Leinster Rugby vs Glasgow Warriors

LEINSTER 

VS 

ISSUE 04 | LEINSTER RUGBY OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME 

glasgow 

warriors 

SAT 26 th NOVEMBER 

RDS ARENA 

KO 3.15PM

Our People, Our Home 

TWELVE COUNTIES. ONE SHIRT. 

Aaron Craig 

From a lad wearing Leinster blue to the RDS, to 

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

been amazing. The adidas Designer talks us through 

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

boyhood club. 

How did you begin working with adidas? 

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

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

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

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

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

What drew you to this project? 

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

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

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

grandfather even worked the entrance gates the RDS and Donnybrook 

for years. 

What was your inspiration for the design? 

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

represented equally with their heraldic crests – instantly recognisable 

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

meant introducing the darker blue sleeves and the collegiate gold 

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

generation, from O’Driscoll to Sexton. 

How do you keep designs fresh year on year? 

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

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

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

Which design excited you the most? 

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

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

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

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

might just be level with the World Cup. 

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

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

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

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

pinch yourself moment for sure.

Newstead Building A, 

UCD, 

Belfield, 

Dublin 4 

#LEIVGLA 

The Line up 

Telephone: 

012693224 

Fax: 

012693142 

E-mail: 

information@leinsterrugby.ie 

www.leinsterrugby.ie 

6 

24 

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT 

President: Debbie Carty 

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: Andrew Goodman 

Kicking Coach: Emmet Farrell 

Contact Skills Coach: Seán O’Brien 

14 

PROGRAMME CREDITS 

Editorial Team: Marcus Ó Buachalla, 

Paul Cahill & Daniel Kelly 

Advertising: Gary Nolan 

Design: Julian Tredinnick, 

Ignition Sports Media 

Photography: Sportsfile 

Chief Steward: Sword Security 

Ambulance: St. John’s Ambulance 

Medilink 

Event Control & Safety Services: 

Eamonn O’Boyle & Associates 

62 

86 

STAY 

CONNECTED 

& KEEP 

UP-TO-DATE 

www.leinsterrugby.ie | 3

Debbie Carty welcome 

PRESIDENT, LEINSTER RUGBY 2022/23 

On behalf of Leinster Rugby, I would 

like to welcome you all to the RDS 

Arena for this afternoon’s match 

against Glasgow Warriors in Round 

8 of this season’s BKT United Rugby 

Championship. 

In particular, I wish to extend a 

warm welcome to Dublin to our 

Glaswegian visitors, to the squad, 

their Head Coach, Franco Smith 

and their management team and 

hope you are enjoying your visit 

here for this URC match. 

Leinster have won their last seven 

matches in the URC and I would like to 

congratulate the Leinster squad captained 

by Rhys Ruddock on their win over 

Scarlets in Round 7 back in October. 

As a result, Leinster have stretched their 

lead in the competition to 12 points 

and they will be confident heading 

into tonight’s match, but we cannot be 

complacent with the Glasgow Warriors 

who have had three big wins in the 

competition so we expect tonight to be a 

challenging and physical match. 

I have no doubt that Leo and his squad 

are up for the challenge and we look 

forward to the season ahead. 

Having just finished up a successful 

autumn internationals series where a 

number of Leinster players both played 

and captained the Irish squad, it is a 

great time to be a Leinster and Ireland 

supporter. 

But the business end of the season is 

still ahead and I know you will join me 

in wishing Andy and his squad, every 

success this season. 

Before moving on from matters green, 

I would like to personally congratulate 

Tadhg Furlong, who hails from my own 

home county of Wexford, on his recent 

captaincy of the Irish team against Fiji. 

What a lift a moment like that gives to all 

of us down in the sunny south east and 

to the clubs and to the player pathway 

for youths. A great day and what an 

ambassador he is. 

On the domestic front, all competitions 

are up and running. The Bank of Ireland 

Leinster Leagues, the Energia AIL for 

the men and the women and everything 

in between have all kicked off as the 

teams start the task of taking their squads 

toward promotion from their divisions. It is 

great to see most clubs fielding 2nd and 

3rd teams this year. It promises to be an 

exciting season ahead. 

I am delighted to see that the first few 

rounds of the Bank of Ireland Sarah 

Robinson Cup is under way, with wins 

for North Midlands over Midlands and 

the Southeast over Metro. And we look 

forward to the next few rounds of this 

great competition in the months ahead. 

On the interpros side, I look forward to 

the Women’s Series in January and the 

junior interpros that will also start their 

campaign early in the new year. 

I would like to welcome to the RDS 

Arena this evening the mini rugby teams 

who will play at half time in the Bank of 

Ireland Mini Games. To the players from 

Stillorgan-Rathfarnham RFC, North Meath 

RFC, Kilkenny RFC and Navan RFC, the 

very best of luck. I know you will all enjoy 

the occasion. I would ask all supporters 

to show your appreciation and cheer on 

these young stars of the future. 

Over the last few months, we have 

lost two stalwarts of the game in 

Leinster Rugby in Ken Ging and Paul 

McNaughton. With the team of 2011 

and 2012 being celebrated this 

afternoon at half-time, I think it is fair to 

say that much of the success in those 

years and indeed since, was built on the 

great work of people like Ken and Paul. 

They, their families, and their friends, 

remain in all our thoughts. May they rest 

in peace. 

To our title sponsor Bank of Ireland, great 

patrons of both our professional and 

domestic games, who along with all our 

premium partners and suppliers, who do 

so much to support Leinster Rugby, I offer 

my sincere thanks. 

Finally, to you the fans, our season ticket 

holders, members of the Official Leinster 

Supporters Club and friends of Leinster, I 

thank you for the contribution you make 

on match days. 

I am sure this evening will be no different 

as you get the roar going and the flags 

waving to cheer on the boys in blue to 

another victory. 

Let us hope for an energetic, exciting and 

injury free match tonight. 

Debbie Carty 

Leinster Rugby President 2022/23 

4 | www.leinsterrugby.ie

to you the 

fans, our season 

ticket holders, 

members of the 

Official Leinster 

Supporters Club 

and friends of 

Leinster, I thank 

you for the 

contribution 

you make on 

match days. 


Leo Cullen 

head Coach Welcome 

A warm welcome back to the RDS Arena for 

the start of another block of games in the 

BKT United Rugby Championship. 

I’d like to start by welcoming 

Franco Smith and his Glasgow 

Warriors team to Dublin. They 

are no strangers to the RDS and 

indeed have some more than 

familiar faces in the backroom 

team with former Leinster staff 

members Cillian Reardon and 

Robin Reidy very welcome back 

to the RDS this afternoon. 

There is also the small matter of a reunion 

today for the Heineken Cup winning 

squads of 2011 and 2012. 

Unfortunately I will have other matters 

to attend to, but I do hope they have 

an enjoyable catch-up and that the 

team, squad and backroom staff get the 

ovation they all deserve at half-time when 

introduced to the crowd. 

Those were special times with a special 

group of people. 

It was very satisfying to start the season 

so strongly and to remain unbeaten in the 

opening block but as we all know, you 

are only as strong or as good as your 

last game, and for us all that we have 

achieved so far will be for nothing if we 

don’t build on that foundation. 

That starts with this evening’s game 

against Glasgow. 

Last week was an excellent run-out 

against Chile and I’d like to acknowledge 

most sincerely the efforts of the five 

Energia AIL club players that came in and 

trained with us and played against Chile. 

Unfortunately, Harrison Brewer was 

unable to play on the Friday as he 

picked up a knock, but the other four 

lads acquitted themselves very well over 

the 80 minutes and I wish Cormac Daly, 

Conall Boomer, Thomas Connolly and 

Colm Hogan the best of luck with the 

rest of their seasons as they return to 

their clubs, Terenure, Clontarf and Dublin 

University FC. 

The player pathway in Leinster Rugby 

is never linear and there are plenty of 

examples of players taking a different 

path over the years and we are always 

keeping an eye on players performing 

week in, week out in the AIL, and that will 

continue to be the case. 

Well done to Ben Brownlee, Charlie 

Tector and Tadgh McElroy, who all 

featured in our last outing against 

Scarlets. 

Those three have all come through the 

Leinster pathway in some form, and each 

one has a different story to tell about 

how they got to this point. It was a really 

happy dressing room over in Wales the 

night the three lads featured; the sort of 

occasion that all staff and players get a 

kick out of. 

Over the last few weeks, we have also 

had the pleasure of a visit to Tullow RFC 

where the local club players trained with 

us over the course of the day and where 

we also had an open training session in 

front of local supporters. 

Thank you to all in Tullow for a very 

warm welcome. 

While he may be retired now, there is no 

doubt, who the main man in Tullow is. 

What a reaction and reception for Seán 

O’Brien. And for us all. Adding to the 12 

county tour from the summer, it was great 

to be out and about again. 

Keep an eye out for our next pitstop! 

Well done to Ireland on a successful 

Bank of Ireland autumn international 

series, and for cementing our position 

as the top-ranked team in world rugby. 

All of us here at Leinster take huge 

pride in seeing our players represent 

Ireland and we were thrilled to see 

Jimmy O’Brien make his Irish debut 

against the world champion 

Springboks a few weeks back. 

Also to Joe McCarthy, who made 

his debut against Australia. What 

a brilliant year it has been for 

Joe. He only made his Leinster 

debut in January and ten months 

later has been capped by his 

country. A proud day. 

And we also now have a 

Georgian international amongst 

us. Well done to Vakh Abdaladze 

on making his international debut in 

what would have been a hugely proud 

day for him and his family. Vakh’s father 

also played for Georgia and I know how 

much it meant to them all. 


Finally, well done to Josh van der Flier. 

It is a magnificent achievement to 

become only the third Irish player ever 

to receive the World Rugby Player of 

the Year Award. Josh is one of the most 

humble and hard working players you 

could every hope to coach. He is also a 

gentleman and we were all thrilled for 

him. 

He deserves the recognition after a 

stellar year, but like us all, I know that 

Josh still has plenty that he wants to 

achieve this season and beyond and 

he’ll be focused on that when he joins 

back with us next week. 

Thanks as always to our loyal sponsors, 

especially Bank of Ireland, who like 

our supporters are with us through thick 

and thin. We wouldn’t be where we 

are without you. DigitalWell is the latest 

organisation to join the Leinster family 

and we are delighted to have them on 

board. 

Welcome also to Shane Nolan, who 

takes over as Leinster Rugby CEO, with 

today his first formal game at the helm. 

We are really excited to start working 

with Shane and I know he has some 

great ideas on how to grow the club. 

Shane takes over from Mick Dawson, 

who has been such a pillar of support to 

us all, myself included, for many years 

– we wish Mick and his family all the 

best in retirement, and hope he enjoys 

much success with Lansdowne FC in his 

Presidential year. 

Speaking of great Leinster supporters, we 

were all saddened to hear of the recent 

passing of Paul McNaughton. 

A multi-talented sportsman himself, Paul 

served as Leinster and Ireland manager 

during a successful professional era that 

included Ireland’s 2009 Grand Slam. 

He was a great servant to Leinster with a 

wonderful perspective on life and rugby, 

and he’ll be sadly missed. Our thoughts 

go out to the McNaughton family. 

Looking ahead, we can’t wait to get 

back into action for what will be a 

hectic schedule of club and provincial 

rugby over the Christmas period. 

The second half of the season is 

when everything is up for grabs, and 

as a group, we are intent on creating 

lots more memorable moments on the 

pitch for you to enjoy. 

But first, our attention is very much on 

Glasgow and the significant threat 

that they pose. It will be a battling 

and bruising afternoon but I know that 

we will have your support behind us 

every step of the way. 

Enjoy the game, 

Leo 


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laura 

lynch 

BANK OF IRELAND 

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER 

A very warm 

welcome to the RDS 

Arena from Bank 

of Ireland as we 

look forward to 

this afternoon’s 

fixture. 

Bank of Ireland are proud partners to Leinster 

Rugby. Like us, they are rooted in local communities 

across the 12 counties of Leinster. 

We are delighted to support Leo Cullen and his coaching 

team in building Leinster Rugby through clubs and schools, 

developing home grown talent and always ensuring that 

Leinster #NeverStopCompeting. 

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

afternoon. 

We wish Leinster Rugby every success, and hope that you 

enjoy the game. 

Laura Lynch. 

BANK OF IRELAND 

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER 


Did you 

know? 

• Leinster Rugby have won 

their last seven BKT United 

Rugby Championship matches 

since they were knocked out 

of last season’s competition 

at the semi-final stage at 

home to the Bulls. That 

defeat is the Leinstermen’s 

solitary loss at the RDS 

Arena in the last twelve 

months. 

• The Leinstermen have lost 

just once to a Scottish 

opponent since April 2019: 

12-15 at Scotstoun in the 

Rainbow Cup in June 2021. 

• Glasgow Warriors’ record 

so far this season in the BKT 

United Rugby Championship 

is three home wins and three 

away defeats. 

• The Warriors have not 

won away from home in the 

Championship since a visit 

to Connacht on 29 January. 

• Glasgow’s record against 

Irish provinces last season 

was won two, lost three. 

• Leinster have lost just 

one of their last eight 

encounters with Glasgow. 

• The Warriors have won 

just twice at the RDS Arena, 

in September 2011 and April 

2019. 

COMPARISON 

Overall URC head-to-head record: 

Played 44, Leinster won 28, Glasgow won 14 with 2 matches drawn. 

Last 3 URC results: 

14 Oct - Connacht (A) W 10-0 8 Oct - Bulls (H) W 35-21 

22 Oct - Munster (H) W 27-13 15 Oct - Sharks (A) L 12-40 

28 Oct - Scarlets (A) W 35-5 28 Oct - Benetton (H) W 37-0 

1ST - W7 D0 L0 - 33PTS 

WWWWWW (28pts) 

URC 2022/23 

URC form 

Top try scorer 

7TH - W3 D0 L3 - 15PTS 

LWLWLW (15pts) 

6 - Dan Sheehan 4 - Tom Gordon 

Top points scorer 

32 - Ross Byrne 38 - George Horne 

Date Venue L G Leinster scorers Glasgow scorers 

Fri 28 Feb 20 RDS Arena 55 19 James Lowe(2T) Ciaran Frawley(2C) Harry 

Byrne(3C) Scott Fardy(T) Ryan Baird(3T) 

Dave Kearney(3T) 

Mon 2 Nov 

20 

Sun 28 Feb 

21 

Fri 4 Jun 21 

Scotstoun Stadium 32 19 Michael Bent(T) Harry Byrne(3C/2P) Scott 

Penny(T) Luke McGrath(T) Jimmy O'Brien(T) 

RDS Arena 40 21 Harry Byrne(T/2C) Scott Penny(2T) David 

Hawkshaw(2C) Cian Kelleher(T) Luke 

McGrath(T) Penalty Try(T) 

Scotstoun Stadium 

(RC) 

12 15 Ross Byrne(C) Cian Kelleher(T) Luke 

McGrath(T) 

Fri 22 Oct 21 Scotstoun Stadium 31 15 Adam Byrne(T) Ross Byrne(4C/P) Ronan 

Kelleher(T) Dan Sheehan(T) Hugo 

Keenan(T) 

Sat 4 Jun 22 RDS Arena (QF) 76 14 Ross Byrne(6C) Ciaran Frawley(T) Harry 

Byrne(2C) Joe McCarthy(T) Michael 

Ala'alatoa(T) Jamison Gibson-Park(T) 

Garry Ringrose(T) Caelan Doris(T) Jordan 

Larmour(2T) Luke McGrath(T) Dan 

Sheehan(2T) Jimmy O'Brien(T) 

Pete Horne(C) Kyle Steyn(T) Alex Allan(T) 

Tommy Seymour(T) Ruaridh Jackson(C) 

Pete Horne(2C) George Horne(T) Tom 

Gordon(T) D'arcy Rae(T) 

Huw Jones(T) Adam Hastings(C) 

Rufus McLean(T) Tom Gordon(T) Ross 

Thompson(2C) 

Kyle Steyn(T) Matt Fagerson(T) Ross 

Thompson(C/P) 

Lewis Bean(T) Jack Dempsey(T) Ross 

Thompson(C/P) 

George Horne(T) Zander Fagerson(T) Ross 

Thompson(2C) 



Ross 

Byrne 

the big interview 

BY DANIEL KELLY 

Ross Byrne is 

still on a high 

after “one 

of the most 

bizarre weeks” 

of his career 

last week. 


On the Monday, he was training 

in Belfield with Leinster as 

preparations began for the 

friendly with Chile, and today’s 

match with Glasgow Warriors. 

Off the pitch, Byrne was also getting the 

final touches ready to launch his new 

business Starfolio. 

The week ended with him winning his 

14th Ireland cap, and kicking the winning 

points in a packed Aviva Stadium against 

Australia, to conclude Ireland’s Bank of 

Ireland Autumn Internationals.. 

“It was all a bit strange in how it played 

out, to be honest”, Byrne admitted, earlier 

this week. 

“I finished training with Leinster on 

Monday, and got the call from Andy 

Farrell to come in as cover for the week. I 

went into camp that night. It was all about 

trying to get up to speed as quickly as 

possible. I’d been out of the setup for a 

while. Monday night and Tuesday were 

hectic - It was all about trying to learn 

everything again. 

“A lot of the calls hadn’t changed. But I 

hadn’t been there in a while, so there was 

a lot of learning. Thankfully there were so 

many Leinster lads in there, that gave me 

a helping hand too. Some of the stuff is 

similar, but a lot of the week was mental 

preparation and learning plays” 

Johnny Sexton was named to start the 

game at fly-half against the Wallabies, 

with Munster’s Jack Crowley named on 

the bench. 

Byrne was to miss out on winning cap 

number 14, but he would still be part of 

the matchday preparations. That was 

until his Leinster teammate pulled up in 

the warmup, and Byrne moved up to the 

bench. 

“I was there as the 24th man. During the 

warmup, I was told I was on the bench. 

Overall, it was unexpected, but a very 

enjoyable end to the week. 

“Even though I wasn’t originally selected, 

you still need to prepare. It’s happened 

before in Leinster where players drop out. 

We have a saying that everyone should 

always be ready.” 


It’s happened 

before in Leinster 

where players 

drop out. We have 

a saying that 

everyone should 

always be ready. 

Although the situation may seem unusual, 

Byrne’s previous time in green came in 

similar circumstances, but he did have a 

little more notice. 

“Funnily enough, my last cap against 

England, I was 24th man too, and got 

called in on the morning of the game. 

I came on for a minute that afternoon, 

and I don’t even think I got a touch of the 

ball. I can’t think of any time I ever got 

called into a team in the warmup, like last 

weekend though.” 

After more than 18-months in the 

international wilderness, the 27-year-old 

was delighted to get the opportunity 

to impress in front of a packed Aviva 

Stadium - a marked contrast to his 

previous cap which was played behind 

closed doors. 

“It was polar opposites to be honest. 

There are times when there are 

doubts, and there were times 

where I never thought I’d play 

for Ireland again. To get the 

opportunity to do so last week was 

incredibly special. The way it finished is 

something I’ll never forget.” 

Such was the lateness of Sexton’s 

withdrawal, eagle-eyed viewers noticed 

that Crowley was wearing a jersey with 

Sexton’s name embroidered on it. 

Byrne ended up with the same fate, 

wearing Crowley’s number 22. 

Despite that, it will remain one of his most 

memorable pieces of memorabilia for 

years to come, joking “it’s one I 

won’t be giving away anyways”. 

Byrne has been an everpresent 

for Leinster this season, 

playing in all seven games so 

far in the BKT United Rugby 

Championship. 

Those seven games have 

brought seven wins, but despite 

that he feels there is still room to 

improve. 


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It’s important to create an 

environment where fans all 

over Leinster want to come to 

games. We want to make them 

proud, but also to make sure 

they’re entertained too. 

“It’s been a great start. To win every 

game is great, but we have not had a 

complete performance yet. We have 

played really well at times, but there were 

also occasions where we have been 

disappointed in ourselves.” 

“We’re incredibly lucky with the depth 

we have in the squad. In the next few 

weeks, we could have two international 

XVs facing each other in training. It’s 

brilliant from a competitive point of view. 

“In the Scarlets game, we had so many 

young lads take their chance. So many 

were waiting for their opportunity in that 

game, and they took it.” 

Before he entered camp with Ireland, 

Byrne visited Dundalk RFC Minis and 

was part of the open training session in 

Tullow RFC. 

He was delighted to get out and about 

and see fans outside of the UCD and 

RDS Arena environs. 

“It was great to see so many people in 

Tullow. Seán O’Brien told us how much 

Tullow RFC means to him, and how much 

Leinster means to those in Tullow. We 

loved having some of the Tullow team 

train with us too. 

“Nick McCarthy and I went to Dundalk 

to the Minis. We saw how much Leinster 

means to that club too. It’s so important 

going to these clubs. We want these 

people to come to matches in the RDS or 

the Aviva. Having them there makes such 

a difference to the players.” 

Byrne has seen a marked change in 

atmosphere at home games this season 

too, and cites that down to fans returning 

in their masses, after the pandemic. 

“During Covid, when nobody was at 

games - it was a real shock. This season, 

the support has been the best I’ve seen 

in the RDS. Nearly every game has 

been sold out, and the atmosphere has 

been great, before, during and after the 

games. 

“It’s important to create an environment 

where fans all over Leinster want to come 

to games. We want to make them proud, 

but also to make sure they’re entertained 

too.” 

The relationship between the players 

and fans was weakened during Covid, 


ut Ross sees this season as a terrific 

opportunity to make that better than it 

ever has been. 

“It was awful, playing in front of nobody. 

“It’s only natural that relationships break 

down because of that. It’s so important 

to get that relationship back and to build 

on it. Leinster has been in a very strong 

position in the past few years. We have 

shown we are one of the best teams in 

Europe. 

“We have won silverware recently, and 

we want to win more and give supporters 

the day out that they deserve. 

“Going to go to places like Tullow and 

Dundalk and the 12 County Tour in preseason 

shows how important the support 

is to us. If it means we get a few new 

supporters, that’s even better.” 

Today’s match marks a nice milestone 

for Byrne as it’s his 100th appearance in 

the URC, and his ninth against Glasgow 

Warriors in the competition. 

The Scottish team started Round 8 in 

seventh place, although they have played 

one game less than Leinster. 


“Glasgow are always incredibly 

competitive. They’re dangerous going 

forward, as we saw before the Autumn 

Internationals against Benetton. They won 

that match 37-0. 

“Before that, they played really good 

stuff, especially against the South African 

teams.” 

As Byrne was taking part in the Captains’ 

Run in the Aviva Stadium last Friday 

Young kids 

growing up 

want to be part 

of the success 

Leinster has 

had. The work 

in the underage 

systems has 

been brilliant. 

afternoon ahead of the Australia match, 

Leinster were in action, just over 1,500 

metres away in Energia Park against 

Chile. 

Charlie Tector was among those to 

feature, having made his debut against 

Scarlets, replacing Byrne. 

Tector (a product of Enniscorthy RFC but 

now plying his trade with Lansdowne, 

like the younger Byrne brother, Harry) is 

one of the latest in a long line of players 

to come through the Academy, and 

Byrne knows the younger generation will 

continue to keep the senior players on 

their toes. 

“We’re blessed in a number of positions. 

“All across the pitch, there can be three, 

four or five options. Young kids growing 

up want to be part of the success Leinster 

has had. The work in the underage 

systems has been brilliant.” 

After the ‘bizarre’ nature of last week, 

preparations will have been a little more 

straightforward this week for Byrne as the 

URC resumes. 

Whatever happens today on the pitch, 

he’ll be ready for it. 


35 5FRIDAY 28 OCTOBER 2022 

Action 

replay 

PARC Y SCARLETS 

REFEREE: ANDREA PIARDI (FIR) 

ATTENDANCE: 6,823 

BKT UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 

SCARLETS: 

McNicholl; Rogers, Steff Evans, J. Davies 

(capt), Conbeer; Jones, G. Davies; Thomas, 

D. Hughes, O’Connor; J. Price, T. Price; 

Shingler, Thomas, Kalamafoni. 

REPLACEMENTS: 

Shaun Evans, Mathias, John, Jones, Shenton, 

A. Hughes, Patchell, Baldwin. 

TRY: 

Steff Evans 

LEINSTER: 

Cosgrave; Russell, Turner, Ngatai, Kearney, 

Byrne, McGrath; Byrne, McKee, Clarkson; 

Molony, Jenkins; Ruddock (capt), Penny, 

Deegan. 

REPLACEMENTS: 

McElroy, Milne, Abdaladze, Deeney, 

Moloney, McCarthy, Tector, Brownlee. 

TRIES: 

Cosgrave, Russell, Clarkson, Penalty 2 

CONVERSIONS: 

Byrne 3 


Rhys Ruddock and Ross Byrne 

were immense in the way they led 

the group, but then we had some 

young guys coming off the bench 

to make their Leinster debuts, 

which is always fantastic to see. 

When you see guys getting their 

first caps from their teammates 

in the dressing room, that’s what 

makes it so pleasing. Hopefully 

there are lots more good things 

to come from those young guys. 

Leo Cullen 


No High Tackles - Just 

High Heels at Dundalk RFC! 

BY MARY MURDOCK 

Dundalk RFC has had many 

defining moments in its club 

history but one which set it apart 

was when the club came together 

with the Leinster Northeast rugby 

family in February 2019 to honour 

the memory and to celebrate 

the life of one of their Dundalk 

RFC ladies, Caroline Gray; wife 

of Dundalk RFC senior player 

Jonathan, who lost her battle with 

breast cancer in September 2018. 

Dundalk RFC then began their journey 

as a club to tackle breast cancer, forging 

links with the National Breast Cancer 

Research Institute. 

Dundalk RFC took that journey a step 

further this year with the “No High 

Tackles, Just High Heels” ladies event 

held on Saturday, 4 June 2022. 

The event, which had been sold out since 

2020, but had been delayed by the 

pandemic, was a resounding success. 

Dundalk RFC received great support from 

both Leinster Rugby and the IRFU, and 

were honoured to be joined by the Head 

Coach to the Irish Women’s Rugby Team 

Greg McWilliams as their special guest. 

This event, while celebrating Dundalk 

RFC ladies, was also dedicated to the 

memories of those rugby ladies who have 

lost the battle against breast cancer and 

to those who courageously continue the 

fight. 

The Dundalk RFC ladies event was one 

of the club’s major events of the 2022 

rugby season. 

By linking with the National Breast 

Cancer Research Institute, Dundalk RFC 

have supported a research team who 

are successfully working on improving 

breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. 

All of these programmes are technically 

demanding and expensive so the support 

of the public is significant. 

It was Dundalk’s desire to host an event 

in celebration and in appreciation of all 

ladies with an association to the club 

and of the Dundalk RFC girls who have 

continued to develop their game and 

worn the jersey with such passion, desire 

and pride. This event saluted them as the 

club recognised their contribution both on 

and off the pitch at Mill Road. 

“No High Tackles, Just High Heels” was 

one of the most stylish and glamorous 

events in town for many years, as the 

ladies of the Northeast set the bar very 

high in the style stakes leaving everyone 

in no doubt that there are two sides to a 

rugby girl! 

The afternoon was kicked off by a very 

stylish MC Caroline McElroy who did a 

superb job, with the moments beautifully 

captured by photographer Caroline 

Kerley. 

The event started with a drinks reception 

to the fabulous sound of An Cór 

Chairlinne and local artists Maria 

Dawe and Anna McKenna. This was 

followed by a four course lunch and a 

fashion show with former Dundalk RFC 

youth players, Maria Smith, Eleanor 

McElroy, Sophia Murdock, Aoife Purcell 

and Jennifer McElroy, all taking to the 

catwalk with the latest fashion from local 

boutiques. 

John McKevitt, President of Dundalk RFC, 

had opened the proceedings to welcome 

those gathered at The Fairways Hotel 

and to thank them for their support. 

Greg McWilliams, Ireland Women’s 

Rugby XV Head Coach, captured the 

hearts of all present with his emotive 

account of his adored wife’s breast 

cancer journey and its impact on their 

lives and his passionate vision of his drive 

to achieve success with the Irish Women’s 

rugby team. 

Mary Murdock from Dundalk RFC then 

shared her involvement in the Caroline 

Gray Memorial Event and identified the 

event as a significant step on the journey 

of Dundalk RFC to tackle breast cancer. 

She spoke passionately of the investment 

at grassroots level of Dundalk RFC in the 

girls game and paid tribute to the female 

players coming through the club. 

Mary also acknowledged the 

significance to Dundalk RFC of having 

the family of the late Caroline Gray 

present as she remembered her and she 

paid tribute to another amazing woman 

Cara McAdam who was also present as 


she recognised the success she and her 

husband Niall Carroll had achieved since 

they started 100km in 30 Days to support 

breast cancer research. 

She thanked all who had bought 

tickets, donated raffle prizes and given 

sponsorship for this event. She gave a 

special mention to Pat O’Callaghan, 

Denis Williams and The Fairways Hotel 

Team for their very generous sponsorship, 

support and attention to detail in the 

planning of this event and she thanked 

the Dundalk RFC Executive Committee 

for their support and the team behind 

the mega event who made it happen 

alongside her. 

Linda Valentine, a former Dundalk RFC 

girls coach was announced as the “No 

High Tackles, Best Dressed Lady 2022” 

with the winning ensemble from Rapport 

Boutique Dundalk. 

Her prize was presented to her by 

Dundalk RFC U18 players Aoife Purcell 

and Jennifer McElroy. 

There was a monster raffle with fabulous 

prizes kindly donated by local sponsors 

as well as a silent auction for an amazing 

coaching session for 20 children, very 

kindly donated by local Leinster and 

Ireland rugby legends and former 

Dundalk RFC minis players, Rob and 

Dave Kearney. 

The evening finished off with music from 

the very talented Cian McKeever and DJ 

Goosey spinning discs into the late hours 

to end the perfect day. 

If you are 

interested in 

taking up rugby 

or you would like 

to follow our 

updates, check out 

our social media 

channels: 

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Can you un-jumble 

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AZTO 

with 

John McKee 

A – Action: If you could be a superhero, 

which would you be? 

Dr Strange 

B – Boyhood: Who was your favourite 

sporting idol growing up? 

Cian Healy 

C – Childhood: What is your favourite 

childhood memory? 

Holidaying with family in Portugal 

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

meal? 

Plain ham and cheese pasta. No 

sauce. 

E – Education: What was your favourite 

subject in school? 

English literature 

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

A Star is Born 

G – Groove: Who is the best dancer in 

the squad? 

Martin Moloney 

H – Holiday: What’s your favourite 

holiday destination? 

The Algarve, Portugal 

I – Inside: Who is the worst to sit beside 

in the dressing room? 


J – Joker: Who is the funniest in the 

squad? 

Max O’Reilly 

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

of the day to play a match? 

Late afternoon 

L – Languages: How many languages 

can you speak? 

One…maybe one and a half with very 

little Spanish 

M – Music: Your favourite artist and 

song right now? 

The Stone Roses: 

I Wanna Be Adored 


N – Number: Do you have a lucky 

number? 

None, 13 if I had to choose. 

O – Others: What’s your favourite 

sport outside of rugby? 

Golf, cycling and judo 

P – Pal: Who is your best mate in 

the squad? 

Can’t offend anyone! So I’ll stay 

quiet on that. 

Q – Quirky: Who has the most 

interesting fashion sense? 


R – Red Carpet: Who is the most 

famous contact in your phone? 

Sir Dave Fagan 

S – Superstitions: Do you have 

any matchday routines? 

None! 

T – Trim: What’s the worst haircut 

you’ve ever had? 

The one I had last year! The long 

hair! 

U: Under pressure: Who in the 

squad would be the best in a bad 

situation? 

Charlie ‘Chuck’ Ryan 

V – Verified: How often do you 

use social media? 

Too often! Delete it every so 

often. 

W – Worst fear: What are you 

most scared of? 

Tom Clarkson. When he’s 

hungry 

X – X-ray: Have you ever broken 

any bones? 

Collar bone and wrist. 

Y – Youth: Where did you grow 

up? 

Belfast 

Z – Zoo: What’s your favourite 

animal? 

Dogs 


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A Towns Cup to Savour 

BY DEBBIE CARTY 

Kilkenny RFC are a 

provincial club with a 

strong tradition. 

The club is located in Foulkstown, 

on the outskirts of the city and 

in the heart of hurling country. 

Despite this, rugby is thriving in 

the marble city, with almost 600 

members and modern facilities, 

the club is well prepared for 

future success. 

2022 was the year for the county's 

rugby club to fly the flag of success 

for the county, successfully bridging a 

20-year gap to regain possession of the 

most unique and coveted junior rugby 

competition in Ireland, the Bank of 

Ireland Provincial Towns Cup. 

Under the mentorship of head coach 

Steve Ashmore, the club had come up 

short on two occasions, in 2014 and 

2015, losing both by narrow margins. 

The pain of these losses can still be felt 

amongst the playing group, but the 

lessons from the losses made them better 

value in victory. Ashmore departed the 

club in 2017 to explore other coaching 

opportunities, but his philosophy and 

blueprint remained. 

Fast forward five seasons, player coach 

David O'Connor worked tirelessly 

to assemble a cohort of players and 

coaching staff that could put Kilkenny 

back in contention for provincial 

silverware. 

Ironically, this included the return of 

the aforementioned Steve Ashmore as 

senior coach. Eamonn Dooley and Ray 

Pembroke came in as team managers 

with John Buckley added to the ticket 

as assistant coach and Mark Coughlan 

was appointed as team administrator. 

The squad was bolstered throughout, 

with focus on bringing home grown 

players back to the club. This saw the 

return of utility back Hugh Corkery from 

UL Bohemian, Andrew Warner from 

Old Wesley and Aiden McDonald from 

Cashel, while import Jake Pratley also 

joined. 

After a bye in the opening round, they 

beat Edenderry in a typically tough battle 

in Coolavacoose. Next up was a tricky 

quarter-final draw at home to old rivals 

Carlow, who are coached by Corey 

Carty, son of current Leinster Rugby 

President, Debbie. Luckily, the Noresiders 

got the home draw. Played in warm 

conditions the match was a quintessential 

cup tie. Kilkenny came out on top in a 

fiercely contested game. A semi-final 

against Dundalk awaited. 

Played in Foutnaughts, home of Naas 

RFC, Kilkenny raced into an early lead, 

but a resilient Dundalk chipped away to 

make it a real contest. In the final play of 

the game, Kilkenny's Podge Mahon, just 

managed to hold up a certain try and by 

the skin of their teeth the cats were back 

in the Provincial Towns Cup Final. 

With the experience of 2014 and 2015 

finals tucked away, and the methodical 

approach of Dave O'Connor and Steve 

Ashmore now to the fore, Kilkenny had a 

steely focus in their preparations. 

Ashbourne, the same side who beat them 

in 2014, were their final opponents but 

they were no match for Kilkenny as they 

beat their old foes 32-06 to banish the 

ghosts of 2014 and 2015.

The successful cup campaign was built 

on a strong foundation of club spirit and 

player commitment. 

The majority of the squad, 15 players, 

came through the club's youth system, 

this included recent graduates Hugh 

Corkery, Jack Walsh, Lyndon Brannigan, 

Ben Devlin, Jake McDonald and Aiden 

McDonald, who all came through 

from the same U-18s team, which was 

coached by the club's Director of Rugby 

Ger McDonald. 

Additionally, the side contained five 

Leinster Junior players, Davie O'Connor, 

Liam Caddy, Podge Mahon, Wes Carter 

and team captain Jake McDonald, with 

Connacht Junior Roy Stanley playing at 

blindside. 

The side had a strong Munster 

influence throughout. Interestingly, with 

consideration for today's opponents, 

Kilkenny has a tradition with the southern 

province, with Ian Dowling coming 

through the clubs youth system and 

Mick Galwey playing two seasons with 

the club after his retirement from the 

professional game. 

Additionally, past presidents include Mick 

O'Donovan, originally from Glandors in 

Co. Cork and Vinny O'Shea originally 

from Kinsale and ex-Munster and 

Waterpark legend John O'Neill both 

played and coached the club. 

The tradition remains today, assistant 

coach John Buckley originally hails from 

Limerick, and played his club rugby with 

Richmond, Simon O'Hara, Waterford 

City, Shane O'Riordan, Muskerry RFC 

and Sundays Well legend, Joe Moynihan 

all played important roles in the historic 

2022 win. 

For Kilkenny, the cup win is now in the 

past but the names of the squad will go 

down in Kilkenny sporting history for 

generations to come to aspire to. 


leinster 

squad 2022/23 

season 

Vakhtang Abdaladze #1263 

Prop 

DOB 6 Feb 1996 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 

WEIGHT 121kg (19st 1 lb) 

1 

CAP 

Michael Ala’alatoa #1301 

12 

CAPS 

Prop 

DOB 28 August 1991 

HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 

WEIGHT 126kg (19st 11lbs) 

Ryan Baird #1278 

Second Row 

DOB 26 July 1999 

HEIGHT 1.98m (6’ 6”) 


8 

CAPS 

Ed Byrne #1222 

Prop 

DOB 9 September 1993 

HEIGHT 1.80m (5’ 11”) 

WEIGHT 115kg (18st) 

6 

CAP 

Harry Byrne #1280 

2 

CAPS 

Outhalf 

DOB 22 April 1999 

HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 


Ross Byrne #1236 

Out-half 


HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 


14 

CAPS 

Thomas Clarkson #1285 

Prop 

DOB 22 February 2000 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Jack Conan #1223 

33 

CAPS 

7 

CAPS 

No 8 


HEIGHT 1.93m (6’ 4”) 

WEIGHT 110kg (17st 4 lbs) 


Will Connors #1264 

9 

CAPS 

Max Deegan #1256 

2 

CAPS 

Brian Deeny #1306 

Caelan Doris #1268 

23 

CAPS 

Back Row 


HEIGHT 1.96 (6’ 5”) 


No 8 

DOB 1 October 1996 

HEIGHT 1.93m (6’ 4”) 


Second Row 

DOB 2 March 2000 

HEIGHT 1.99m (6’ 6”) 


Back Row 


HEIGHT 1.94m (6’ 4”) 


Cormac Foley #1299 

Scrum-half 


HEIGHT 1.81m (5’ 11 ”) 

WEIGHT 90kg (14 st 2 lbs) 

Ciarán Frawley #1265 

Out-half 

DOB 4 December 1997 

HEIGHT 1.92m (6’ 3”) 


Tadhg Furlong #1220 

63 

CAPS 

13 

CAPS 

Prop 

DOB 14 November 1992 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Jamison Gibson-Park #1247 

Scrum-half 


HEIGHT 1.76m (5’ 9”) 


23 

CAPS 

Cian Healy #1142 

121 

CAPS 

2 

CAPS 

Robbie Henshaw #1251 

61 

CAPS 

9 

CAPS 

Jason Jenkins #1310 

1 

CAP 

Dave Kearney #1158 

19 

CAPS 

Prop 


HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Centre / Full Back 

DOB 12 June 1993 

HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 


Lock 

DOB 2 December 1995 

HEIGHT 2.03 m (6’ 8”) 


Wing / Full Back 


HEIGHT 1.81m (5’ 11”) 


Hugo Keenan #1253 

25 

CAPS 

Rónan Kelleher #1277 

18 

CAPS 

Jordan Larmour #1258 

30 

CAPS 

James Lowe #1262 

15 

CAPS 

Full Back 


HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Hooker 

DOB 24 January 1998 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 0”) 


Wing 


HEIGHT 1.78m (5’ 10”) 


Wing / Full Back 


HEIGHT 1.88m (6’ 2”) 



Joe McCarthy #1303 

1 

CAP 

Nick McCarthy #1241 

Tadgh McElroy #1312 

Luke McGrath #1206 

19 

CAPS 

Second Row 


HEIGHT 1.98m (6’ 6”) 


Scrum Half 


HEIGHT 1.8m (5’ 11”) 


Hooker 

DOB 16 June1997 

HEIGHT 1.78m (5’ 10’) 

WEIGHT 103kg (16st, 2lbs) 

Scrum Half 


HEIGHT 1.75m (5’ 9”) 


Michael Milne #1279 

Martin Moloney #1300 

Ross Molony #1233 

Charlie Ngatai #1311 

1 

CAP 

Prop 


HEIGHT 1.83m (6’ 0”) 


Back Row 


HEIGHT 1.88m (6’ 2”) 


Lock 

DOB 11 May 1994 

HEIGHT 2.00m (6’ 6”) 


Centre / Full Back 


HEIGHT 1.87 m (6’ 2”) 


Jimmy O’Brien #1272 

3 

CAPS 

Tommy O’Brien #1283 

Jamie Osborne #1294 

Scott Penny #1271 

Back Three 


HEIGHT 1.84m (6’ 0”) 


Wing 

DOB 28 May 1998 

HEIGHT 1.83m (6’ 0”) 


Centre 


HEIGHT 1.93m (6’ 4”) 

WEIGHT 97.5kg (15st 5lbs) 

Flanker 


HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Andrew Porter #1246 

48 

CAPS 

Garry Ringrose #1237 

47 

CAPS 

Rhys Ruddock #1167 

27 

CAPS 

Charlie Ryan 

Prop 


HEIGHT 1.84m (6’ 1”) 


Centre 


HEIGHT 1.87m (6’ 2”) 


Back Row 


HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 


Lock 


HEIGHT 2.01m (6’ 7”) 



James Ryan #1259 

48 

CAPS 

Johnny Sexton #1127 

109 

CAPS 

14 

CAPS 

Dan Sheehan #1286 

13 

CAPS 

James Tracy #1211 

6 

CAPS 

Lock 


HEIGHT 2.00m (6’ 7”) 


Out-half 


HEIGHT 1.88m (6’ 2”) 


Hooker 


HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 


Hooker 


HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Liam Turner #1287 

Centre 


HEIGHT 1.73m (5’ 8”) 


Josh van der Flier #1228 

45 

CAPS 

Flanker 


HEIGHT 1.87m (6’ 2”) 


for full squad profiles 

please scan this qr code 

Coaching 

Staff 2022/23 

Stuart 

Lancaster 

Senior Coach 

season 

Leo Cullen 

Head 

Coach 

Emmet 

Farrell 

Kicking Coach and 

Lead Performance Analyst 

Robin 

McBryde 

Assistant Coach 

SEÁN 

O’BRIEN 

CONTACT SKILLS Coach 

ANDREW 

GOODMAN 

ASSISTANT COACH 

Guy 

Easterby 

Head of Rugby Operations 


We always strive to be 

A beat ahead 

layahealthcare.ie

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

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

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

Your Club 

Your Country 

The IRFU Your Club Your Country 

Draw is back. This is the 12th 

consecutive year that the draw 

has been run. As ever, there are 

lots ofgreat prizes to be won. 

All prizes are funded by IRFU 

sponsors, and with 100% of the 

funds raised through ticket sales 

going to the selling clubs, this is a 

great way to support your local 

club. 

Last year, clubs across Leinster raised 

almost €400,000 through the Your 

Club Your Country Draw. The funds 

raised from the draw are an important 

part of the funding of club’s activities 

throughout the Province. The Your Club 

Your Country draw is an even more 

important source of income for clubs in 

these difficult times. The cost of running 

our clubs has risen dramatically in 

2022. These cost increases include 

a huge rise in the price of electricity 

and diesel. This means that running 

the floodlights for training and playing 

matches is much more expensive and 

pitches are more costly to cut and 

maintain. 

Your Club Your Country is a crucial 

source of funding for participating 

clubs. All money raised from ticket sales 

by each club goes back to that club. If 

your club sells €5,000 worth of tickets, 

your club gets €5,000. It’s as simple 

as that. 

Tickets are on sale now, and cost €10 

each. To make things even easier, tickets 

can be purchased online through the 

following link. 

https://www.irishrugby.ie/runningyour-club/club-funding/your-club-yourcountry/ 

Click on the link, select your club and 

purchase your tickets! Your support 

of club rugby in Leinster is greatly 

appreciated and essential to the 

continued growth and development of 

clubs. Please share the above link with 

family and friends, and help spread 

the word. Online sales will close on 

Wednesday 30th November, with 

the draw taking place on Friday 2nd 

December. 

Prizes 

Follow the Ireland Rugby Team in 

France for Rugby World Cup 2023 

Return flights, hotel accommodation, 

match tickets and spending allowance for 

two persons (Compliments of Vodafone) 

Win €5,000 

Cheque for €5,000 (Compliments of 

Energia) 

Italy v Ireland 2023 Guinness Six 

Nations VIP trip to Rome with the IRFU 

Patrons Club 



two persons (Compliments of Canterbury) 

Scotland v Ireland 2023 Guinness 

Six Nations VIP trip to Murrayfield, 

Edinburgh 



two persons (Compliments of Opel) 

Experience Business Class Service with 

Aer Lingus 

Transatlantic business class return flights 

to East Coast routes with Aer Lingus for 

two persons (Compliments of Aer Lingus) 

2023 Galway Races VIP package 

Corporate hospitality at the 

Galway races and overnight hotel 

accommodation for two persons 

(Compliments of Guinness) 

Aldi Shopping voucher 

Voucher to the value of €2000 

(Compliments of Aldi) 

Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort 

Voucher 

Voucher to the value of €1,000 

(Compliments of Lucozade Sport) 

Elverys Shopping voucher 

Voucher to the value of €1,000 

(Compliments of Elverys) 

VIP package to both 2023 Guinness Six 

Nations matches in Aviva Stadium 

(Compliments of The Hospitality 

Partnership) 


'Leinster Rugby' 

impress in Nairobi 

BY PAULA CULLEN 

A team of 

Kenyan boys 

playing with 

’Leinster 

Rugby’ are 

thriving in 

the Mukuru 

slums in 

Nairobi. 

The team continue to compete 

in tournaments and the Kenyan 

Rugby Union are also very 

supportive of the endeavour. One 

of the players, Dennis Wanyoro 

has already been offered a 

scholarship this year to a rugby 

school outside of Nairobi and 

is now involved in training with 

national coaches at Under-16 

level. 

Coaching takes place at the twice a week 

at the Rehabilitation Centre and the boys 

are currently in transition from tag rugby 

to full contact which they love. 

Our fundraising efforts are ongoing as 

we support the rehab centre financially, 

sponsoring their coaches for rugby, 

football and basketball. We sponsor 

their outings to matches which includes 

bus hire and supplying refreshments. Our 

sponsorship programme also includes 

educational and vocational support. 

Our current project is to replace the 

Mabati (corrugated shack) that serves 

Dennis Wanyoro with 

Paula Cullen and 

Adrienne Burke 

as a dining hall and is no longer fit for 

purpose. The new build is currently under 

construction. 

If you would like to make a donation 

towards our building project and rugby 

support you can subscribe to IBAN 

IE17BOFI90673425322997. 

Any donations before 20th December 

will be in with a chance to win a 

weekend for two in Hotel Skelligs, Dingle, 

Co. Kerry There is a runner-up prize of a 

pair of tickets to an upcoming Heineken 

Champions Cup game. 

Our small volunteer group are eternally 

grateful for the support that we have 

received from so many people over the 

years and hope that you will continue to 

support these vulnerable street boys from 

Mukuru slums. 

Asante Sana 

Paula Cullen 

Irene Plunkett 

Vera Smith 

Catherine Nolan 

Claire Chambers 

Adrienne Burke 

Theresa Heeran 


compiled by stuart farmer 

media services limited 

Leinster Player 

Statistics 

SQUAD 

CAP 

NO 

DEBUT 

2022/23 SEASON FOR LEINSTER LEINSTER CAREER 

ALL GAMES URC EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14/URC EPCR 

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

SINCE LAST TRY 

CAPS 

VAKHTANG ABDALADZE 1263 2 DEC 17 0+4 - - 0+4 - - - - - 0+21 2 10 0+20 2 10 0+1 - - 6 GEO 1 

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

RYAN BAIRD 1278 27 APR 19 3 1 5 3 1 5 - - - 22+19 8 40 20+14 8 40 2+5 - - 2 IR 8 

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

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

ED BYRNE 1222 9 FEB 14 3+2 - - 3+2 - - - - - 30+60 12 60 30+47 11 55 0+13 1 5 7 IR 6 

HARRY BYRNE 1280 28 SEP 19 - - - - - - - - - 21+15 6 183 21+14 6 178 0+1 - 5 15 IR 2 

ROSS BYRNE 1236 4 SEP 15 4+3 - 32 4+3 - 32 - - - 89+46 9 858 75+24 4 628 14+22 5 230 18 IR 14 

TOM CLARKSON 1285 29 AUG 20 1+1 1 5 1+1 1 5 - - - 7+13 1 5 7+13 1 5 - - - 1 - 

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

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

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

MAX DEEGAN 1256 3 DEC 16 3 - - 3 - - - - - 46+41 24 120 43+29 22 110 3+12 2 10 8 IR 2 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

JASON JENKINS 1310 17 SEP 22 6 2 10 6 2 10 - - - 6 2 10 6 2 10 - - - 3 SA 1 

DAVE KEARNEY 1158 16 MAY 09 4 1 5 4 1 5 - - - 154+23 53 265 128+16 46 230 25+6 7 35 4 IR 19 

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

RONAN KELLEHER 1277 22 FEB 19 1+1 - - 1+1 - - - - - 30+8 13 65 17+6 11 55 13+2 2 10 9 IR 18 

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

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

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

JOE MCCARTHY 1303 29 JAN 22 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - 8+5 1 5 8+2 1 5 0+3 - - 4 IR 1 

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

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


SQUAD 

CAP 

NO 

DEBUT 


ALL GAMES URC EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14/URC EPCR 

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

SINCE LAST TRY 

CAPS 

LUKE MCGRATH 1206 5 MAY 12 6 3 15 6 3 15 - - - 120+61 44 220 85+49 36 180 35+12 8 40 2 IR 19 

JOHN MCKEE 1307 23 APR 22 1+4 1 5 1+4 1 5 - - - 3+5 1 5 3+5 1 5 - - - 4 - 

MICHAEL MILNE 1279 28 SEP 19 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - 1+18 2 10 1+18 2 10 - - - 17 - 

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

ROSS MOLONY 1233 20 FEB 15 6+1 - - 6+1 - - - - - 88+58 5 25 78+43 4 20 10+15 1 5 23 - 

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

CHARLIE NGATAI 1311 17 SEP 22 4+2 - - 4+2 - - - - - 4+2 - - 4+2 - - - - - - NZ 1 

JAMIE OSBORNE 1294 30 JAN 21 2 - - 2 - - - - - 15+6 1 5 15+6 1 5 - - - 16 - 

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

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

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

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

SCOTT PENNY 1271 23 NOV 18 3 1 5 3 1 5 - - - 37+7 24 120 37+7 24 120 - - - 2 - 

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

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

RHYS RUDDOCK 1167 6 DEC 09 3 2 10 3 2 10 - - - 159+54 14 70 121+35 12 60 37+17 2 10 3 IR 27 

ROB RUSSELL 1302 3 OCT 21 4+1 3 15 4+1 3 15 - - - 7+3 3 15 7+3 3 15 - - - 1 - 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

LIAM TURNER 1287 23 OCT 20 2 - - 2 - - - - - 6+2 - - 6+2 - - - - - - - 

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

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

DEVIN TONER 1128 27 JAN 06 6+8 - - 6+5 - - 0+3 - - 212+68 4 20 146+47 4 20 63+21 - - 63 IR 70 

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

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

JOSH VAN DER FLIER 1228 11 OCT 14 15+1 7 35 7+1 1 5 8 6 30 90+24 18 90 52+18 8 40 38+6 10 50 4 IR 43 

KICKING 


ALL GAMES URC EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14/URC EPCR OVERALL 

SUCCESS 

RATE 

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

% 

- - - HARRY BYRNE - - - - - - - - - - 63 9 62 8 1 1 92 78.26% 

ROSS BYRNE 78.95% 13 2 - 13 2 - - - - 267 92 1 208 63 1 59 29 - 459 78.21% 

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

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

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

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


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Bank of Ireland 

Match Day Mascots 

Eduardo 

McFeely 

Age: 9 

School: St. Helen’s Senior National School, Portmarnock 

Class: Third class 

Hobbies: Drawing comics, going to see Leinster, playing 

soccer, Gaelic football and hurling 

Favourite player: James Lowe 

Jack 

Forde 

Age: 8 

School: Harold’s Cross-National School 

Class: Second class 

Hobbies: Music, Gaming, Sports 

Favourite player: Johnny Sexton 


ig picture 

Friday 28th Oct 2022 

Leinster debutants, from left, 

Ben Brownlee Tadgh McElroy 

and Charlie Tector after their 

side’s victory in the United Rugby 

Championship match between 

Scarlets and Leinster at Parc Y 

Scarlets in Llanelli, Wales. 


Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile 


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SUPPORTERS CLUB 

OLSC travel GUIDE 

HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS CUP 2022/23 

offical leinster 

supporters club 

OLSC UPDATE 

It has been great to be back 

in packed out RDS & Aviva 

Stadiums, as we now head 

into the next block of Leinster 

Rugby games, that include 

Interprovincials, URC & Heineken 

Champions Cup matches. With a 

number of away games over the 

next few months, the OLSC have 

been busy with helpful travel 

information & services to help 

us bring the #seaofblue to away 

grounds 

OLSC AIRPORT TRANSFER 

BUS TO LE HAVRE FOR 

RACING 92 AWAY GAME 

Tickets are now on sale for the 

OLSC Airport Bus Transfer Service 

for our Heineken Champions Cup 

away fixture in December Vs 

Racing 92 (in Le Havre). 

Le Havre Airport Transfer Bus – Tickets 

can be bought HERE and the cost of this 

bus transfer will be €40.00pp each way. 

The return OLSC transfer Bus from Paris 

Beauvais Airport direct to/from Le Havre 

City Centre will operate on the following 

dates & times: 

• Paris Beauvais Airport to Le Havre: 

Saturday 10th December – 9.30 am 

pick up 

(This will service the Ryanair Flight 

FR8018 arriving at 9.00 am) 

• Le Havre to Paris Beauvais Airport: 

Sunday 11th December – 11.45 am 

pick up 

(This will service the Ryanair Flight 

FR8004 departing at 4.35 pm) 

Airport Transfer Bus Tickets can be 

bought HERE. 

OLSC TRAVEL GUIDE – 

HEINEKEN CHAMPIONS 

CUP 2022/23 

Getting to see Leinster Rugby 

on the road in the Heineken 

Champions Cup this season is 

more affordable than you think! 

The OLSC has now produced a Travel 

Guide with helpful travel information 

to help us bring the #seaofblue to Le 

Havre & Gloucester in Europe. At the 

time of writing, there are still some good 

reasonable value available with flights 

etc to travel to Le Havre & Gloucester 

You can download 

the Travel Guide 

HERE. 

(Details of the 

Airport Bus Transfer 

OLSC Travel GUIDE 

Heineken Champions 

Services for the 

Cup 2022/23 

1 

Gloucester away 

fixture will be available early next week) 

OLSC SUPPORTERS BUS TO 

MUNSTER 

We are pleased to announce 

that tickets are now on sale 

HERE for the supporters’ bus 

to the upcoming away URC 

Interprovincial against Munster 

(26 December, Thomond Park) 

With thanks to the official Leinster Rugby 

partner, Aircoach, tickets are now on sale 

through Eventbrite and full details, prices, 

departure times, and locations are HERE. 

Match tickets are available to 

purchase from Ticketmaster. The OLSC 

recommends buying seats in the East 

Terraces & East Stand to keep the blue 

together 


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CHARITY PARTNER 

2022/23 

At Jigsaw, we understand and support young 

people’s mental health. 

Both online and in person, we give advice and support to 

help young people aged 12 to 25 years-old. 

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celebrating the 2011 and 2012 

Leinster Heineken Cup teams 

Today, we celebrate the 

Leinster rugby teams 

who won back-to-back 

Heineken Cups in 2011 

and 2012 as they get 

paraded on the pitch at 

half-time. 

A second-half comeback for 

the ages saw Leinster win the 

Heineken Cup for the second 

time in three years, defeating 

Northampton Saints in Cardiff’s 

Millennium Stadium. 

28 points from man-of-the-match Johnny 

Sexton saw Leinster come back to win 

comfortably, having been 22-6 down at 

half-time. 

Sexton scored two tries inside the 

opening 15-minutes of the second-half, 

with Nathan Hines adding a third just 

past the hour mark. Northampton were 

unable to cope with the barrage, leaving 

the 2000 champions shell-shocked. 

First-half tries from Phil Dowson, Ben 

Foden and Dylan Hartley gave the 

English side a 16-point buffer at the 

break, but they would not score in the 

second-half, as they tried in vain to cope 

with a Leinster onslaught. 

Leinster took the lead just before the hour 

mark, thanks to two Sexton tries that he 

converted, along with a penalty. They’d 

never look back as Hines would cross the 

tryline, and Sexton would add another 

penalty, for an almost flawless day from 

the kicking tee. 

Joe Schmidt’s side were the first Irish team to 

successfully retain the Heineken Cup, and only the 

second team to do so, after Leicester Tigers won the 

competition in 2001 and 2002. 

Following the win over Leicester in 2009 for the inaugural title, 

Leinster would become the first team to win Europe’s premier 

club competition three times in four years. 

After the magic of Murrayfield in 2009, here is how Leinster 

climbed to the top of the mountain once more (and stayed 

there) in the Millennium Stadium and Twickenham. 

2011: Leinster 33-22 Northampton Saints 

LEINSTER SCORERS: J. Sexton (2 tries, 3 conversions, 4 penalties), N. Hines (1 try) 

56 | www.leinsterrugby.ie 

LEINSTER: 

15: Isa Nacewa 

14: Shane Horgan 

13: Brian O’Driscoll 

12: Gordon D’Arcy 

(Fergus McFadden, 68) 

11: Luke Fitzgerald 

10: Jonathan Sexton 

(Ian Madigan, 78) 

9: Eoin Reddan 

(Isaac Boss, 72) 

1: Cian Healy 

(Heinke van der Merwe, 61) 

2: Richardt Strauss 

(Jason Harris-Wright, 79) 

3: Mike Ross 

(Stan Wright, 78) 

4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN 

5: Nathan Hines 

(Devin Toner, 78) 

6: Kevin McLaughlin 

(Shane Jennings, half-time) 

7: Seán O’Brien 

(Kevin McLaughlin, 46-47, blood sub) 

8: Jamie Heaslip

2012: Leinster 42-14 Ulster 

LEINSTER SCORERS: S. O’Brien (1 try), C. Healy (1 try), Penalty try, H. van der Merwe (1 try). S. Cronin (1 try), 

J. Sexton (3 conversions and 3 penalties), F. McFadden (1 conversion) 

After the drama of 2011, the 

following year was a more 

straightforward affair, as Leinster 

retained the title in the first 

All-Ireland Heineken Cup Final, 

against Ulster. 

A five-try performance gave the team a 

42-14 win in Twickenham, becoming only 

the second team to successfully defend 

the title. 

The 42 points scored by Leinster beat the 

previous record for a final of 34, which 

Leicester ran up in 2001. Their five-try 

haul also eclipsed Brive’s four from the 

1997 decider, and the winning margin 

of 28 points was another milestone for 

the province. It was also the first time a 

team went through the full Heineken Cup 

season unbeaten. 

Leinster led 14-6 at the break, as manof-the-match 

Seán O’Brien and Cian 

Healy both scored tries. Ulster could only 

respond with two Ruan Pienaar penalties. 

After the break, Leinster kept the pressure 

on with a penalty try, but Ulster kept in 

touch, thanks to a Dan Tuohy try and 

another Pienaar penalty. 

Heinke van der Merwe and Seán Cronin 

both scored tries in the final five minutes 

to add a well deserved gloss to the 

scoreline. 

LEINSTER: 

15: Rob Kearney 

(David Kearney, 72) 

14: Fergus McFadden 

13: Brian O’Driscoll 

(David Kearney, 66-72, blood sub) 

12: Gordon D’Arcy 

11: Isa Nacewa 

10: Jonathan Sexton 

(Ian Madigan, 74) 

9: Eoin Reddan 

(John Cooney, 74) 

1: Cian Healy 

(Heinke van der Merwe, 62) 

2: Richardt Strauss 

(Seán Cronin, 68) 

3: Mike Ross 

(Nathan White, 70) 

4: Leo Cullen CAPTAIN 

(Devin Toner, 58) 

5: Brad Thorn 

6: Kevin McLaughlin 

(Shane Jennings, 62) 

7: Seán O’Brien 

8: Jamie Heaslip 


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As Official Clean Air Partner to Leinster Rugby, 

Novaerus by McGreals Health provides both squad and 

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

Clean air indoors gives Leinster the edge, helping to 

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GETTING 

We check social media 

for the latest views 

and thoughts across 

SOCIAL 

the 12 counties 


THEN: Chris 

won 52 caps 

for Leinster 

between 1985 

and 1997. 

NOW: He 

operates 

seven 

McDonald’s 

franchises 

and lives 

in Kilkenny 

with his wife 

Louise. They 

have three 

sons Sam (26), 

Reuben (23) 

and Noah (20). 

Me and Martin Johnson 

Three lads and their Dad sporting their own Leinster jerseys! (Slightly proud Dad!) 

Chris Pim has often been 

described as the best Leinster 

player to have never played for 

Ireland. 

The boy from Mountmellick, educated 

at Newtown, the Quaker school in 

Waterford, attended Edinburgh University 

in the first of two overseas experiences to 

enhance his career. 

After one year playing for Old Wesley 

and the Leinster U19s, Chris moved to 

study agriculture in Edinburgh, a chance 

to play for Academicals where he came 

up against Scotland’s best. 

That meant competing against the likes 

John Jeffrey, Eric Paxton, Finlay Calder 

and Andy Irvine on a weekly basis in 

what was an unusual apprenticeship for 

an Irishman. 

“It was certainly a Golden Era for 

Scottish rugby. They were winning Grand 

Slams and Triple Crowns. I was playing 

first-team rugby against those men one 

year out of school which was an amazing 

experience. I absolutely loved it. 

“I finished college in Scotland and came 

home to become a farmer. At least, that 

was the plan. 

It really wasn’t what I fancied.” 

He ended up working with Beamish 

Crawford, a Cork brewery, at the time, 

for about eight years. 

“I was playing for Leinster and they 

thought it was a good marketing 

move. It was a seriously talented 

team with Paul Dean, Fergus 

Ahearne, Brendan Mullin, Des 

Fitzgerald and Neil Francis. 

“It brought nothing like the 

profile a Cork inter-county hurler 

would have. They probably 

didn’t quite realise that,” he 

giggles. 

“It suited me. It allowed me to 

play rugby, train in the morning 

and in the evening, and work 

during the day.” 

In terms of time in Blue, Chris’s 

career can be neatly divided into pre 

and post-New Zealand, the first from 


WHERE 

ARE 

THEY 

NOW? 

chris 

pimBY DES BERRY 


kicking everything. Eventually, he passed 

the ball and I absolutely buried him. 

“He took it in the spirit in which I 

intended. I actually ended up going on 

the beer with him later and it turned into 

one of the best nights of my life. What a 

lovely guy.” 

It wasn’t long before Chris returned to the 

more serious business of playing for Old 

Wesley and Leinster, partly to capture 

that elusive Ireland cap. 

The second time around, Chris returned 

early to fit in a Leinster joust with the All 

Blacks only to be dropped for Kelvin 

Leahy the week before the game. 

“I would say I was probably playing 

‘s&ite,’ to be honest. I had played three 

seasons back-to-back. It was taking its 

toll. I wasn’t at my best. 

“Also, I went to New Zealand playing 

my game and they changed it over there. 

When I came back, it didn’t really fit into 

Leinster’s style of play. 

“It took me a while to get my mojo back. 

Then again, maybe Kelvin was better 

than me. You don’t have to write that. I 

couldn’t be giving him the satisfaction,” 

he laughed. 

Sam and Reuben at Trinity red n black rugby ball (with Louise) 

1985-to-1988 and then from 1989-to- 

1997 when finishing up as the second 

most-capped Leinster player on 52 

appearances, one behind Phil Orr. 

“Imagine,” he quipped, “you would pick 

up that many in a season-and-a-half these 

days.” 

In 1988, Willie John McBride wondered 

how Chris would fancy a season down 

under and, through Jonny Moffett, 

arranged for a sabbatical to the Land of 

the Long White Cloud. 

“I played with the Hastings Club and for 

Hawke’s Bay against Manawatu and 

the all-conquering Auckland of Shaun 

Fitzpatrick,” he said. 

Twenty years later, Chris was invited 

to a Chamber of Commerce breakfast 

in Kilkenny where Ireland coach Joe 

Schmidt was the guest speaker. 

“How Joe ended up there, I will never 

know. He was surrounded by hurlers and 

lads who hadn’t a clue about rugby. They 

knew I played the game and asked me to 

sit beside him. I was delighted. 

“I was telling him about my New Zealand 

experience and Joe was able to tell me 

how he was playing for Manawatu that 

day. That was a good one. 

“Anyway, the following week, I played 

against Auckland, who had 13 All Blacks 

in their team, including the Whetton 

brothers, Michael Jones, Grant Fox. They 

were unbelievable. That was one of the 

best days of my life. 

“We came second in the match. But, 

I had a lovely time getting the ‘s&*t’ 

kicked out of me. 

“All I had in my mind was to crease Grant 

Fox and wear that as a badge of honour 

for the rest of my life. He spent the game 

In 1992/93, I didn’t make the Leinster 

squad and it allowed me to focus on Old 

Wesley where I was appointed captain 

for two years. 

It was the club’s best season ever, coming 

second in the AIL with a Wesley side that 

included 13 interpros, plus the best two 

players were the ones that weren’t, Derek 

Vincent and Adrian Hawe.” 

The presence of Wesley as a force in the 

AIL didn’t harm Chris’s interprovincial 

status, Leinster Manager Jim Glennon 

sitting the gobsmacked flanker down one 

day to offer him the province’s armband. 

“I was captain of Leinster for the first 

two seasons of the Heineken Cup and 

absolutely loved it,” he notes. 

“It was early days. The whole 

professional thing, the players really 

hadn’t a clue what it meant. 

Nobody had any idea what it would turn 

into. It was, literally, make it up as you 

go along. 


“When we heard we were going to 

Milan for our first ever first Heineken 

Cup match, it was ‘yeah, a weekend on 

the ‘pi*s’ nearly. It was a case of suck it 

and see. 

Really grainy photo of my dream 

day (with my mum and dad) in 

the back row with L. Dallagio and 

galaxy of stars. 

“It was seen as a better version of the 

mini-tours we use to go on to England 

for pre-season. And someone was going 

to give you a few quid for it. Fantastic. It 

was an adventure.” 

Chris’s Leinster career had come fullcircle, 

graduating from rookie to revered 

leader. 

“I had Brendan Mullin and Paul Dean at 

the start of my career when I knew very 

little about playing at that level. 

“Then, I had Paul Wallace, Shane Byrne, 

Mal O’Kelly, all that generation. They 

A nice half page shot 

on the front the sports 

supplement of the Irish 

Times during a very 

satisfying win over the 

‘Cookies’! 

were my babies by then. I had to look out 

for them. They book-ended my career.” 

In 1997, when the end came, Chris got 

out of bed one morning not knowing he 

would be knocking on new coach Mike 

Ruddock’s door later in the day to let him 

know he was finished. 

“Trevor Brennan was there annoying 

the ‘s&*te’ out of me at training. I knew 

I would have to look at this guy cutting 

lumps out of me for the rest of the season. 

“Not that I would walk away from a 

physical challenge. Don’t get me wrong. 

But, I could see the next generation was 

coming.” 

Since then, Chris has steadily built a 

personal chain of seven McDonald’s 

franchises situated in Kilkenny, Cashel, 

Dungarvan, Fermoy, Ballincollig and two 

in Cork city centre. 

“I found that the sense of team from rugby 

translated into running a business,” he 

says. 

“If you are the best that you can be, I’m 

not going to ask any more than that from 

you. It is the same ethos. 

“We are far more effective as a team than 

we are going off and doing our own thing 

to get promoted ahead of someone else. 

“The best way to be good is to make your 

mates look good.” 

It was always his way. 


OFF 

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Referees 

Corner 

BY DAN WALLACE 

Welcome to another edition of Referees 

Corner and a very warm welcome to 

today’s match referee Marius van der 

Westhuizen, supported by Keane Davison 

and Andre Fogarty. 

Marius was born in Cape 

Town, South Africa. He started 

refereeing first class matches 

in 2011, making his debut in 

the 2011 Vodacom Cup match 

between the Free State Cheetahs 

and the Falcons in Bloemfontein 

and took charge of ten 

matches in the 2011 Under-19 

and Under-21 Provincial 

Championships. 

He was named on SANZAR’s referee list 

for the 2014 Super Rugby season and 

was in charge of his first Super Rugby 

match when the Lions met the Crusaders 

in Johannesburg. He also officiated 

at the 2014 Commonwealth Games 

in Glasgow. We wish him a warm 

welcome today. 

One of our own recently 

promoted referees, Robbie 

Jenkinson is already making 

great strides on the IRFU 

National Referees Panel. I had 

the chance to catch up with 

him last week, when he was 

just back from touch judging 

for Andrew Cole in the Rugby 

Europe Competition between 

Black Lions and Batumi in Tbilisi. 

What made you decide to take 

up the whistle? 

My dad was a referee (now an assessor 

with the ARLB) so I’ve always had an 

interest in that side of the game. After 

I picked up a broken knuckle playing 

senior rugby with Skerries RFC he 

encouraged me to pick up the whistle 

and give it a go while I was rehabbing 

my hand. I played for a number of years 

after that but some more frustrating 

injuries down the line pushed me back 

towards refereeing where there were 

more opportunities to go further in the 

game. 

How long are you refereeing 

now and what level are you at? 

I’ve juggled refereeing and playing 

since 2014 but from 2019 until today 

I’ve just been refereeing. I’m currently 

on Level 2 of the National Panel. 

What is the biggest thing you 

have learned since you started 

out? 

The biggest thing I’ve learned since I’ve 

started out is that the perfect game in 

terms of a ref’s performance doesn’t 

exist. There will always be mistakes 

or something missed. It’s what I found 

hardest coming from playing where you 

practice set piece plays and patterns so 


much that you expect perfection from 

your role and anything less than that is 

almost unacceptable. It’s an important 

psychological skill being able to deal 

with, learn from and park your mistakes 

and it’s something I’m still trying to 

embrace. 

What was the process like to 

become a referee? 

It all starts with the new recruits’ course 

run in the Leinster Branch. This is your 

first taste of what refereeing is all about. 

It’s pretty daunting but exciting going 

into that environment at first with a 

lot of new and random faces but you 

quickly become tight knit with a lot of 

these people. You’ll have your trial 

game where you’ll be assessed by an 

ARLB assessor on your performance, 

knowledge of the laws and your 

management of player safety. If you get 

through your trial game you’ll be passed 

as a member. Thereafter there’s a huge 

amount of people and resources within 

the ARLB willing to help develop you as 

a referee, a lot of which have helped me 

get to where I am today. 

What is your favourite thing 

about refereeing? 

There’s many things I could list as my 

favourite thing about refereeing. To put 

it simply, it’s still being in the game. It’s 

the challenge and pressure of some 

games with the nerves and physical/ 

mental challenges that come with it that 

I love. It’s also the people you meet and 

the friends you make are what makes it 

great too. 

What is the most memorable 

game you have refereed so far? 

I refereed Leinster A v AIL XV at the 

very end of last season which was more 

of an exhibition game but the pace of 

the game and the skill level on show 

particularly at the end of the season 

when the fitness and skill levels are 

at the peak was incredible. The week 

before I was AR in my first URC game 

for Munster v Cardiff which was a 

surreal experience with it being my first 

taste of the pro game but that was a 

great buzz. A very memorable week. 

What is your pre–match routine 

like? 

I like to do a lot of band work, stretching 

& loosening up before doing any 

running or the actual warm up. The only 

superstition I have is that I need to give 

my dog Boo a belly rub before I leave 

for a game. Some crowds are very 

welcoming, shouting my dog’s name 

from the stands sometimes. 

What are your refereeing 

aspirations? 

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to get 

to the top, you need to dream big but 

there’s also a lot of short-term milestones 

that I’d like to hit which requires 

performing well and learning from every 

experience in the meantime. 

For aspiring referees what do 

you think will make you improve 

as a referee? 

Aside from the vitals like good fitness 

levels and law knowledge, experience 

& improvement comes from your 

failures and mistakes. The more you ref, 

the more opportunities you’ll have to 

iron out any of those bad habits and 

mistakes which will ultimately make 

you a better ref. Being coachable and 

soaking up constructive criticism will 

help drive improvement. 

What advice would you give to 

someone thinking about taking 

up refereeing? 

I would just say give it a go! You might 

love it, you might not, but at least you’ll 

know. Refereeing has given me some 

great friends, incredible memories and 

plenty of unbelievable opportunities to 

date. you never know where it could 

take you. 

Want to get 

involved? 

Feel free to make contact 

with the Leinster Rugby 

Referees at hayley.whyte@ 

leinsterrugby.ie 

If you are interested in 

becoming a referee get in 

contact with us through our 

Facebook, our website 

www.leinsterrugbyreferees.ie 

or through twitter 

@leinsterreferee. 


ank of ireland 

MATCHDAY MINIS 

Stillorgan- 

Rathfarnham RFC 

Players: Frankie Bennis, Tadgh Brennan, Ollie Conlon, 

Eanna Courtney, Lihann De Wet, Sean Dempsey, 

Harry Greene, Ronan Kealy, Ruben Keenan, Finn Masterson, 

Brian McCrae, Milo McKeogh, Archie Moffett, Dylan Morgan, 

Ruadhan Murphy, Fiachra O’Sullivan, Paddy Shanahan, 

Cormac Smith, Tiziano Spina, James Yip 

North Meath RFC 

Players: Daire Beacroft, Daire Tully, Danny Keane, 

Denas Gudziunas, Hugh Gilsenan, James Cassidy, 

Kristian Kellett, Matthew Loganathan, Paddy O’Sullivan, 

Turlough Daly, James Carville, Philip Tevlin, Tom Clinton, 

James Lyman, Lorcan O’Connor, James Smith, Dathai Byrne 

Navan RFC 

Players: Bebo Ayesa, Sean Parlour, Lucus Heverin, 

Luke Byrne, Seth Walsh, Luke Gaffney, Tadhg Hogan, 

Jack Colgan, Dylan Smith, Luke Reynolds Donnelly, 

Kallum Markey MaGoona, Ashan Dharmasena, Liam Crinnion, 

Ross Mulvany, Senan Kavanagh, Evan Quirke McGrath, 

Gerard Burns, Ethan Downes, Conor Wyse, Leon Egan 

Kilkenny RFC 

Players: Danny Greene, Danny Reade, Paddy O’Meara, 

Sam Harper, John Heslin, Darragh Costello, Daniel Maher, 

Jack Hanafin, Micheal Fitzgerald, Sean Dooley, 

Eanna Costello, Joe Hanrahan, Scott Cooke, 

Tommy Condon, Tom O’Brien, Liam O’Callaghan, 

Sam Baird, Mark Byrne, Bobby Aylward 


KNOWING WHAT ADVICE TO TAKE 

IS ESSENTIAL IN THIS GAME. 

OFFICIAL LEGAL ADVISOR 

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

beauchamps.ie

Van der Flier Feeling ‘Very 

Honoured And Grateful’ To 

Join Elite Group 

Josh van der 

Flier admitted 

it ‘still hasn’t 

sunk in’ as 

he savoured 

joining a list 

of greats of 

the game as 

the 2022 World 

Rugby Men’s 15s 

Player of the 

Year. 

Van der Flier added to his already 

impressive list of individual 

accolades this year, edging out 

his Leinster and Ireland captain 

Johnny Sexton, 2021 winner 

Antoine Dupont from France, and 

South Africa centre Lukhanyo Am 

for the prestigious global honour. 

The Wicklow-man has certainly had a 

year to remember having already won 

the Leinster Players Player of the Year, the 

Rugby Writers Ireland Player of the Year, 

the Rugby Players Ireland Player of the 

Year as well as the European Player of 

the Year. 

He will have a couple of days off, 

including a long-awaited return to the 

golf course, before getting stuck back 

in with Leinster for some big BKT United 

Rugby Championship games and the 

start of their Heineken Champions Cup 

campaign. 

Speaking in the aftermath of the awards 

ceremony, which was held in Monaco’s 

Salle des Étoiles, van der Flier said: “Even 

though I knew I was nominated, honestly 

it hasn’t really sunk in (that I’ve won the 

award), but feeling very honoured. 

“I’m very grateful, I suppose, for the team 

that I’ve been fortunate to be a part of, 

the Irish team, and how well we’ve done 

this year. 

“They showed a highlights reel for the 

nominees, all my tries were set up by 

someone else or they were maul tries 

where everyone else did all the other 

work and I just put the ball down. 

“It’s been one of those seasons where 

I’ve got on the end of a few, the bounce 

of the ball went my way. 

“It was pretty cool to be even nominated 

alongside Lukhanyo, Antoine and Johnny 

as well. It was a very special moment to 

be announced as the winner.” 

Van der Flier has been ultra-consistent in 

his performances for both Leinster and 

Ireland in 2022, so much so that he is 

now both the reigning World Rugby and 

EPCR European Player of the Year – a 

feat only achieved by Dupont before, just 

twelve months ago. 

The 29-year-old flanker started 2022 

with a bang, as he scored three tries in 

his first two games of the year against 

Montpellier and Bath Rugby in the 

Heineken Champions Cup. 

He then played in every minute of 

Ireland’s 2022 Six Nations campaign 

scoring tries against France and Scotland, 

as Ireland narrowly missed out on the title 

to the French. 

On his return to Leinster, van der Flier 

helped them to a 34-19 win away to 


Munster to keep Leinster in first place in 

the URC. 

As we entered the knock-out stages of the 

Heineken Champions Cup, van der Flier 

wore number seven for both legs of the 

last 16 tie against Connacht, with Leinster 

winning 26-21 in Galway, before a 56- 

20 win at Aviva Stadium. 

Up next was a trip to Welford Road and 

a tough tie against Leicester Tigers. Van 

der Flier scored a pivotal try off the back 

of a lineout to help Leinster claim a 23-14 

win to set up a semi-final with Toulouse. 

Once again, van der Flier touched 

down for a key try from a Johnny Sexton 

offload as Leinster reached another 

Champions Cup final with a 40-17 win. 

Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be in Marseille 

as La Rochelle scored a try in the dying 

moments to claim a 24-21 win. 

At the end of the 2021/22 season, van 

der Flier set his sights on a tour to New 

Zealand and he was a pivotal member 

of the Ireland squad that won a first ever 

series away to New Zealand. He played 

in all three test matches, scored a try in 

the final test and played all but the last 

eight minutes of the final test. 

Van der Flier helped Ireland to complete 

a hat-trick of scalps of the Southern 

Hemisphere’s big three when starting 

against South Africa and Australia in the 

Bank of Ireland Nations Series. 

It is very much a case of hard work 

paying off though for van der Flier in 

terms of his current rich vein of form. He 

has had a few setbacks along the way, 

including his ACL injury in 2018, and 

they have certainly motivated him to get 

the best out of his game. 

This time last year Ireland head coach 

Farrell, when praising van der Flier’s 

ever-improving displays, reckoned that 

‘something clicked with Josh when Will 

Connors was coming onto the scene’. 

The man himself acknowledged as 

much tonight as he spoke about 

managing to blend aspects of his 

game better than he has in the 

past and ‘getting more all-round 

performances’. 

“I suppose if I was to look at a period 

that has definitely kicked me on 

was two years ago around now, when 

I wasn’t getting picked for some games 

with Leinster. Will Connors was starting, 

he was playing brilliantly. 

I wasn’t getting picked for some of the 

Irish games as well. I was kind of in 

and out of the team. I realised, I mean I 

always try to improve, but I was like, ‘I 

need to kind of up my game or I won’t be 

playing for Leinster or Ireland’. 

“That was definitely a thing that drove me 

on. I probably managed to get a good 

blend the last year or so of the various 

bits of my game that had been good over 

a few years, I just managed to get it to 

performances on the weekend. 

“As things fall into place I guess, I 

managed to stay fit and got a few 

bounces of the ball and obviously was in 

a great Leinster team and a really, really 

good Irish team.” 

It was a memorable night in general for 

Irish Rugby at the World Rugby Awards, 

with St Mary’s College RFC man Terry 

Kennedy crowned the World Rugby 

Men’s Sevens Player of the Year, and 

van der Flier, Sexton, Tadhg Furlong and 

Tadhg Beirne selected on the Men’s 15s 

Dream Team. Unfortunately, another 

Leinster man nominated on the night, Dan 

Sheehan, came up short in the Break 

Through Player of the Year Award. 

Van der Flier is only the third Irishman 

to win rugby’s biggest individual 

honour, following in the footsteps of the 

legendary Keith Wood, the inaugural 

recipient back in 2001, and Sexton who 

was chosen on the back of Ireland’s 

2018 Grand Slam triumph. 

To be up there now with national 

captains, record breakers and World 

Cup winners, van der Flier is well aware 

of the enormity of it all given how closely 

he followed the awards during his school 

days in Wesley College, in Dublin. 

“I remember in school I used to know 

off by heart, every year, who had 

won the World Player of the Year,” 

he explained. 

“I’d say if you had asked me today 

I would have been able to rattle it off 

as well! It’s crazy really to be up there 

with them (Wood and Sexton). 

“Obviously it’s a nice moment, but I do 

have to think it’s as a result of how well 

the team’s performed and obviously 

being on a winning team helps for sure.” 


COUNTRY SCOTLAND HOME GROUND SCOTSTOUN STADIUM FOUNDED 1872 CHAMPIONS x1 

last time out 

glasgow warriors 37 

benetton rugby 0 

28 OCT 2022 | ROUND 7 · URC | SCOTSTOUN STADIUM | CRAIG EVANS (WRU) 

Glasgow maintains perfect 

home record in URC 

A dominant display saw Glasgow 

Warriors record a 37-0 victory 

over Benetton at Scotstoun, as 

Franco Smith’s men made it 15 

points from a possible 15 at home 

in the 2022/23 BKT United Rugby 

Championship. 

Glasgow Warriors: Josh McKay, Sebastian Cancelliere, Kyle Steyn, Stafford McDowall (Tom 

Jordan, rep ‘73), Rufus McClean, Domingo Miotti, Jamie Dobie (Sean Kennedy, rep ‘60), Oli 

Kebble (Nathan McBeth, rep ‘58), Fraser Brown (Jonny Matthews, rep ‘58), Murphy Walker 

(Simon Berghan, rep ‘58), Sintu Manjezi, Alex Samuel (Lewis Bean, rep ‘66), Ryan Wilson (Euan 

Ferrie, rep: ‘50), Gregor Brown, Sione Vailanu (JP Du Preez, rep ‘58) 

Tries: Vailanu 2, Canceliere, McDowall, Brown. McLean 

Conversions: Miotti (2/6) 

Penalties: Miotti (1/1) 

Glasgow were on top from the 

opening whistle, but it took 

until the eleventh minute for the 

opening score. Spotting a gap, 

Sione Vailanu backed himself on 

his own 10-metre line, picking and 

charging through the middle of 

the ruck. With the defence closing 

in, an excellent dummy saw the 

Tongan gallop over unopposed, 

beaming ear to ear as he raced 

over untouched. 

Vailanu continued to be a menace 

with ball in hand, charging into contact 

with glee whenever the chance arose. 

Glasgow’s ability to recycle the ball 

through the phases would earn them 

a penalty straight in front of the posts, 

a chance Domingo Miotti would duly 

dispatch for an 8-0 lead on the half-hour 

mark. 

Benetton: Rhyno Smith, Ignacio Mendy, Jaoquin Riera (Marcus Watson, rep: ‘56), Marco 

Zanon, Mattia Bellini, Giacomo Da Re, Dewaldt Duvenage (Alessandro Garbisi, rep: ‘50), 

Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro (Thomas Gallo, rep: ‘40), Federico Zani (Manuel Arroyo, rep: ‘45), 

Tiziano Pasquali (Filippo Alongi, rep ‘68), Scott Scrafton (Marco Lazzaroni, rep ‘62), Carl 

Wegner, Giovanni Pettinelli (Alessandro Izekor, rep: ‘56), Sebastian Negri Da Ollegio (Braam 

Steyn, rep ‘62), Henry Time-Stowers (Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro 52-58) 

A fractious opening to the half would 

give way to a scintillating conclusion, 

as the Warriors would bring their 

supporters to their feet twice within a 

matter of minutes. There was a distinctly 

Argentinian flavour to the home side’s 

second of the evening, as Jamie Dobie’s 


chip ahead was regathered by Miotti. 

The fly-half timed his draw and pass 

perfectly to ride a high tackle from 

Rhyno Smith – for which the Benetton 

man earned a yellow card – to send 

Sebastian Cancelliere over under the 

posts. The conversion made it 15-0. 

Just moments later, the Scotstoun crowd 

would be roaring their approval once 

more. A free-flowing first-phase move 

saw Josh McKay rip through a gap to 

race from 22 to 22, leaving the full-back 

with the simplest of tasks to send Stafford 

McDowall over unopposed. Miotti 

added the extras, and Glasgow had a 

22-0 lead at the interval. 

The Warriors would pick up where they 

left off at the start of the second period, 

dominating both possession and territory 

as they went in search of a bonus-point. 

Only an intervention from Thomas Gallo 

would prevent the fourth try from arriving 

from a lineout maul on 47 minutes, 

and Glasgow didn’t hang around in 

making their advantage count. Fraser 

Brown’s lineout throw to Alex Samuel 

was pinpoint, before the hooker tucked 

himself away at the back of the maul 

to rumble over for the score. Miotti’s 

conversion drifted wide, but the Warriors 

were in total control. 

Try number five would arrive in almost 

identical fashion after 57 minutes, with 

only the try-scorer changing in the 

process. After Euan Ferrie was denied 

images: inpho.ie 

a debut try moments after coming off 

the bench by some last-ditch defence, 

another short-range lineout maul saw 

Vailanu smuggled over for his second of 

the night. 

Glasgow’s domination was total, with 

replacement props Nathan McBeth and 

Simon Berghan demolishing the Benetton 

scrum on multiple occasions as Glasgow 

pressed for try number six. Ferrie would 

once again go close, whilst Sean 

Kennedy’s dart for the line almost saw 

the scrum-half dot down for the score. 

When the try did arrive, it came from 

a familiar scorer – albeit in somewhat 

unconventional fashion. Kyle Steyn’s 

expert steal at the breakdown won his 

side a penalty, with the eagle-eyed 

Miotti spotting space in the backfield 

and booting long. Rufus McLean’s 

pace saw him outstrip the defence, 

only to tie himself in knots as he looked 

to gather the ball. The winger would 

eventually dive on the loose ball to score, 

completing the bonus point win. 


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Franco Smith 

Head Coach 

Franco Smith is a former South Africa 

international, playing nine times for the 

Springboks between 1997 and 1999. 

He played for most of his career in his 

native South Africa, before spells in 

Wales and Italy. Smith’s coaching career 

has lasted almost two decades, including 

a period as head coach of Italy. He 

was appointed head coach of Glasgow 

Warriors ahead of the 2022/23 season. 

Kyle Steyn 

Captain 

Kyle Steyn was named Glasgow 

Warriors captain ahead of the 2022/23 

season and has made more than 50 

appearances for the club. The Scotland 

international is South African-born, 

and qualifies through his Glasgowborn 

mother. The 28-year-old moved 

to the Scotstoun club in 2019. He has 

represented Scotland in both Sevens 

and XV, and made his full debut in 2020 

against France. 

glasgow squad 

FORWARDS 

LEWIS BEAN 

LOCK 

SIMON BERGHAN 

PROP 

JAMIE BHATTI 

PROP 

FRASER BROWN 

HOOKER 

GREGOR BROWN 

FLANKER 

SCOTT CUMMINGS 

LOCK 

RORY DARGE 

FLANKER 

ALLAN DELL 

PROP 

JACK DEMPSEY 

FLANKER 

JP DU PREEZ 

LOCK 

ZANDER FAGERSON 

PROP 

MATT FAGERSON 

FLANKER 

EUAN FERRIE 

LOCK 

TOM GORDON 

FLANKER 

RICHIE GRAY 

LOCK 

OLI KEBBLE 

PROP 

SINTU MANJEZI 

LOCK 

JONNY MATTHEWS 

HOOKER 

NATHAN MCBETH 

PROP 

ALLY MILLER 

FLANKER 

ENRIQUE PIERETTO HEILAND 

PROP 

ALEX SAMUEL 

LOCK 

LUCIO SORDONI 

PROP 

GEORGE TURNER 

HOOKER 

SIONE VAILANU 

FLANKER 

MURPHY WALKER 

PROP 

RYAN WILSON 

FLANKER 

BACKS 

SEBASTIAN CANCELLIERE 

WING 

JAMIE DOBIE 

SCRUM-HALF 

WALTER FIFITA 

WING 

COLE FORBES 

WING 

JOEL HODGSON 

FLY-HALF 

GEORGE HORNE 

SCRUM-HALF 

SAM JOHNSON 

CENTRE 

HUW JONES 

CENTRE 

TOM JORDAN 

FLY-HALF 

SEAN KENNEDY 

SCRUM-HALF 

STAFFORD MCDOWALL 

CENTRE 

JOSH MCKAY 

FULLBACK 

RUFUS MCLEAN 

WING 

DOMINGO MIOTTI 

FLY-HALF 

ALI PRICE 

SCRUM-HALF 

OLLIE SMITH 

FULLBACK 

KYLE STEYN 

WING 

ROSS THOMPSON 

FLY-HALF 

SIONE TUIPULOTU 

CENTRE 

DUNCAN WEIR 

FLY-HALF 


BY DES BERRY 

TULLOW RFC 

Some are all about being deeply 

embedded in the local community. 

Some want to maintain their 

status as a small social club, a 

place where friends gather. 

Others want it all. They want to be at the 

heart of the community and to climb the 

ladders that are the various Leagues all 

the way to the All-Ireland League. 

Tullow is one of those clubs that is always 

reaching for the stars from the relatively 

humble playing ground of Division 1B of 

the Leinster Junior League. 

“The club must follow the team. That is the 

view in Tullow,” says Director of Rugby 

Tom Nolan. 

“We would love to progress onto the AIL. 

We have good young players at the club 

and good people around them.” 

Tom doesn’t have to look too far to find 

the recipe for this type of success. 

“Enniscorthy has a wonderful model 

there, building from within. Financially, it 

is the only sustainable model to get to the 

AIL in a rural club.” 

Part of the journey has to be the progress 

in the quality of the facilities available. 

An artificial pitch, first suggested by Sean 

Club in 

Focus 

The definition of 

success is different for 

every Junior club. 

O’Brien and Tom, was seen as a sign of 

moving with the times. 

In May 2019, Tullow started the 

€500,000 project by getting it passed 

at an Annual General Meeting before 

securing planning permission and finance 

from a Leader grant, a rural development 

designed to stimulate economic activity, 

valued at 75% of the total cost. 

A 3G Project Team of Noel Nolan, 

Paddy Browne, Pat Byrne, Eddie Horkan, 

Ger O’Brien, Madeline Ryan and Tom 

got to work on making the dream a 

reality. 

The Project required that the Leader grant 

application, the Planning application and 

the Loan application had to be pursued 

and guaranteed. They were. 

“Sean played a big part by driving it on 

and assuring any of the doubters in the 

club that it was the right thing to do for 

Tullow,” states Tom. 

“He has proved to be correct. The 

benefits are there to be seen. Training is 

never cancelled. The numbers at underage 

have swollen.” 

Like everyone else, Tullow had to 

overcome the adversity of the pandemic 

at a time when they had just broken 

ground on the new 3G pitch. 

“It happened the week of lockdown. 

We started on the Tuesday of that week 

and we had to remove all the machinery 

from the site on Thursday, when the 

government announcement came. All that 

was left was a big hole running down the 

middle of the pitch. 

“It was a big disappointment. But, we had 

to accept it for the good of all,” he says. 

“We got the go-ahead when construction 

opened back up. It didn’t take us long to 

complete the work. It probably helped 

that there was no one else out in the 


club at the time, other than those directly 

involved in the project. 

“Probably, the biggest body-blow during 

it came when our club stalwart Ger 

O’Brien passed away from Covid-related 

illness. He was instrumental in so much of 

what was going on in the club.” 

As time moved on and the country 

opened up again, the value of the new 

pitch was clear to see. 

“We are into the second season of it 

being used. It is only now we see the full 

value of it. It has come into its own,” Tom 

says. 

“Previously, we were spending so much 

money on repairing the grass pitches, 

it was a joke. It was no fault of the 

contractors, or anyone else. It was simply 

footfall. 

“The artificial surface has led to 

increased numbers into the club and it 

has definitely increased the number of 

smiles from ‘mammies’ going out the 

gate because the car is not destroyed 

with muck and the kids are not covered 

head-to-toe in it. 

“On Sunday mornings, the numbers 

at minis have grown. The last time I 

was down, there were 230 little heads 

running around from ages six-to-12. 

“They come into us from Baltinglass, 

Rathvilly, Fenagh, down towards the 

Fighting Cocks area, down to the borders 

of Wexford and Wicklow and, of course, 

Tullow. 

“It is almost a case of never turning out 

the lights. The pitch is constantly in use 

through the various teams in the club and 

the schools in the area, both primary and 

secondary, coming out to play on it. 

“In total, we reach out to about 39 

schools through the Leinster programme, 

some of which are very small rural 

places. There could be as few as 30 in 

some of them.” 

The drive to improve didn’t end on the 

pitch. In September, a revamp of the 

gymnasium was completed. 

“It included construction work on the 

rooms, clearing them out, and a total 

refurbishment of all machines, bringing 

them up to date. That has been wellreceived 

by the players. 

“It is also offered as a facility to nonplaying 

members, who pay €100 for 

access to the gym and the walking track. 

That’s not too bad a deal.” 

This desire to attract people to the club is 

a reflection of the community as a whole. 

“The club is getting its buzz back. Covid 

changed the culture of general life 

around the town. People got used to 

staying at home. The bars were empty. 

It has started to turn around. I feel it is 

coming back. 

“We had a local derby against Carlow 

last month. There was a great crowd 

there and a great atmosphere at Oak 

Park. We are lucky in the League this 

year. We have Wicklow, Athy and 

Carlow in 1B. Those local rivalries 

always generate interest.” 


Try Leinster’s Next Big Dish 

from Mao At Home today

Of course, Sean O’Brien has long been 

held up as Tullow’s main man. The 

Ireland and British & Irish Lions flanker’s 

application to rejoin his old club was 

dashed for this season. 

“It was a disappointment for us all in 

Tullow, a disappointment for Sean too,” 

adds Tom. 

“It would have been a real crowd-pleaser 

here and it would have brought closure to 

his career. The rules are the rules. They 

are there for the best intentions of all. 

“We went through the process and the 

viewpoint was taken by the administrators 

of the game that it wasn’t appropriate 

for Sean to play Junior rugby. It wasn’t 

anything personal. We move on. 

“He still has a big role to play at the club 

and we still haven’t given up the hope 

that he will wear the jersey again.” 

O’Brien’s pioneering career has opened 

the door for the likes of Lansdowne prop 

Adam Deay, Buccaneers and Connacht’s 

front row forward Charlie Ward and 

talented Old Belvedere, Leinster and 

Ireland out-half Dannah O’Brien. 

“It is very important we have these 

players coming through the club. It 

gives the kids someone to look up to, to 

show them it can be done. For example, 

Dannah was down coaching the U14 

girls recently.” 

It is this commitment to give back that 

drives Tullow forward.

Robert McDerm 

Former President of Leinster 

Rugby, Robert McDermott, 

recently achieved one of his 

life’s ambitions when he 

climbed to Mount Everest Base 

Camp. Here in his own words is 

the story of that adventure... 

Most people have their bucket list: 

a list of things they most want to 

do in their lifetime. This Autumn, 

I was fortunate to tick off one 

item from my bucket list. It was a 

lifelong ambition of mine to get to 

Everest Base camp. 

Mount Everest is the highest mountain in 

the world at 8,848 metres. Many people 

have tried to climb Everest. Over the 

years it has been the setting for many 

films and documentaries. It is located in 

the Himalayas. The China - Nepal border 

runs across its summit. Base Camp is at 

an altitude of 5,510 metres. That was 

my target. I set off in mid-September 

with my friend Dave Clancy who I met 

in college in 1980. We have stayed in 

touch since. The Base Camp expedition 

was expertly led by Pat Falvey, a legend 

in the mountaineering world. Pat runs 

his adventure company from Kerry. He 

has summited Everest twice and was the 

first person in the world to complete the 

Seven Summits twice. For good measure 

he has also reached the North and South 

Poles. It was great to have his experience 

on our trip and his stories of his exploits 

had us all enthralled. 

Our group of ten flew from Dublin 

to Kathmandu, via Istanbul. Nepal 

suffered a huge earthquake in 2015 

registering 7.8 on the Richter scale which 

caused devastation in Kathmandu and 

surrounding areas. The after-effects of the 

quake can still be seen in the city today. 

By western standards there were a lot of 

differences as we drove to our hotel. The 

first difference we noticed was the lack of 

street signs and traffic lights which lead 

to some interesting driving habits. The 

electric cables which were only a little 

above head height were also a source 

of awe for our group. Kathmandu is a 

city of One Thousand Temples and the 

locals are very good at going to one 

most days. The Monkey Temple, the city 

crematorium and the Temple of the Virgin 

Goddess were sights worth seeing and 

totally different to our western culture. 

Some of us had last minute shopping of 

mountain gear we required, especially 


ott - Everest 

sleeping bags that were good to -10 

degrees celsius. 

After a couple of days acclimatising and 

resting, we had a 4am start to make it 

to the airport and catch the first flight to 

Lukla airport in the mountains. Lukla is 

known as the most dangerous airport in 

the world. It is 527 metres in length and 

goes uphill on landing. Once we claimed 

our bags we met our three local guides 

for our adventure, as well as the Sherpas 

who carried our luggage for the duration 

of our trip. This left us with a rucksack 

which contained our daily essentials. 

These Sherpas are the real heroes of the 

trip as they ferried goods up and down 

the mountain. Their stamina never ceased 

to amaze us all. There is no motorised 

transport on the mountains and the only 

way of moving about is on foot or on 

horseback. As we started our journey 

we were warned to take it easy as we 

were now at altitude. We could all feel 

the shortage of air in our breathing. It is 

quite a shock to the system to experience 

high altitude for the first time. Our group 

had different experiences of it, some with 

dizziness, others had an upset stomach. 

Personally, the first few nights I awoke 

suddenly due to shortness of breath. 

Definitely a good way to ruin your night’s 

sleep! 

Day 2 of the trek was probably the 

toughest day as we climbed into Namche 

Bazar, a trading post town in the 

Himalayas. It is at 3,440 metres above 

sea level and took us seven hours trekking 

to reach it. We stayed here for two nights 

which was useful for acclimatisation 

and on our second day here we trekked 

to the famous Everest Hotel at 3,880 

metres which offered us our first view of 

Mount Everest. This was quite a thrilling 

experience and quite moving as well. 

You now know you are at high altitude 

because you are looking down at the 

helicopters flying below you as they make 

their way to Base Camp. 

All in all it took eight days to get to 

Base Camp and four to return. As you 

get higher the weather gets colder and 

the facilities get sparser. The tea houses 

we stayed in are very welcoming and 

are mainly made from plywood so it is 

mainly shelter they offer, not warmth. The 

main room in the house has a big fire. 

The primary source of fuel for this fire 

comes from yak dung. Yaks are similar 

to cows and are used for transport and 

food. The food is basic but adequate and 

bearing in mind that everything has to be 

carried the variety is limited. Also as you 

climb you can see the lack of birds and 

vegetation. The nearer you get to Base 

Camp the terrain is made up mostly of 

rocks and boulders which dominate the 

landscape. As you approach Base Camp 

the surrounding glaciers are melting due 

to climate change. This makes for some 

interesting sound effects beneath your 

feet! We were all elated on reaching 

Base Camp. The camp was quite full with 

lots of different nationalities celebrating 

their achievement. We spent an hour 

there before we had to return to Gorak 

Shep, the nearest village to Base Camp 

which sits on a frozen lake. 

The scenery of the snow capped 

mountains and the quietness are 

ingrained in my memory as is the 

friendliness of the people and their 

smiling faces. Their happiness with their 

lot in life is a wonder given that they 

lack most of our western comforts. Their 

greeting of “Namaste”, which translates 

to ‘I see the good in you’, is a great motto 

to live your life by. I am asked did I enjoy 

the holiday? A holiday it was not, an 

experience of a lifetime it most definitely 

was. I would definitely recommend it if 

you have an interest in heading to Base 

Camp, but fitness is required along with 

mental strength as you will have some 

bad days on the trip, but it is worth it.” 



Charlie 

Tector 

Charlie 

Tector doesn’t 

remember the 

first time 

he touched a 

rugby ball, 

but he has 

seen the photo 

a hundred 

times. 

THE ACADEMY 

INTERVIEW 

BY PAUL CAHILL 

He’s only three or four years 

old outside his grandad’s house 

running with a small, soft rugby 

ball. 

It’s appropriate that the photo was taken 

there as the Tector family are quite sure 

it’s his grandad’s genes that Charlie has 

inherited. 

“My Grandad, Neville, is big into his 

rugby,” says the Leinster Rugby Academy 

out-half. 

“He goes to all of my games. He was 

in Energia Park on Friday for the Chile 

game too.” 

Whether or not the sporty gene did skip 

a generation from Neville to Charlie is 

impossible to confirm, but it’s the story the 

Tector family are happy to tell. 


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“My parents, Neil and Anne weren’t 

particularly sporty. Dad says he didn’t 

play anything anyway, so whether he 

was lying or not I don’t know. Everyone 

says I got it off grandad. He loves that 

everyone is saying that.” 

With Neville Tector attending as many 

of Charlie’s games as he can, he has 

certainly had value for money in recent 

times. 

An Irish U20 Six Nations success and 

most recently, his Leinster Rugby debut 

against Scarlets and a challenge match 

against a World Cup qualifier, Chile. 

That’s all just in the last 12 months. 

Quite the rollercoaster for Charlie, as 

well as Neville. 

From Rathnure in county Wexford, 

Charlie’s first action in organised rugby 

was down the road with Enniscorthy RFC. 

“I went down to Enniscorthy at about 

U-10s. I really enjoyed it there. I played 

until about U-13s when I moved to 

Kilkenny College.” 

Like most kids, Charlie was playing any 

sport he could. Growing up next door to 

St Anne’s GAA Club meant hurling would 

be prominent. 

“I played a lot of hurling, but gave it up 

at U-18 with the school team. I played a 

couple of games for the Wexford minor 

team when I was U-17. 

“The following year I also made the U-18 

Leinster Rugby Schools team so I had to 

pick one. So that’s when I stopped playing 

hurling. I continued to play a little bit with 

my club, Rathnure. I still get the odd text to 

come down from them. 

“My hurling coaches from Rathnure 

actually came to all of my Ireland U-20 

games in Cork. They loved it. They 

wouldn’t know too much about rugby but 

they loved it.” 

Having represented the Wexford minor 

team a year early, there was surely an 

urge to see how far he could go with the 

small ball. 

But, with the groundwork put in by his 

grandfather, rugby was his number one 

love. 

“From day one, I always had a passion for 

rugby. More than anything else I played. 

“I used to play soccer and that always 

used to clash with rugby. If matches 

were on the same day, it wasn’t even a 

question. I was always picking rugby. I 

tried to balance it until I was about 16. 

“When I had to choose between Leinster 

and Wexford at U-18, that’s when I made 

the final call.” 

That final call has certainly worked out 

well. 

After choosing the rugby path as an 

18-year-old, everything came to a stop 

with Covid-19. That meant nearly two 

years of no games. 

But, when his next big opportunity arose, 

he certainly took it with both hands. 

Having been selected for the Ireland 

U-20 side for the 2022 Six Nations 

campaign, he was about to embark on 

an incredible journey. 

In the opening game, Tector kicked 13 

points in a 53-5 win over Wales. 

They then faced a tough test against 

France in Aix-en-Provence. France led 

16-10 with just 30 seconds left on the 

clock. 

Inside-centre, Ben Brownlee burst over the 

French line to make it a one-point game 

as the clock went into the red. Charlie 

Tector would decide the result. 


The senior 

players have 

been brilliant. 

I can’t say 

enough good 

things about 

them because 

they’re such 

top class 

players. 

“When you look back on it, it didn’t look 

that hard a kick. But, in that moment 

when, I don’t how many fans were there, 

and the whole crowd was against you. 

“It was a typical French crowd and there 

were school kids screaming and the noise 

that was going on during that kick, it was 

insane. It certainly made the kick a lot 

tougher than it was. It was a big pressure 

moment. It was incredible when I saw it 

go over.” 

Ireland then beat Italy 39-12 before 

travelling to face England. 

With the game level at 17 points apiece 

at the break, Ireland kicked on in the 

second half to win 42-27, with Tector 

converting seven kicks for 17 points. 

They were now just one game away 

from a Grand Slam with Scotland 

standing in their way. 

In amongst the capacity crowd at 

Musgrave Park in Cork, was Neville 

Tector, enjoying another day out 

watching his grandson compete. 

Any pre-game nerves were quickly 

eradicated as Ireland raced into a 33-0 

lead at half time, before claiming a 59-5 

win. 

While the rest of the squad continued 

the celebrations in Cork, Tector made his 

way back to the family farm to help his 

father. 

Something that might sound unusual for 

a young rugby player eager to celebrate 

after a big win, but not to Charlie. 

“I wasn’t forced to go back to the farm. 

I like going home and getting out on 

the farm. I feel like it relaxes me. It’s not 

that Dad wants me home to work. I love 

going home to the farm, just getting the 

fresh air into me. 

“It’s good having something away from 

rugby. It’s something to take your mind 

off things.” 

Throughout this period, Tector was 

working away in the Ken Wall 

Centre of Excellence down in 

Energia Park, trying to make his mark 

in the Leinster Rugby setup. 

“I came in at the very start of Covid, so 

there were only eight or nine of us in the 

group. Going in at 7:30am with Dave 

Fagan and grinding out in the gym, I’d 

never done anything like that. 

“It was also a big change coming to 

Dublin. Obviously, I’d never been in 

Dublin too much, except as a child to go 

shopping or something like that.” 


It wasn’t all plain sailing for the aspiring 

out-half as a serious injury hampered his 

progress. But, instead of letting it get him 

down, it seemed to focus his mind even 

more. 

“I got injured a week before an 

Ireland U-20s camp when I was a year 

underage. I tore my achilles, so that put 

me out for about eight or nine months. 

“I did a lot of rehab in the Sub-Academy 

and then it was always building towards 

the Ireland U-20s. That’s the target they 

set. 

“That’s what we all strive to achieve 

while in the Sub-Academy, as that will 

really improve your chances of getting an 

Academy contract.” 

Not long after that Six Nations success, 

Tector was given the news he was hoping 

for. The hard work had paid off and he 

had earned a Leinster Rugby Academy 

contract. 

With that, came a move up to UCD 

alongside the senior squad. A move that 

Tector is loving. 

“It’s been a really smooth transition, to be 

honest. All of the lads make it really easy 

for you. 

“We were given a small taste of it while 

in the Sub-Academy, so it wasn’t too alien 

when we came up. For example, we had 

quite a few Sub-Academy lads training 

with us today, so they can see how we 

train in UCD. 

“The senior players have been brilliant. I 

can’t say enough good things about them 

because they’re such top class players. 

You saw Ross last weekend getting his 

chance with Ireland and really taking it. 

“Taking as much experience from them as 

I can is what I want to achieve here.” 

After a few months of hard work in UCD, 

Tector got the news that every young 

player wants to hear. He was in the 

matchday 23 travelling to Scarlets. 

“I got the nod to say that I would be on 

the bench and I was really pleased about 

that. I just tried to do as much prep as I 

could and watch as much Scarlets video 

as I could. 

“The week was short because it was a 

Friday game. It’s just taking your chance 

when you get it. It was really special to 

get that first cap.” 

As Tector entered the fray, he was joined 

by his former Irish U-20 teammate Ben 

Brownlee, who was also on to make his 

debut. 

The duo have been through quite a lot in 

a short space of time. 

“We’re building a good relationship. 

We went through Ireland U-20s together 

and making our debut together. So, it’s a 

good relationship we’re building so I’m 

pleased with it.” 

A few weeks later, Leinster Rugby 

welcomed the Chile national team to 

Energia Park. The South American’s have 

qualified for next year’s Rugby World 

Cup in France. 

Tector was named at out-half with his 

reliable inside-centre, Ben Brownlee 

named at 12 in a game where Leinster 

would run out 40-3 winners. 

“It was quite surreal playing a team that 

are going to the World Cup. It was a 

great experience playing an international 

match. 

“It was a physical game but it was great 

to get another senior appearance and 

another win.” 

With a lot of accomplishments made in 

the last 12 months, Tector is clear on what 

he needs to do to keep progressing. 

“I need to just keep working away. 

Hopefully I can help get Lansdowne 

going again. We had a tough start to the 

AIL season but I think we can turn things 

around. 

“Playing matches is how you sharpen 

up big time. If you can get a good 60 

minutes with Lansdowne on the weekend, 

it makes such a difference. You’re trying 

to implement stuff from here into your club 

and you need matches to do that.” 

The most recent chapters in Charlie 

Tector’s rugby career have certainly been 

exciting. The next few are sure to be an 

exciting ride, and Neville Tector will be 

there to watch it all. 


Leinster 

Rugby 

Academy 

Year 

Three: 

92 | www.leinsterrugby.ie 

Marcus Hanan (3) #1295 


FROM Clane, Co Kildare 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 0”) 


POSITION Loosehead prop 

SCHOOL Salesian College, Celbridge 

CLUB Clane RFC 

HONOURS Ireland U-20 (2 caps) 

John McKee (6) #1307 


FROM Belfast 

HEIGHT 1.85m ( 6’ 0”) 


POSITION Hooker 

SCHOOL Campbell College 

CLUB Terenure College RFC 


Seán O’Brien (3) #1297 


FROM Pittsburgh, PA, USA 

HEIGHT 1.91m ( 6 ’ 3”) 

WEIGHT 106kg ( 16st 10lbs) 

POSITION Back Row 

SCHOOL Blackrock College 

CLUB UCD RFC 


Max O’Reilly (10) #1291 


FROM Long Island, USA 

HEIGHT 1.86m (6’ 1”) 


POSITION Full-back 

SCHOOL St Gerard’s School 

CLUB DUFC 


Andrew Smith (2) #1292 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.8 m (5’ 11”) 


POSITION Back Three 

SCHOOL St Michael’s College 

CLUB Clontarf FC 




Academy 

Year 

Two: 

Alex Soroka (6) #1296 


FROM Cork 

HEIGHT 1.95m (6’ 5”) 



SCHOOL Belvedere College 



Jack Boyle 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.86m (6’ 1”) 


POSITION Loosehead prop 


CLUB UCD RFC 


Lee Barron (2) #1308 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.93m (6’ 3”) 


POSITION Hooker 


CLUB DUFC 


Chris Cosgrave (2) #1305 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 0”) 




CLUB UCD RFC 


Temi Lasisi (1) #1304 

DOB 9 May 2001 

FROM Enniscorthy, Co Wexford 

HEIGHT 1.83m (6’ 0 “) 


POSITION Tighthead prop 

SCHOOL CBS Enniscorthy 

CLUB Lansdowne FC/Enniscorthy RFC 


(3) = Leinster Rugby Senior caps

Ben Murphy (1) #1309 


FROM Bray 

HEIGHT 1.76m (5’ 8”) 


POSITION Scrum-half 

SCHOOL Presentation College, Bray 





Academy 

Year 

One: 

Rob Russell (8) #1302 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.83m (6’ 0”) 




CLUB DUFC 


Ben Brownlee (1) #1313 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.87m (6’ 2”) 


POSITION Centre 


CLUB UCD RFC 


James Culhane 


FROM Enniskerry, Co Wicklow 

HEIGHT 1.94m (6’ 4”) 




CLUB UCD RFC 


Aitzol Arenzana-King 


FROM Gormanston, Co Meath 

HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 



SCHOOL Gormanston College/CUS 

CLUB Clontarf FC/Balbriggan RFC 


Diarmuid Mangan 


FROM Kildare 

HEIGHT 1.93 m (6’ 4”) 



SCHOOL Newbridge College 

CLUB UCD RFC 


Rory McGuire 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.93m (6’ 4”) 


POSITION Tightead prop 


CLUB UCD RFC 


Sam Prendergast 


FROM Kildare 

HEIGHT 1.94m (6’ 4”) 


POSITION Out-half 

SCHOOL Newbridge College 

CLUB Lansdowne FC 


Charlie Tector (1) #1314 


FROM Wexford 

HEIGHT 1.89 m (6’ 2”) 


POSITION Out-half 

SCHOOL Kilkenny College 

CLUB Lansdowne FC 



fixtures and 

results 2022/23 

Date 

17/09 

23/09 

30/09 

08/10 

14/10 

22/10 

28/10 

KO/ 

Result 

Opposiotion Venue 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 1 2 

W 

29-33 URC ZEBRE Stadio Sergio 

Lanfranchi 

O’REILLY RUSSELL OSBORNE NGATAI 

KEARNEY 

1T 

R. BYRNE 

C4 

W 

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

3C 

W 

13-20 URC ULSTER Kingspan 

Stadium 

W 

54-34 

URC 

CELL C 

SHARKS 

O’BRIEN LARMOUR RINGROSE HENSHAW KEARNEY 

RDS Arena O’BRIEN LARMOUR 

HENSHAW 

1T 

NGATAI 

RUSSELL 

1T 

R. BYRNE 

2C 2P 

SEXTON 

1T, 7C 

W 

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

1C 

W 

27-13 URC MUNSTER Aviva 

Stadium 

W 

5-35 URC SCARLETS Parc y 

Scarlets 

FRAWLEY O’BRIEN RINGROSE HENSHAW OSBORNE 

COSGRAVE 

1T 

RUSSELL 

1T 

TURNER NGATAI KEARNEY 

SEXTON 

2C, 1P 

R. BYRNE 

3C 

MCGRATH 

1T 

MCGRATH 

1T 

MCGRATH 

MCGRATH 

FOLEY 

1T 

MCGRATH 

1T 

E BYRNE 

PORTER 

PORTER 

PORTER 

1T 

KELLEHER 

SHEEHAN 

4T 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

SHEEHAN 

E. BYRNE SHEEHAN 

HEALY 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

MCGRATH E. BYRNE MCKEE 

26/11 15:15 URC GLASGOW RDS Arena 

03/12 19:35 URC ULSTER RDS Arena 

10/12 14:00 HCC RACING 92 

Stade 

Océane 

16/12 20:00 HCC GLOUCESTER RDS Arena 

26/12 19:35 URC MUNSTER 

Thomond 

Park 

01/01 19:35 URC CONNACHT RDS Arena 

07/01 19:35 URC OSPREYS 

Swansea. 

com Stadium 

14/01 13:00 HCC GLOUCESTER Kingsholm 

21/01 15:15 HCC RACING 92 

28/01 17:00 URC CARDIFF 

RUGBY 

18/02 19:35 URC DRAGONS 

RFC 

04/03 17:05 URC EDINBURGH 

24/03 19:35 URC DHL 

STORMERS 

15/04 14:00 URC EMIRATES 

LIONS 

22/04 16:05 URC VODACOM 

BULLS 

Aviva 

Stadium 

RDS Arena 

RDS Arena 

DAM Health 

Stadium 

RDS Arena 

Emirates 

Airline Park 

Loftus 

Versfeld 


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

ALAALATOA 

MOLONY 

JENKINS 

1T 

RUDDOCK 

T2 

ALAALATOA MOLONY JENKINS BAIRD 

ALAALATOA MOLONY JENKINS 

ALAALATOA 

MOLONY 

JENKINS 

2T 

BAIRD 

1T 

PENNY DEEGAN MCKEE MILNE ABDALADZE DEENY SOROKA MCCARTHY FRAWLEY CONNORS 

VAN DER FLIER 

1T 

DORIS KELLEHER E. BYRNE HEALY MCCARTHY CONNORS FOLEY 

R. BYRNE 

3C 

NGATAI 

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

BAIRD CONNORS RUDDOCK 

MCKEE 

1T 

HEALY ABDALADZE RYAN MOLONEY FOLEY BYRNE 

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

ALA’ALATOA JENKINS RYAN DEEGAN 

CLARKSON 

1T 

PENNY 

1T 

FRAWLEY 

1P 

DORRIS MCKEE PORTER CLARKSON MOLONY CONAN MCCARTHY R. BYRNE 

RINGROSE 

2T 

HENSHAW 

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

RUSSELL 

1T 


matchday 

Squads 

officials 

Jamie Osborne 

Rob Russell 

Liam Turner 

Charlie Ngatai 

Dave Kearney 

Ross Byrne 

Luke McGrath 

15 

14 

13 

12 

11 

10 

9 

FULL BACK 

RIGHT WING 

OUTSIDE CENTRE 

INSIDE CENTRE 

LEFT WING 

FLY HALF 

SCRUM HALF 

Josh McKay 

Sebastian Cancelliere 

Kyle Steyn [C] 

Stafford McDowall 

Rufus McLean 

Tom Jordan 

George Horne 

REFEREE: 

MARIUS VD WESTHUIZEN 

(SARU, 13TH COMPETITION GAME) 

ASSISTANT REFEREE: 

KEANE DAVISON (IRFU) 

ASSISTANT REFEREE: 

ANDY FOGARTY (IRFU) 

TMO: 

AJ JACOBS (SARU) 

Ed Byrne 

Rónan Kelleher 

Thomas Clarkson 

Ross Molony 

Joe McCarthy 

Rhys Ruddock [C] 

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 

Oli Kebble 

Fraser Brown 

Murphy Walker 

Sintu Manjezi 

Alex Samuel 

Gregor Brown 

Sione Vailanu 

Jack Dempsey 

John McKee 

Michael Milne 

Vakh Abdaladze 

Jason Jenkins 

Ryan Baird 

Cormac Foley 

Harry Byrne 

Chris Cosgrave 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

Johnny Matthews 

Jamie Bhatti 

Simon Berghan 

JP du Preez 

Lewis Bean 

Euan Ferrie 

Jamie Dobie 

Ross Thompson

*Restrictions apply. 

*

Parting Shot 

September 2022 

World Rugby Awards, Monte Carlo 

Sporting Club, Monaco, France 20 

Photo ©INPHO/World Rugby 

Josh van der Flier of Ireland, winner 

of the World Rugby Men’s 15s 

Player of the Year in partnership 

with Mastercard

Leinster Rugby vs Glasgow Warriors

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