods 

Welford Road 

W 

40-17 HCC TOULOUSE Aviva 

Stadium 

21/05 19:15 URC MUNSTER 

00/05 19:15 HCC Xxxxx 

Final 

fixtures and 

results 2021/22 

Aviva 

Stadium 

Xxxx 

Stadium 

T O’BRIEN 

2T 

J O’BRIEN 

1T 

OSBORNE 

RINGROSE 

1T 

FRAWLEY 

1T 

HENSHAW 

J O’BRIEN RINGROSE HENSHAW 

KEENAN J O’BRIEN RINGROSE 

COSGRAVE 

T O’BRIEN 

1T 

OSBORNE 

HENSHAW 

2T 

FRAWLEY 

2C 3P 

O’LOUGHLIN 

1T 

LOWE 

2T 

LOWE 

2T 

LOWE 

4T 

O’REILLY A BYRNE OSBORNE O’LOUGHLIN RUSSELL 

KEENAN J O’BRIEN RINGROSE 

KEENAN 

1T 

HENSHAW 

1T 

J O’BRIEN RINGROSE HENSHAW 

R BYRNE 

1T 7C 

SEXTON 

5C 

R BYRNE 

3C 2P 

R BYRNE 

3C 

R BYRNE 

3C 1P 

R BYRNE 

3C 

R BYRNE 

1T 7C 

R BYRNE 

1C 2P 

R BYRNE 

1C 

R BYRNE 

1P 4C 

SEXTON 

1C 2P 

SEXTON 6C 

GIBSON-PARK 

1T 

MCGRATH 

PORTER 

PORTER 

1T 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

KELLEHER 

1T 

KELLEHER 

KELLEHER 

MCGRATH E BYRNE CRONIN 

N MCCARTHY 

1T 

MCGRATH 

E BYRNE 

HEALY 

1T 

TRACY 

TRACY 

N MCCARTHY E BYRNE TRACY 

MCGRATH 

DOOLEY 

CRONIN 

2T 

MCGRATH DOOLEY TRACY 

MCGRATH DOOLEY TRACY 

GIBSON-PARK E BYRNE TRACY 

MCGRATH HEALY SHEEHAN 

GIBSON-PARK 

1T 

PORTER 

KELLEHER 

O’LOUGHLIN H BYRNE N MCCARTHY PORTER MCKEE 

LOWE 

LOWE 

2T 

FRAWLEY 

2P 

SEXTON 

2P 2C 

SEXTON 

3C 3P 

FOLEY 

E BYRNE 

1T 

MCKEE 

GIBSON-PARK PORTER KELLEHER 

GIBSON-PARK PORTER KELLEHER 


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

ALAALATOA MOLONY J RYAN RUDDOCK 

VAN DER FLIER 

1T 

ALAALATOA MOLONY RYAN RUDDOCK VAN DER FLIER 

ALAALATOA BAIRD TONER LEAVY 

FURLONG MOLONY RYAN 

DORIS 

2T 

PENNY 

1T 

VAN DER FLIER 

DORIS 

DEEGAN 

1T 

RUDDOCK 

CONAN 

FURLONG MOLONY BAIRD DORIS LEAVY CONAN 

TRACY 

1T 

E BYRNE HEALY BAIRD DEEGAN GIBSON-PARK 

R BYRNE 

1T 1C 

TRACY E BYRNE HEALY BAIRD LEAVY N MCCARTHY C FRAWLEY 

KELLEHER 

1T 

SHEEHAN 

2T 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

DOOLEY HEALY MOLONY DEEGAN N MCCARTHY 

HEALY 

1T 

ALAALATOA BAIRD RUDDOCK MCGRATH 

SEXTON 

4C 

R BYRNE 

3C 

OSBORNE 

S PENNY 

[UNUSED] 

RUSSELL 

T O’BRIEN 

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

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

ALA’ALATOA 

BAIRD 

1T 

TONER 

RUDDOCK 

1T 

VAN DER FLIER 

DORIS 

1T 

KELLEHER PORTER ABDALADZE J MURPHY 

DEEGAN 

1T 

N MCCARTHY 

R BYRNE 

1C 

T O’BRIEN 

FURLONG 

1T 

MOLONY BAIRD RUDDOCK 

VAN DER FLIER 

1T 

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

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

FURLONG 

MOLONY 

1T 

J MURPHY 

DORIS 

VAN DER FLIER 

2T 

CONAN 

2T 

SHEEHAN 

2T 

HEALY 

ALAALATOA 

1T 

RUDDOCK DEEGAN MCGRATH 

SEXTON 

5C 

LOWE 

1T 

ALAALATOA MOLONY MURPHY DORIS 

VAN DER FLIER 

1T 

CONAN 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

HEALY ABDALADZE BAIRD DEEGAN GIBSON-PARK 

R BYRNE 

2C 

FRAWLEY 

1T 

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

ALAALATOA MOLONY J MURPHY MOLONEY 

ALAALATOA MOLONY BAIRD MOLONEY 

ALAALATOA 

1T 

PENNY 

1T 

PENNY 

1T 

DEEGAN 

1T 

CRONIN 

DOOLEY 

ABDALADZE 

1T 

TONER SOROKA MCGRATH H BYRNE RUSSELL 

DEEGAN CRONIN DOOLEY CLARKSON DUNNE RUDDOCK N MCCARTHY A BYRNE 

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

CLARKSON MOLONY J MCCARTHY RUDDOCK PENNY 

ALAALATOA MOLONY J MCCARTHY RUDDOCK PENNY 

ALAALATOA MOLONY J MCCARTHY RUDDOCK PENNY 

DEEGAN 

1T 

DEEGAN 

1T 

DEEGAN 

1T 

TRACY 

2T 

LOWE 

1T 

PENNY 

1T 

E BYRNE ALAALATOA TONER LEAVY FOLEY O’LOUGHLIN KEARNEY 

CRONIN LASISI CLARKSON TONER LEAVY N MCCARTHY HAWKSHAW MOLONEY 

CRONIN E BYRNE CLARKSON J MURPHY MOLONEY N MCCARTHY 

HAWKSHAW 

1T 4C 

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

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

FURLONG 

1T 

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

CLARKSON DEENY DUNNE RUDDOCK 

PENNY 

1T 

R BYRNE 

1P 

R BYRNE 

2C 

COSGRAVE 

FRAWLEY 

FRAWLEY 

DEEGAN BARRON DOOLEY ALAALATOA J MURPHY SOROKA FOLEY HAWKSHAW MOLONEY 

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

FURLONG MOLONY RYAN DORIS 

FURLONG MOLONY J RYAN DORIS 

VAN DER FLIER 

1T 

VAN DER FLIER 

1T 

CONAN SHEEHAN HEALY ALAALATOA J MCCARTHY RUDDOCK MCGRATH 

CONAN SHEEHAN HEALY ALA’ALATOA J MCCARTHY RUDDOCK MCGRATH 

H BYRNE 

1C 

R BYRNE 

1P 

R BYRNE 

1C 1P 

MOLONEY 

T O’BRIEN 

FRAWLEY 


matchday 

Squads 

officials 

Jordan Larmour 

Rob Russell 

Jamie Osborne 

Ciarán Frawley 

Rory O’Loughlin 

Harry Byrne 

Cormac Foley 

15 

14 

13 

12 

11 

10 

9 

FULL BACK 

RIGHT WING 

OUTSIDE CENTRE 

INSIDE CENTRE 

LEFT WING 

FLY HALF 

SCRUM HALF 

Mike Haley 

Andrew Conway 

Chris Farrell 

Dan Goggin 

Keith Earls 

Joey Carbery 

Conor Murray 

REFEREE: 

FRANK MURPHY 

(IRFU, 62ND COMPETITION GAME) 

ASSISTANT REFEREE 

PETER MARTIN (IRFU) 

ASSISTANT REFEREE 

OISIN QUINN (IRFU) 

TMO: 

BRIAN MacNEICE (IRFU) 

Ed Byrne [C] 

Seán Cronin 

Thomas Clarkson 

Joe McCarthy 

Josh Murphy 

Ryan Baird 

Scott Penny 

Max Deegan 

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 

Josh Wycherley 

Niall Scannell 

John Ryan 

Jean Kleyn 

Thomas Ahern 

Fineen Wycherley 

Alex Kendellen 

Jack O’Donoghue [C] 

John McKee 

Peter Dooley 

Cian Healy 

Devin Toner 

Alex Soroka 

Ben Murphy 

David Hawkshaw 

Adam Byrne 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

Diarmuid Barron 

Jeremy Loughman 

Keynan Knox 

Jason Jenkins 

Jack Daly 

Craig Casey 

Ben Healy 

Rory Scannell

At Sword we know how important the Game is. 

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

and enjoy yourself, you're in safe hands. 

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

Dublin: 01-6688220 

info@swordsecurity.com 

www.swordsecurity.com 

Securing Sports Fans around the World.

Parting Shot 

Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile 


14 May 2022 

James Lowe of Leinster celebrates after scoring his side’s first try 

during the Heineken Champions Cup Semi-Final match between 

Leinster and Toulouse at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

Leinster vs Munster

Transform your PDFs into Flipbooks and boost your revenue!

Delete template?

Save as template ?