Leinster vs Ulster

VSLEINSTER 

€6 | ISSUE 12 | LEINSTER RUGBY OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME 

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ulster 

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KO 5.30PM

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The Line up 

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E-mail: 

information@leinsterrugby.ie 

www.leinsterrugby.ie 

10 

44 

EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT 

President: Debbie Carty 

Chief Executive: Shane Nolan 

Honorary Secretary: Stuart Bayley 

Honorary Treasurer: Michael McGrail 

RUGBY MANAGEMENT 

Head Coach: Leo Cullen 

Senior Coach: Stuart Lancaster 

Head of Rugby Operations: 

Guy Easterby 

Assistant Coach: Robin McBryde 

Backs Coach: Andrew Goodman 

Kicking Coach: Emmet Farrell 

Contact Skills Coach: Seán O’Brien 

14 

PROGRAMME CREDITS 

Editorial Team: Marcus Ó Buachalla 

& 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 

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connected 

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www.leinsterrugby.ie | 3

EPCR 

WELCOME 

MESSAGE 

Dominic McKay 

EPCR Chairman 

A warm 

welcome to 

this Round of 

16 fixture in 

the Heineken 

Champions 

Cup as 

competition 

for a coveted 

place in the 

2023 Dublin 

Final really 

begins to 

hot up. 

The knockout stage generates its 

very own brand of compelling, 

high-stakes rugby, and it’s win or 

bust now for the remaining elite 

clubs who remain in contention 

for the 28th Heineken Champions 

Cup Final, which will be staged at 

the Aviva Stadium on Saturday 

20 May. 

Following the historic introduction of 

the leading South African clubs into this 

season’s Heineken Champions Cup, it 

came as no major surprise that the Cell 

C Sharks, DHL Stormers and Vodacom 

Bulls all qualified in impressive style for 

the business end of the tournament at the 

first attempt. 

To emphasise the enduring quality of the 

tournament, the clubs that reached this 

season’s knockout stage had as many as 

27 EPCR titles between them. 

In addition, as you are no doubt aware, 

the clubs with the highest rankings from 

the pool stage earn home advantage 

for the Round of 16 and quarter-final 

matches. 

We are delighted to be joined on the 

journey to Dublin by our long-standing 

title partner, Heineken, by our official 

partners, DHL, IHG and Tissot, by our 

official supporters, Gilbert and Kappa, 

and also by our official airline partner in 

South Africa, Qatar Airways. 

Our loyal broadcast partners, BT Sport, 

beIN SPORTS and France Télévisions, 

continue to provide unrivalled 

coverage of the Heineken Champions 

Cup in the UK, Ireland and France 

respectively, while SuperSport in South 

Africa, ITV and RTÉ in the UK and 

Ireland, S4C in Wales and FloRugby 

in the USA and Canada are making 

valuable contributions to the growth of 

tournament. 

On behalf of everyone at EPCR, enjoy 

the match and best wishes to you, the 

fans, as well as to your club’s players 

and staff for what promises to be 

another tension-packed occasion in the 

Heineken Champions Cup knockout 

stage. 

Yours in rugby, 

Dominic McKay 

EPCR Chairman

Every great match 

starts with 0.0

HEINEKEN 

WELCOME MESSAGE 

Sharon 

Walsh 

Managing Director, 

HEINEKEN Ireland. 

You are very welcome to this 

Heineken Champions Cup 2022- 

23 Round of 16 clash between 

Leinster Rugby and Ulster Rugby 

at the home of Irish Rugby, the 

Aviva Stadium. We’ve witnessed 

some fantastic rugby over the 

course of this year’s tournament 

and I’m sure that the game today 

will live up to all our hopes and 

expectations. Indeed, if the game 

today matches the excitement 

and quality of their epic Quarter 

Final clash here in 2019 when 

Leinster edged out a somewhat 

unfortunate Ulster by just three 

points, we are in for another truly 

memorable game. 

Having worked with HEINEKEN for 

over 11 years, I have huge affection for 

Europe’s leading club Rugby competition; 

the Heineken Champions Cup. I recall 

so vividly many memorable games, 

home and away from over the years, all 

of them enjoyed with friends, family and 

colleagues. Today will be the first time 

I attend a game as Managing Director 

of HEINEKEN Ireland. I am immensely 

proud to do so. The fact that two home 

provinces are playing in a packed and 

colourful Aviva Stadium makes the 

occasion all the more exciting! It’s a 

shame that both sides cannot progress to 

the Quarter Final stage, but I’ve no doubt 

that the winner today will have earned 

their right to make the final eight. I wish 

both sides the very best of luck. 

I would also like to extend my best 

wishes to all the other fourteen sides 

as they compete this weekend. A 

special mention for Munster Rugby who 

face tough opposition in Cell C Sharks 

down in Durban. With the Heineken 

Champions Cup 2022-23 final taking 

place in the Aviva stadium on the 20th 

May, they, like both Leinster and Ulster, 

will no doubt be hugely motivated to 

continue their journey on the road to the 

Dublin Final 2023. 

Enjoy the upcoming game today 

with a cold, refreshing Heineken® or 

Heineken® 0.0% and as always, please 

do so responsibly. 

I look forward to seeing you all again at 

the Quarter Final. 

Sharon Walsh 

Managing Director, 

HEINEKEN Ireland. 


Debbie Carty welcome 

PRESIDENT, LEINSTER RUGBY 2022/23 

On behalf of Leinster Rugby, I would 

like to welcome you all to the 

Aviva Stadium, for this afternoon’s 

match against Ulster in Round of 16 

in the Heineken Champions Cup. 

In particular, I wish to extend a 

warm welcome to Dublin to our 

Ulster visitors; to their President 

Philip Gregg and his wife Barbara, 

to their Chairperson, to the squad, 

their Head Coach Dan Mc Farland 

and their management team and 

hope you are enjoying your visit 

here for the match. 

Leinster are unbeaten this season in the 

URC and are now into the last sixteen 

of the Heinken Champions Cup, I would 

like to congratulate the Leinster squad 

and coaches on their successful season 

to date. 

The team will be confident going into this 

match today, but we never underestimate 

Ulster in any competition especially as 

they have beaten us recently and will also 

be very determined and confident going 

into this evening’s match. We expect 

tonight to be a challenging and physical 

match as we look to win back the 

Champions Cup that we came so close to 

winning last year. 

I have no doubt that Leo and his squad 

are up for the challenge and we look 

forward to the remaining matches this 

season in Dublin and South Africa. 

On the domestic front, this is a time of 

year that we call the ‘silly season’ as all 

the leagues in Men, Women, Youths and 

Schools come to an end. I would like 

to congratulate Gonzaga College on 

their first ever win in a well fought match 

against Blackrock college in the Bank of 

Ireland Leinster Schools Senior Cup on St. 

Patrick’s Day, and congratulate Blackrock 

College on winning the Junior Cup this 

Monday with a win over St. Michaels. 

I am relatively new to Schools Rugby as 

the club game is so strong in my part of 

Leinster in Wexford, but I am in awe of 

these schools’ teams - their physicality, 

expertise and respect for the game is 

phenomenal, and a huge well done to 

the players, coaches, games masters 

and principals of all the teams involved 

this year. I would like to take this chance 

to thank Past President Lorcan Balfe for 

attending most if not all of the Schools 

matches for me this season. 

I would like to congratulate Bective 

Rangers RFC on winning Division 1A and 

wish them the best of luck when they take 

on Clogher Valley today in Coolmine 

RFC in the AIL Round Robin Semi Final. 

Congratulations must also go to Tullow 

RFC on winning Division 1B, DSLP on 

winning Division 2A, Edenderry on 

winning Division 2B and North Meath 

RFC on winning Division 3 and I wish you 

all well on your promotion to the league 

above you. 

I would particularly like to thank 

Edenderry for the fantastic reception I 

received at your grounds last Sunday, 

thank you to your President, Chairman 

and Hon Secretary for their warm, 

generous and way above the normal 

reception I received there on Sunday. 

The best of luck to all the Women’s teams 

in the LL Leagues and I look forward to 

seeing some of your finals over the next 

few weeks. 

In the Bank of Ireland Provincial Towns 

Cup, we are down to the last four teams 

for the Semi Finals, with those matches 

being played on the 9 April. A very 

competitive Derby between Carlow and 

Tullow and Cill Dara playing last year’s 

winners Kilkenny in the I would advise 

you all to get down to your local Club 

for what will be some cracking games of 

Rugby. 

I would like to welcome to the RDS this 

evening the mini rugby teams who will 

play at half time in the Bank of Ireland 

Mini Games. To the players of Bective 

Rangers, Clontaft, Edenderry and 

Malahide rugby clubs, your coaches 

and parents, 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. 

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 

8 | 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 Dublin welcome to Dan McFarland and 

his Ulster team, along with all the travelling 

fans who have made the journey down south 

for this evening’s game. It’s always a special 

occasion when two Irish sides meet in the 

knock-out stages of the Heineken Champions 

Cup and we know we face a tough challenge 

against a very good opponent. 

The clocks have gone forward 

now, which means we’re into the 

sharp end of the season when the 

big prizes start to appear on the 

horizon. 

The nature of this competition means 

we’ve had to wait a while for today’s 

fixture – our last pool game was on 21 

January, a full ten weeks ago – while 

10 | www.leinsterrugby.ie 

the new format certainly hasn’t made it 

any easier to win. Whoever wins today 

will have just one week to prepare for a 

quarter-final next weekend, which means 

not just players but supporters having to 

dig deep and go again! 

On which note, a huge thanks for all the 

support in recent weeks. It’s been brilliant. 

There was an absolutely cracking 

atmosphere at the RDS Arena last Friday, 

and we needed every ounce of it as we 

battled to a draw against the reigning 

BKT URC champions, the DHL Stormers. 

That draw ensured we qualify as top 

seeds, which is what we wanted and a 

great reward for all the hard work that’s 

gone on behind the scenes this season. 

Thanks also to everyone who has signed 

up again as season ticket holders. 

Our season tickets really allow us 

to plan ahead, so your commitment 

and continued support is greatly 

appreciated as we look ahead to making 

improvements for next season. 

This is also the case with our sponsors, 

in particular Bank of Ireland, whose 

loyal support is so important for 

the team. 

We were delighted to welcome 

Mint as our latest partner. 

They have put a lot of work 

into transforming the players’ 

café at UCD, along with Eoghan 

Hickey and Sophie Conroy, helping to 

fuel the Leinster players for the demands 

of the modern game. Welcome Mick, 

David, Emma and all the team. 

Congratulations to the winners of the 

various schools and club competitions 

that have culminated in the past few 

weeks – and the best of luck to all clubs 

who have finals coming up. This is an 

exciting time of year with so many 

trophies on the line, and after coming 

through such a difficult time with Covid, 

it’s fantastic to see grassroots rugby 

as strong as ever and growing all 

the time. 

We’ll never forget those 

interrupted couple of years, 

rattling around in empty 

stadiums and I think questioning 

why we were even there in the 

first place. But it really brought 

home to us how important our 

rugby community is – fans, 

family and friends – and now 

that we’re back in packed 

stadiums for big knock-out 

games, there’s no better feeling 

in the world. 

This is a really special time for Irish 

rugby. Thanks so much for being here 

and enjoy the game. 

Leo

There was 

an absolutely 

cracking 

atmosphere 

at the RDS 

Arena last 

Friday, and 

we needed 

every ounce 

of it as we 

battled 

to a draw 

against the 

reigning 

BKT URC 

champions, 

the DHL 

Stormers. 


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laura 

lynch 

BANK OF IRELAND 

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER 

A very warm 

welcome to the 

aviva stadium 

from Bank of 

Ireland as we look 

forward to this 

evening’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 

evening. 

We wish Leinster Rugby every success, and hope that you 

enjoy the game. 

Laura Lynch. 

BANK OF IRELAND 

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER 


Hugo 

Keenan 

the big interview 

BY DANIEL KELLY 

Hugo Keenan 

returns to 

familiar 

ground today, 

after getting 

a different 

perspective 

earlier this 

week in the 

Aviva Stadium. 



We had a great 

pool stage in 

the Heineken 

Champions Cup. 

That teed us up 

well for the Six 

Nations, and now 

into the business 

end of the season. 

It’s where we 

want to be. 

An avid football fan - Keenan 

was one of those many 

thousands in attendance for 

the Republic of Ireland’s 1-0 

defeat to France. He hopes the 

atmosphere of Monday will still 

be on show when he takes to 

the field just before 5.30pm this 

evening. 

“It was nice to be on the other side of 

the barrier for a change”, he said, less 

than 24 hours after Benjamin Pavard’s 

strike sent France home with three 

points. 

“It was a brilliant atmosphere with a full 

sell-out. There was a good buzz, seeing 

a World-class French team. It was very 

enjoyable, and nice to see a game like 

that from the other side.” 

Keenan played football and rugby as 

a child, and he dreamt of representing 

Ireland in both sports. 

“I would have bitten your hand off for 

either! 

“Football was my first love. I played 

from when I was five or six. I went with a 

friend Fred Kenny to the game last night, 

and we would have come through the 

ranks together in Mount Merrion. 

“He captains the local team now. We try 

to get to each other’s games regularly. 

I’d be a big football fan. Plenty of us 

keep an eye on the Premier League, 

in Leinster. I’m still a big fan, and love 

going to games like that.” 

Keenan was in the unique position of 

playing on the field ten days earlier in 

Ireland’s Grand Slam win, and he felt the 

atmosphere rivaled what he heard when 

Ireland won the Grand Slam for the first 

time in Dublin. 

“That atmosphere was great, and very 

close to what it felt like for the Grand 

Slam game against England. Hopefully 

the Ulster game will be just like that too.” 

Injuries interrupted Keenan’s start to the 

season, meaning he actually played for 

Ireland before lining out for Leinster in 

this campaign. 

“Missing the first eight games of the 

season was tough. I had a few long-term 

niggles that I had to get right, and it was 

the right time to do it. 

“It was frustrating watching from the 

sidelines. The novelty wears off very 

quickly. I was delighted to get back for 

the autumn internationals, starting with 

South Africa. 

After impressing for Ireland in wins over 

South Africa and Australia, the 26-year- 


old shone for Leinster both domestically, 

and in Europe throughout December 

and January. 

“We had a great pool stage in the 

Heineken Champions Cup. That teed 

us up well for the Six Nations, and now 

into the business end of the season. It’s 

where we want to be. 

“The pool games will mean nothing, if 

we don’t do the business against Ulster. 

It’s great that we have such a big game 

to come back to after the Six Nations.” 

Keenan’s return in blue came against 

today’s opponents in early December. 

Leinster played the majority of the game 

with 14 men, but an excellent secondhalf 

comeback saw the team win 38-29 

in front of a raucous RDS crowd. 

“Ulster showed how much of a quality 

side they are, especially in the first half”, 

Keenan said of today’s opponents. 

“They dipped in form a small bit after 

that game, but are coming back into 

form now, beating the Bulls last week. 

It’ll be a massive challenge against 

them. We’re really excited to get into it.” 

In the middle of the Guinness Six 

Nations, the IRFU announced that 

Keenan signed his first deal with the 

Union, keeping him with Leinster until at 

least the end of the 2025/26 season. 

In the announcement, IRFU Performance 

Director David Nucifora was quick to 

point out Keenan’s career trajectory, as 

a plus in his development so far. 

“Hugo is the first player to come through 

the Sevens Programme to attain a 

Central 15s Contract. His dedication to 

improvement and his drive have gotten 

him to this point of his career... He is 

the type of player that drives standards 

around him and he will have a key role 

to play for both Ireland and Leinster 

over the next few seasons.” 

“Sevens was great for me, especially 

as an outside back”, Keenan admitted, 


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It’s a huge 

motivator for 

myself and a 

few others. 

We want our 

families to 

have those 

memorable 

days. 

looking back on his time in the shorter 

format. 

“It tests a lot of skills that are needed in 

the 15-a-side game, and shows holes 

in your game too. It helped me as a 

player, and I got to experience a lot of 

big crowds in international tournaments, 

like in Hong Kong and the World Cup in 

San Francisco. 

“Jimmy O’Brien and Will Connors came 

through the Sevens circuit with me, and 

I’m sure more will come too.” 

That career trajectory saw Keenan make 

his Ireland debut in 2020, but he had to 

bide his time before then with Leinster, 

when his international teammates were 

away with Ireland. Many Leinster 

players have impressed in recent weeks, 

and the full-back took his opportunities 

too, when given. 

“It happened to me in 2018 and 2019. 

When lads go to the Six Nations, 

younger lads do get a run out. We’re 

lucky to have such strength in depth. 

Throughout the Six Nations, plenty put 

their hands up. Rob Russell, Liam Turner 

and a whole range of lads played really 

well and made the jersey their own.” 

Leinster remained unbeaten during 

the Guinness Six Nations, culminating 

in a thrilling 22-22 draw against 

the DHL Stormers last weekend. 

The performances in that period 

didn’t surprise Keenan, or any of his 

teammates watching from afar. 

“We’ve seen these players on the 

training field for a few years. I wasn’t 

surprised to see them go so well against 

the Stormers. I felt they could have won, 


and that was the feeling in the camp 

afterwards. 

“We have eight or nine weeks left this 

season, and we’re chasing a double. It’s 

a massive team effort, and you will see 

plenty more of the likes of Rob and Liam 

before the season ends.” 

With top seed guaranteed in the BKT 

URC, and home advantage wrapped 

up in the Heineken Champions Cup, 

Leinster are aiming for two Dublin finals 

this season. Keenan played in the 2020 

and 2021 Pro14 Finals, but they were 

in front of empty stands in the Aviva 

Stadium and the RDS. 

This season, he wants to make some 

more Finals, but with his friends and 

family in attendance, just like they were 

for Ireland’s Six Nations triumph last 

month. 

“It’s a huge motivator for myself and 

a few others. We want our families 

to have those memorable days. They 

haven’t had the chance yet. 

“Some players have won finals and had 

the chance to share those experiences. 

The opportunity is there to do it in 

Dublin. It’d be incredibly special to have 

my family there.” 

While the focus is on beating Ulster 

this weekend, last year’s Heineken 

Champions Cup Final defeat is keeping 

Keenan and his teammates motivated to 

go one better this year. 

“Marseille was heartbreaking. I’ve 

never won a European Cup. It’s near the 


The team 

performed 

so well, it 

could have 

been any of 

us. I thought 

Andrew 

Porter 

and James 

Ryan were 

outstanding 

too. 

top of my to-do list. I’ll leave to stone 

unturned to get there, because we know 

how tough it is to win. 

“The talent is in this group to win the 

Champions Cup. We just need to focus 

on the Ulster game first. 

“You don’t want a runners-up medal 

on the CV. That gap is still there, and 

it’s a huge motivation. It’ll continue to 

motivate me, until we get there.” 

Keenan returned to Leinster with his 

reputation sky-high, having been 

nominated for the Six Nations Player 

of the Tournament, along with Mack 

Hansen and his Leinster teammate 

Caelan Doris. Despite the nomination, 

he feels it could have gone to many of 

his teammates. 

“The team performed so well, it 

could have been any of us. I thought 

Andrew Porter and James Ryan were 

outstanding too. I would have bitten 

your hand off for the Grand Slam, over 

any individual honors though.” 

While memories of the Grand Slam 

remain vivid, they are now in the past, 

with all eyes on the immediate future 

in both club competitions. Six Nations 

celebrations ended, and the focus 

quickly returned to the task at hand, and 

with trophy goals in mind. 

“We came back on Wednesday last 

week, and were keen to get back up to 

speed. The Ireland players all enjoyed 

the celebrations, but when we came 

back in, all focus turned to Leinster. It’s a 

season-defining game, so we won’t be 

short of motivation. If we can feed off 

the energy of the Grand Slam, hopefully 

we can keep that going into Leinster.” 

Keenan turns 27 in June, with a very 

healthy rugby CV already being 

developed. He’ll hope to have more 

honors added to it, before he blows out 

the birthday candles. 


22 22 

Action 

replay 

FRIDAY, 24TH MARCH 2023 

RDS ARENA 

ATTENDANCE: 15,653 

REFEREE: SAM GROVE-WHITE (SRU) 

BKT UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP 

LEINSTER RUGBY 

Larmour, Russell, Turner, Frawley, Kearney, H 

Byrne, McGrath; Milne, McKee, Ala’alatoa, 

Molony, Jenkins, Ruddock (capt), Penny, 

Deegan 

REPLACEMENTS: Barron, E Byrne, 

Abdaladze, Deeny, Connors, N. McCarthy, 

Tector, Brownlee 

TRIES: Milne, Penny, Russell, Deegan 

CONVERSIONS: H Byrne 

DHL STORMERS 

Blommetjies, Hartzenberg, du Plessis, 

Willemse, Senatla, Libbok, de Wet; Kitshoff 

(capt), Dweba, Malherbe, van Heerden, 

Orie, Fourie, Dixon, Dayimani 

REPLACEMENTS: Kotze, Harris, Fouche, 

van Rhyn, Engelbrecht, Theunissen, Jantjies, 

du Plessis. 

TRIES: Libbok, Hartzenberg, Blommetjies 

CONVERSIONS: Libbok (2) 

PENALTIES: Libbok 

It was the 

best atmosphere 

I’ve ever felt in 

the RDS. It was 

unbelievable. The 

crowd were behind 

us. It’s one of the 

toughest games 

I’ve been involved 

in physically. It 

was a brilliant 

occasion to be 

part of. 

Ciarán Frawley 


The game had a bit of everything. It was a big game, 

with both teams going at it. It was a really good 

challenge for some of our younger guys. At times, we 

put them under a fair bit of pressure. Stormers are a 

really good team. It’s mixed feelings. We won the game 

three points to two, but it’s still a draw. We got the 

job done to make sure we finish top of the table, and 

that’s really satisfying. 

Leo Cullen 


Bank of Ireland 

Women’s Leinster 

Leagues Round Up 

The 2023/23 Women’s Leinster Leagues wrapped 

up on 5 March with Cup presentations to four 

winning clubs on the day. 

MU Barnhall 

a women’s team in Leinster capturing the 

Division 1 and Division 4 titles. Runners 

up Kilkenny lost to Greystones RFC in 

their promotion/relegation game. 

Division 5 Winners 

Tallaght RFC 


MU Barnhall RFC 

Division 1 came down to a winner take 

all match when joint table toppers MU 

Barnhall RFC and Tullamore RFC played 

out a nail-biter in Parsonstown. MU 

Barnhall would come out with a narrow 

13-10 win. Both teams now turn their 

attention to participating in the WAIL 

Junior Cup. 


Mullingar RFC 

Mullingar RFC topped the Division 2 

table in fine fashion after their last league 

game of the season saw them overcome 

Clondalkin RFC 53-5. Mullingar now 

look forward to playing in Division 1 

next season, but runners up Port Dara 

Falcons lost their promotion/relegations 

game against Dublin University FC, 

meaning another year in Division 2 for the 

Westmeath club. 



New Ross RFC 

A stellar season for the Wexford women 

saw them come away with the perfect 

record, 14 wins from 14 games and 

scoring an incredible 454 points during 

the league campaign. Their final game 

was to close rivals Gorey RFC, New Ross 

came away with a 0-29 win in Clonattin. 

New Ross RFC are promoted to Division 

2 with runners up Wicklow RFC J1 also 

earning promotion, having won their 

promotion/relegation game against 

Portlaoise RFC. 


MU Barnhall RFC 

Division 4 saw a number of teams in 

contention for top spot going into the last 

weeks of the season. Edging the top spot 

ahead of Kilkenny RFC and Navan RFC 

was MU Barnhall RFC. A fantastic double 

for the club and a first league double by 

The only division to be decided early, 

Tallaght RFC captured their first league 

victory and promotion to Division 4 next 

season in fine fashion. Winning seven 

of their eight games, drawing one and 

conceding only 28 points in play during 

the entire league campaign. Tallaght 

have participated in the Leinster League 

competition since 2015, led this season 

by captain Eileen Shanahan. Attention 

has turned to the Paul Flood, Paul Cusack 

& Division 5 Cup and Plate competitions 

with the finals scheduled to take place 

in SETU Carlow Sports Campus on 

Saturday, 22nd April. We wish all 

teams the very best in the cup and plate 

competitions. 

Promotion/relegation games were 

played 19th March to decide the final 

teams participating in Divisions 1-5 in the 

2023/24 season. 

Division 1 / 2 Playoff 

Dublin University RC 37 

Port Dara Falcons 0 


Portlaoise RFC 7 

Wicklow RFC J1 19 


Greystones RFC 37 

Kilkenny RFC 7

New Ross 

Tallaght 

Mullingar 

If you are 

interested in 

taking up rugby 

or you would like 

to follow our 

updates, check out 

our social media 

channels: 

Leinster Women 

LeinsterWomens 

@LeinsterWomen 

womenspro@leinsterrugby.ie 


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.

COMPARISON 

Played 

192 

(100 home, 92 away) 

Wins 

133 


Losses 

54 


Draws 

5 


Average points 

27 

Biggest win 

89 - 7 

Heaviest defeat 

10 - 51 

head-to-head 

record: 

Played 2, Leinster won 2 

previous 

MEETINGS: 

30/03/2019 

21 LEINSTER RUGBY VS 

ULSTER RUGBY 18 

19/05/2012 

42 LEINSTER RUGBY VS 

ULSTER RUGBY 14 

Season so far: 

TOTAL TRIES 

30 17 

METRES GAINED 

3077 2933 

PASSES 

1050 1078 

TACKLES MADE 

1020 885 

PENALTIES CONCEDED 

80 71 

TURNOVERS WON 

80 71 

Played 

167 


Wins 

86 


Losses 

78 


Draws 

3 


Average points 

21 

Biggest win 

59 - 3 

Heaviest defeat 

3 - 56

leo 

the lion’s 

kids 

corner 

ANAGRAMS 

Can you un-jumble 

the names of these 

players? 

NASAL 

ROCKS MOTH 

spot the difference! 

Can you find all six? 

DRY DOCK 

RUSH 

zoomed in! 

WHo is this leinster player 

having an extreme close-up? 

how did you do? 

ANAGRAMS 

Thomas Clarkson & Rhys Ruddock 

ZOOMED IN! 

Joe McCarthy 

a... 

...maze... 

...ing 

can you make 

your way 

through the 

maze to the 

ball? 


Effective teamwork begins and 

ends with communication. 

Communication 

plays a vital role 

in any team, 

in any field. 

Communication plays a vital role in any team, in any field. Resilient, reliable, unified comms 

facilitates interaction, exchange of information and form a stronger team bond, leading 

your business to achieve results. 

That’s the magical formula for winning, for success. 

DigitalWell. 

Communication without complexity. 

www.digitalwell.com 

01 254 1800 

info@digitalwell.com 

OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS PARTNER 

OFFICIAL SECURE COLLABORATION PARTNER

AZTO 

with 

Dan Sheehan 

A – Action: If you could be a superhero, which 

would you be? 

Not sure, but super power would be flying. 

B – Boyhood: Who was your favourite 

sporting idol growing up? 

Tiger Woods. 

C – Childhood: What is your favourite 

childhood memory? 

Playing with the Bective minis. 

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

Carbonara. 

E – Education: What was your favourite 

subject in school? 

Geography. 

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

The Blindside. 

G – Groove: Who is the best dancer in the 

squad? 

TC – Thomas Clarkson. 

H – Holiday: What’s your favourite holiday 

destination? 

Greece. 

I – Inside: Who is the worst to sit beside in the 

dressing room? 

Michael Milne 

J – Joker: Who is the funniest in the squad? 

Tadhg Furlong. 

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

the day to play a match? 

5pm. 

L – Languages: How many languages can you 

speak? 

One. 

M – Music: Your favourite artist and song 

right now? 

Paddy Casey - Saints and Sinners 

N – Number: Do you have a lucky number? 

The number two. 


O – Others: What’s your favourite 

sport outside of rugby? 

Golf. 

P – Pal: Who is your best mate in 

the squad? 

Charlie Ryan. I know he retired 

this season unfortunately, but a 

great fella. 

Q – Quirky: Who has the most 

interesting fashion sense? 

Jack Dunne hasn’t been replaced! 

R – Red Carpet: Who is the most 

famous contact in your phone? 

Johnny Sexton. 

S – Superstitions: Do you have any 

matchday routines? 

No. 

T – Trim: What’s the worst haircut 

you’ve ever had? 

The buzz cut. 

U: Under pressure: Who in the 

squad would be the best in a bad 

situation? 

Devin Toner would be if he was still 

in the squad. 

V – Verified: How often do you use 

social media? 

Every day. 

W – Worst fear: What are you 

most scared of? 

Rats. 

X – X-ray: Have you ever broken 

any bones? 

Collar bone and eye socket. 

Y – Youth: Where did you grow 

up? 

Dublin, Bucharest and Warsaw. 

Z – Zoo: What’s your favourite 

animal? 

Hippo. 


© 2022 adidas AG

Leinster League 

Summary 2022/2023 

BY BILL DUGGAN 

The business end of the Leinster Leagues 

is upon us, with all of the five divisions 

concluded on 26 March. The only outstanding 

business is the promotion/relegation playoff 

games scheduled for Sunday the 2 April. 

The premier division is Leinster 

League Division 1A and for the 

second season running Bective 

were presented with the trophy 

in Gorey RFC a few weeks ago 

by our President Debbie Carty. It 

was fitting in some ways that it 

was at the Wexford club as Gorey 

had produced a strong showing to 

come second with a homegrown 

side which augers well for the club 

in the future. 

Bective completed the double as their 

second XV won the seconds league 

as well with Gorey finishing third and 

Ashbourne in second place. The top three 

sides were separated by only four points. 

But in the division, the drama which could 

not have been scripted better, was with 

the bottom four teams. All four were 

playing one another and all four needed 

to win to avoid the bottom two places. 

Going into the weekend Seapoint were 

in pole position on 28 points, with Boyne 

on 26, Kilkenny on 25 while Ashbourne 

were on 24. 

Seapoint, post-Christmas, were a new 

team and recovered from being adrift 

at the bottom to end up in fourth place 

by virtue of 8-3 win over Kilkenny. They 

nudged Suttonians out of fourth spot and 

gained qualification for the AIL Junior 

Cup next season along with Bective, 

Gorey and Monkstown. Should Bective 

be promoted to the AIL, Suttonians would 

take the fourth cup spot. 

The bonus point that Kilkenny gained at 

Seapoint was not enough to save them 

from automatic relegation as Ashbourne 

went to North-East neighbours Boyne 

and ran out convincing 18-0 winners in 

very poor conditions. This guaranteed the 

Meath side sixth place and a spot next 

season in the division. Boyne stay ahead 

of Kilkenny by virtue of a better head to 

head record and are in the promotion/ 

relegation playoff to be played on the 

2 April. 

Bective now face into the AIL promotion 

playoffs. These are being played as a 

double header in Coolmine RFC on the 

1 April. Bective play Clogher Valley 

RFC (kick-off 1.00pm), who are the All- 

Ireland Junior Cup champions. It is a big 

challenge for the Donnybrook side, but 

we wish them well. Should they make it 

through to the final, they have two shots at 

promotion, and a lot of Leinster sides are 


hoping they succeed. The team that wins 

the final gains automatic promotion, while 

the losing finalist plays the second last 

side in AIL Div. 2C. The AIL playoff final is 

set to be played on 15 April, with a venue 

to be announced once the participants 

are known. 

On Sunday, 26 March the other divisions 

concluded but three divisions had already 

been decided upon. DLSP have won 2A, 

Edenderry are clear in 2B while the Kells 

based side of North Meath are Division 3 

champions. 

In Division 1B, Tullow were in pole 

position four points clear of Wicklow 

going into the last round, with an away 

game at Cill Dara, while Wicklow 

entertained Co. Carlow. Neither sides 

had easy games as Cill Dara needed a 

result to ensure they avoided the playoff 

position while Co Carlow have shown 

great promise throughout the season. 

Tullow did make it, ending up six points 

clear, and were presented with 1B Cup 

by Leinster Senior VP Billy Murphy. 

Wicklow slipped up against Co Carlow 

but go into a playoff game against 

Boyne, which is scheduled for Cill Darra 

RFC at 3pm on Sunday 2 April. The 

other two games in the division also had 

significance. Longford went to Dundalk 

needing a win and a try bonus point to 

avoid relegation and had shown some 

late form. Dundalk looked safe but 

wanted to avoid any slip ups. They would 

also look to Athy to beat Mullingar, the 

latter being four points clear of Longford 

who were bottom. In the end Longford 

pipped Mullingar by virtue of a BP win at 

Dundalk, while Mullingar could not beat 

Athy but they did get a losing BP. Both 

teams therefore ended level on league 

points, but Longford secured a playoff 

spot by virtue of winning more games. 

In 2A, with DLSP already crowned 

champions, there was still a battle 

between Clondalkin (38 points) and 

Coolmine (36 points) for the playoff 

spot going into the final round of games. 

Clondalkin were at home to 7th placed 

Newbridge while Coolmine entertained 

New Ross. This one went the way of 

Clondalkin with an 11 points to 3 win 

over Newbridge. Coolmine did their bit 

with a BP win over New Ross, but it was 

not enough to close the gap and so it 

is Clondalkin who take on Longford for 

a place in Division 1B. This game will 

also be played on the 2nd of April at 

North Kildare RFC. Portlaoise have been 

automatically relegated and will play in 

Division 2B next season. 

In 2B, second place was up for grabs 

with Balbriggan four points clear of 

Roscrea. Balbriggan visited Garda 

Westmanstown, while Roscrea needed to 

visit and beat the champions, Edenderry. 

The Fingal side had the advantage and 

it was theirs to lose. As it turned out both 

Balbriggan and Roscrea were beaten 

so Balbriggan go into the playoff game, 

where they will face Newbridge on 2 

April. The venue is at Coolmine RFC with 

a 3pm kick off. Arklow are relegated and 

there is no playoff game in this division as 

there was only seven teams in it. 

North Meath are Division 3 champions 

and won promotion, but there was strong 

showing from both Tallaght and Midland 

Warriors. The Declan Mahon Cup was 

played for in Ashbourne earlier in the 

month and North Meath beat Tallaght in 

an exciting game. 

So, the promotion/relegation playoffs 

have been finalised, but all of these clubs 

will hope that Bective FC go all the way 

back to the AIL. That would mean that 

these playoff games become redundant, 

as there is no Leinster side coming down 

from the AIL. To maintain the divisions 

as 8 team divisions, the two teams in the 

playoff will make up the higher division 

for next season. Leinster League clubs will 

be cheering on Bective FC in their quest! 

As a footnote, the Bank Of Ireland 

Provincial Towns Cup is at the semi-final 

stage with the games scheduled for 8 

April. Kilkenny, who are the defending 

champions, beat Gorey in their quarter 

final in Gorey, and taken on surprise 

package Cill Dara at Portlaoise RFC 

at 3.00pm. The other semi-final sees 

Division 1B champions Tullow take on 

Co. Carlow, in a Carlow local derby at 

Enniscorthy RFC. This game also kicks 

off at 3.oopm. The final is scheduled for 

Sunday, 23 April at Athy RFC. 


leinster 

squad 2022/23 

season 

Vakhtang Abdaladze #1263 

Prop 

DOB 6 Feb 1996 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 

WEIGHT 121kg (19st 1 lb) 

3 

CAPS 

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”) 


11 

CAPS 

Ed Byrne #1222 

Prop 

DOB 9 September 1993 

HEIGHT 1.80m (5’ 11”) 

WEIGHT 115kg (18st) 

6 

CAP 

Harry Byrne #1280 

Outhalf 

DOB 22 April 1999 

HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 


2 

CAPS 

Ross Byrne #1236 

Out-half 


HEIGHT 1.91m (6’ 3”) 


19 

CAPS 

Thomas Clarkson #1285 

Prop 

DOB 22 February 2000 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


Jack Conan #1223 

38 

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 

28 

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 

Prop 

DOB 14 November 1992 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 1”) 


65 

CAPS 

13 

CAPS 

Jamison Gibson-Park #1247 

Scrum-half 


HEIGHT 1.76m (5’ 9”) 


25 

CAPS 

Cian Healy #1142 

123 

CAPS 

2 

CAPS 

Robbie Henshaw #1251 

63 

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 

30 

CAPS 

Rónan Kelleher #1277 

21 

CAPS 

Jordan Larmour #1258 

30 

CAPS 

James Lowe #1262 

20 

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 

5 

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 

53 

CAPS 

Garry Ringrose #1237 

50 

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 

53 

CAPS 

Johnny Sexton #1127 

113 

CAPS 

14 

CAPS 

Dan Sheehan #1286 

17 

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 

50 

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

Leinster Rugby announce 

new partnership with MINT 


Rugby have 

announced a 

new three-year 

partnership 

with MINT 

Catering who 

have come on 

board as the 

Official Refuel 

Partner for 

Leinster Rugby. 

MINT was established in 2020 by 

Michael Hearty and David Rowan 

and run retail café outlets and food 

trucks under the name MINT Coffee, 

as well as catering for elite teams 

and athletes under MINT Catering. 

Working out of their kitchen in Blackrock, 

MINT employ 28 staff across their retail 

and catering business and have been 

working with Leinster Rugby at their UCD 

base since the start of the season. 

Éamon de Búrca, Sponsorship Manager 

with Leinster Rugby said, “We have been 

working very closely with Mick, David, 

Emma and all the team in MINT over the 

last six months or so to deliver a best in 

class offering for our players and we feel 

we have that now with a great facility and 

brilliant, nutritious food for the players. 

“Credit must go to Eoghan Hickey and 

Sophie Conroy, our nutritionists, for their 

help in getting this deal over the line which 

will benefit all the players based in UCD 

but also down in Energia Park as MINT 

becomes our official supplier. 

“We look forward to working with them 

over the next few years and developing the 

relationship further.” 

As part of the partnership, MINT, with the 

help of Notions Creative and RESCOM, 

delivered a refurbished players’ café 

during the recent international window with 

a new kitchen and dining facility included. 

That facility is now open and being used 

by the Leinster Rugby players based in 

UCD. 

Looking back over the past few 

months, MINT co-owner Mick Hearty 

acknowledged the foundation work 

behind the partnership and the 

cooperation to this point. 

“It’s with great pride that MINT enters this 

partnership with Leinster Rugby. 

“It’s been great working closely with Lead 

Nutritionist Eoghan Hickey over the last 

while and we have worked hard to create 

and deliver nutritious and tasty meals for 

the players’ refuel programme. 

“It has also been great to bring our own 

stamp to proceedings and to help create 

a new, vibrant and most importantly, an 

enjoyable facility for the players and the 

staff to enjoy in UCD. 

“With the help of Edwin Jebb in Notions 

Creative and Dave Norton of RESCOM, 

it was brilliant to create the new players’ 

café, where the players gather to eat and 

spend time together, and that is complete 

with all the tools to deliver a world class 

nutritional plan each week.” 

The Leinster Rugby Lead Performance 

Nutritionist, Eoghan Hickey, welcomed 

the partnership adding, “Since our 

collaboration started in July 2022, MINT 

have worked diligently with Sophie and 

I to deliver performance-focused food 

provision and menus for our Senior and 

Academy teams in UCD, with a big 

emphasis on quality in terms of taste and 

variety of dishes on offer. 

“The collaboration to refurbish our 

players’ café area to make it a more 

fit-for-purpose space has been a real plus 

and already we are seeing the benefits 

as it supports better performance nutrition 

application for players during a typical 

training week. 

“And it’s not just about the food, it’s about 

the space that they have created for the 

players to spend time together away from 

the pitch and the gym, where they can 

enjoy each other’s company. That’s been 

a big win already and it’s been great 

to see the energy the MINT team have 

brought in delivering on that project.” 


Lorem ipsum 

Kimpton St Honoré Paris

Blackrock College win 2023 

Bank of Ireland Leinster 

Schools Junior Cup 

BY DES BERRY 

Blackrock College 17 

A late try by 

Conall Power 

secured a 

53rd Bank 

of Ireland 


Schools Junior 

Cup title for 

Blackrock 

in dramatic 

fashion in the 

sunshine at 

Energia Park 

on Monday 

afternoon. 

St. Michael’s College 15 

It really all came down to St 

Michael’s setting a tempo that 

challenged Blackrock to live with 

it. And they did. Just about. 

St Michael’s were out of the traps rapidly, 

their backs and forwards whizzing 

through the phases with centre Matthew 

Haugh prominent. 

It was effective enough to draw a penalty 

which Harrison McMahon turned into the 

lead points in the fourth minute. 

Four minutes and 42 seconds passed 

before Blackrock touched the ball, Rhys 

Keogh scooping up a loose ball. 

In a flash, they moved forward and to 

the right where Bernard White sent wing 

James Browne into the corner for 5-3 in 

the sixth minute. 

Everything was happening at pace, even 

the St Michael’s maul was activated 

from a low throw by Joe Kennedy for the 

forwards to go to work, Haydn Gallagher 

plunging to the line for McMahon to 

convert from the right. 

They simply doubled down on their tactic 

of using the latch to add power to their 

carries, steaming onto the ball for Setanta 

McLaughlin to smash in the second try for 

15-5 in the 17th minute. 

A ball out on the full offered Blackrock an 

opportunity to implement their strategy 

in attack, Keogh just failing to hold onto 

the ball. 


Scott Barron’s big hit caused a turnover, 

Bernard White cut through the middle, 

Matthew Wyse flashed a peach of a pass 

and ‘Rock could not secure their lineout. 

Increasingly, the Aylesbury school was 

forced to relieve pressure rather than 

apply it until Sean King broke from deep 

and booted a 50-22 for a 5-metre 

lineout. 

However, ‘Rock were wise to the low 

throw, snaffling the ball away and 

surviving McLaughlin’s block down of 

Luke Coffey to leave it 15-5 at the half. 

Blackrock captain Wyse returned with a 

heavily strapped leg and was withdrawn 

within minutes in a real blow. 

A stunning tackle from behind by Eoin 

Loo on Browne was followed by Owen 

Twomey’s expert capture of Browne on 

his next carry for a penalty on the floor. 

The strength of White ensured a turnover 

and the big centre blasted out a 50-22 

for the lineout and scrum to click into 

gear. 

Back-to-back penalties in the shadow of 

the posts were used to create a sliver of 

space for Keogh to squeeze in, Coffey 

converting in tremendous style from the 

touchline in the 43rd minute. 

Blackrock was having the better of it, 

another tumbling kick leading to prime 

field position which was turned into a 

counter-attack by King’s long ball out of 

defence. 

A marauding McLaughlin carry was 

matched by prop Louis Magee’s body 

position for a penalty at the breakdown. 

A burst by Conall Power, the hands of 

White and another surge from White 

came to nothing. 

They stayed on message, using the lineout 

and forwards to eke out vital yards for 

Power to burrow over. 

SCORERS: 

Blackrock – J Browne, R Keogh, C 

Power try each; L Coffey con. 

St Michael’s – H Gallagher, S 

McLaughlin try each; H McMahon pen, 

con. 

Blackrock College: Cael McCloskey; 

James Browne, Oisin Daly, Bernard White 

(Conor White 56), Rhys Keogh; Luke 

Coffey, Charlie Martin; Louis Magee, 

Matthew Wyse (Capt, Lorcan Golden 

32), Luka Kelly (Ben Guerin 45), George 

Eggers (JJ Hamilton 34), Conall Power, 

Tom Keaveney (Paddy Agnew 58), Tom 

McAleese, Geoffrey Wall. 

St. Michael’s College: Sean King; 

Josh Divilly, Matthew Haugh, Scott 

Barron (James McMahon 56), Eoin Loo; 

Harrison McMahon, Andrew Norse 

(Ollie de Vreeze 47); Conor Canniffe, 

Joe Kennedy, Matthew Dredge (Dan 

O’Donohoe 15), Haydn Gallagher, 

Tom Reynolds (Phil Lynch 47), Setanta 

McLaughlin, Owen Twomey, Myles 

Berman (Capt). 

Referee: P O’Connor, Leinster Branch. 


compiled by stuart farmer 

media services limited 

Leinster Player 

SQUAD CAP NO DEBUT 

Statistics 

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+9 - - 0+9 - - - - - 0+26 2 10 0+25 2 10 0+1 - - 11 GEO 3 

MICHAEL ALA'ALATOA 1301 25 SEP 21 16+1 2 10 12+1 1 5 4 1 5 28+14 5 25 23+7 3 15 5+7 2 10 2 WS 12 

AITZOL ARENZANA-KING 1316 28 JAN 23 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - - - 

RYAN BAIRD 1278 27 APR 19 8+2 2 10 6+1 2 10 2+1 - - 27+21 9 45 23+15 9 45 4+6 - - 3 IR 11 

LEE BARRON 1308 23 APR 22 0+3 - - 0+3 - - - - - 0+5 - - 0+5 - - - - - - - 

JACK BOYLE 1317 18 FEB 23 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - - - 

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

ED BYRNE 1222 9 FEB 14 4+5 1 5 4+3 - - 0+2 1 5 31+63 13 65 31+48 11 55 0+15 2 10 3 IR 6 

HARRY BYRNE 1280 28 SEP 19 5+5 2 55 5+2 2 45 0+3 - 10 26+20 8 238 26+16 8 223 0+4 - 15 3 IR 2 

ROSS BYRNE 1236 4 SEP 15 11+4 - 99 7+4 - 67 4 - 32 96+47 9 925 78+25 4 663 18+22 5 262 26 IR 19 

TOM CLARKSON 1285 29 AUG 20 2+4 1 5 2+4 1 5 - - - 8+16 1 5 8+16 1 5 - - - 5 - 

JACK CONAN 1223 20 FEB 14 6+4 - - 4+2 - - 2+2 - - 97+30 25 125 67+18 16 80 30+12 9 45 20 IR 38 

WILL CONNORS 1264 9 FEB 18 1+7 - - 1+7 - - - - - 19+14 2 10 18+14 2 10 1 - - 20 IR 9 

HUGH COONEY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

CHRIS COSGRAVE 1305 26 MAR 22 2+1 1 5 2+1 1 5 - - - 3+2 1 5 3+2 1 5 - - - 3 - 

JAMES CULHANE 1315 28 JAN 23 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - - - 

MAX DEEGAN 1256 3 DEC 16 9+1 3 15 9 3 15 0+1 - - 52+42 27 135 49+29 25 125 3+13 2 10 1 IR 2 

BRIAN DEENY 1306 23 APR 22 4+5 2 10 4+4 2 10 0+1 - - 6+5 2 10 6+4 2 10 0+1 - - 4 - 

CAELAN DORIS 1268 28 APR 18 8+1 2 10 4+1 - - 4 2 10 55+9 10 50 37+7 6 30 18+2 4 20 2 IR 28 

CORMAC FOLEY 1299 24 APR 21 2+4 1 5 2+4 1 5 - - - 4+7 2 10 4+7 2 10 - - - 4 - 

CIARAN FRAWLEY 1265 17 FEB 18 4+2 - 9 4+2 - 9 - - - 35+27 7 188 32+19 5 172 3+8 2 16 8 - 

TADHG FURLONG 1220 1 NOV 13 1+1 - - 1+1 - - - - - 86+43 10 50 48+35 3 15 38+8 7 35 8 IR 65 

JAMISON GIBSON-PARK 1247 2 SEP 16 5+1 - - 2 - - 3+1 - - 65+57 22 110 51+30 15 75 14+27 7 35 8 IR 25 

FINTAN GUNNE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

MARCUS HANAN 1295 19 FEB 21 0+1 - - 0+1 - - - - - 0+4 - - 0+4 - - - - - - - 

CIAN HEALY 1142 5 MAY 07 4+6 - - 4+2 - - 0+4 - - 164+95 30 150 97+58 16 80 65+36 13 65 11 IR 123 

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 63 

JASON JENKINS 1310 17 SEP 22 10+2 2 10 9+2 2 10 1 - - 10+2 2 10 9+2 2 10 1 - - 9 SA 1 

DAVE KEARNEY 1158 16 MAY 09 9 3 15 9 3 15 - - - 159+23 55 275 133+16 48 240 25+6 7 35 2 IR 19 

HUGO KEENAN 1253 5 NOV 16 7 4 20 3 1 5 4 3 15 48+3 13 65 31+3 6 30 17 7 35 1 IR 30 

RONAN KELLEHER 1277 22 FEB 19 6+3 4 20 4+1 1 5 2+2 3 15 35+10 17 85 20+6 12 60 15+4 5 25 2 IR 21 

JORDAN LARMOUR 1258 2 SEP 17 11+1 5 25 9 3 15 2+1 2 10 75+11 32 160 49+7 23 115 26+4 9 45 3 IR 30 


SQUAD CAP NO DEBUT 


ALL GAMES URC EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14/URC EPCR 

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

SINCE LAST TRY 

CAPS 

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

JAMES LOWE 1262 2 DEC 17 4 3 15 2 1 5 2 2 10 67+2 50 250 41+1 29 145 26+1 21 105 2 IR 20 

GUS MCCARTHY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

JOE MCCARTHY 1303 29 JAN 22 3+3 - - 2+2 - - 1+1 - - 11+6 1 5 10+2 1 5 1+4 - - 8 IR 1 

NICK MCCARTHY 1241 19 DEC 15 1+12 - - 1+11 - - 0+1 - - 10+49 5 25 10+42 5 25 0+7 - - 19 - 

TADGH MCELROY 1312 28 OCT 22 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - - - 

LUKE MCGRATH 1206 5 MAY 12 12+3 7 35 11+1 6 30 1+2 1 5 126+64 48 240 90+50 39 195 36+14 9 45 3 IR 19 

JOHN MCKEE 1307 23 APR 22 5+7 2 10 5+7 2 10 - - - 7+8 2 10 7+8 2 10 - - - 7 - 

MICHAEL MILNE 1279 28 SEP 19 5+6 4 20 5+4 4 20 0+2 - - 6+22 6 30 6+20 6 30 0+2 - - 1 - 

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

ROSS MOLONY 1233 20 FEB 15 14+5 - - 12+3 - - 2+2 - - 96+62 5 25 84+45 4 20 12+17 1 5 35 - 

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

CHARLIE NGATAI 1311 17 SEP 22 9+2 - - 7+2 - - 2 - - 9+2 - - 7+2 - - 2 - - - NZ 1 

JAMIE OSBORNE 1294 30 JAN 21 10+2 1 5 8+1 - - 2+1 1 5 23+8 2 10 21+7 1 5 2+1 1 5 4 - 

JIMMY O'BRIEN 1272 23 NOV 18 13 3 15 9 1 5 4 2 10 56+10 19 99 43+9 11 59 13+1 8 40 2 IR 5 

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 2 1 5 2 1 5 - - - 10+1 2 10 10+1 2 10 - - - 1 - 

SCOTT PENNY 1271 23 NOV 18 10+2 5 25 10+1 5 25 0+1 - - 44+9 28 140 44+8 28 140 0+1 - - 1 - 

ANDREW PORTER 1246 2 SEP 16 8+4 3 15 4+4 2 10 4 1 5 49+54 17 85 33+35 12 60 16+19 5 25 6 IR 53 

GARRY RINGROSE 1237 12 SEP 15 10+1 6 30 6+1 4 20 4 2 10 110+3 36 188 66+2 23 123 44+1 13 65 1 IR 50 

RHYS RUDDOCK 1167 6 DEC 09 10 3 15 10 3 15 - - - 166+54 15 75 128+35 13 65 37+17 2 10 3 IR 27 

ROB RUSSELL 1302 3 OCT 21 7+4 9 45 7+4 9 45 - - - 10+6 9 45 10+6 9 45 - - - 1 - 

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

JAMES RYAN 1259 2 SEP 17 8+3 1 5 4+3 - - 4 1 5 60+9 4 20 31+4 1 5 29+5 3 15 5 IR 53 

JOHNNY SEXTON 1127 27 JAN 06 3+2 1 32 3+1 1 30 0+1 - 2 159+30 27 1646 92+22 14 887 65+8 12 728 4 I R 113 

DAN SHEEHAN 1286 23 OCT 20 9+3 9 45 7+1 8 40 2+2 1 5 18+23 25 125 15+14 21 105 3+9 4 20 3 IR 17 

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

ALEX SOROKA 1296 28 FEB 21 0+2 - - 0+2 - - - - - 2+5 - - 2+5 - - - - - - - 

CHARLIE TECTOR 1314 28 OCT 22 0+5 1 9 0+5 1 9 - - - 0+5 1 9 0+5 1 9 - - - 2 - 

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 8+2 2 10 8+1 2 10 0+1 - - 12+4 2 10 12+3 2 10 0+1 - - 4 - 

JOSH VAN DER FLIER 1228 11 OCT 14 9+1 7 35 5+1 2 10 4 5 25 99+25 25 125 57+19 10 50 42+6 15 75 1 IR 50 

KICKING 


SUCCESS 

ALL GAMES URC EPCR ALL GAMES PRO14/URC EPCR OVERALL 

RATE C PG DG C PG DG C PG DG C PG DG C PG DG C PG DG ATT Career % 

HARRY BYRNE 62.86% 21 1 - 16 1 - 5 - - 84 10 - 78 9 - 6 1 - 127 74.02% 

ROSS BYRNE 83.93% 42 5 - 26 5 - 16 - - 296 95 1 221 66 1 75 29 - 496 78.83% 

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 68.42% 12 1 - 11 1 - 1 - - 277 308 11 140 172 7 130 132 4 733 79.81% 

CHARLIE TECTOR 66.67% 2 - - 2 - - - - - 2 - - 2 - - - - - 3 66.67% 


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Match Day Mascots 

Bobby 

Fox 

Age: 10 

School: Nuns Cross National School, Ashford, Co. 

Wicklow 

Class: 4th Class 

Hobbies and interests: Rugby, Hockey, Tennis and 

Swimming 

Favourite player: Josh van der Flier 

Leo 

Geraghty 

Age: 11 

School: Gaelscoil an Bhradáin Feasa, Drogheda, Co 

Meath 

Class: 5th Class 

Hobbies and interests: Rugby, Soccer, GAA, and 

Basketball with his friends. 

Favourite player: Garry Ringrose

Squads 

matchday 

15 

14 

13 

12 

11 

10 

9 

Hugo KEENAN 

Jordan LARMOUR 

Jimmy O’BRIEN 

Robbie HENSHAW 

James LOWE 

Ross BYRNE 

Jamison GIBSON-PARK 

FULL BACK 

RIGHT WING 

OUTSIDE CENTRE 

INSIDE CENTRE 

LEFT WING 

FLY HALF 

SCRUM HALF 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

Andrew PORTER 

Dan SHEEHAN 

Tadhg FURLONG 

Ross MOLONY 

James RYAN [C] 

Ryan BAIRD 

Josh VAN DER FLIER 

Jack CONAN 

LOOSE HEAD PROP 

HOOKER 

TIGHT HEAD PROP 

SECOND ROW 

SECOND ROW 

BLINDSIDE FLANKER 

OPENSIDE FLANKER 

NUMBER 8 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23 

John McKEE 

Cian HEALY 

Michael ALA’ALATOA 

Jason JENKINS 

Scott PENNY 

Luke McGRATH 

Harry BYRNE 

Ciarán FRAWLEY 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT

officials 

REFEREE: LUKE PEARCE (ENGLAND) 

ASSISTANT REFEREE 1: DAN JONES (ENGLAND) 

ASSISTANT REFEREE 2: JAMIE LEAHY (ENGLAND) 

TMO: ANDREW JACKSON (ENGLAND) 

FULL BACK 

Michael LOWRY 15 

RIGHT WING 

OUTSIDE CENTRE 

INSIDE CENTRE 

LEFT WING 

FLY HALF 

SCRUM HALF 

Rob BALOUCOUNE 

James HUME 

Stuart McCLOSKEY 

Jacob STOCKDALE 

Billy BURNS 

Nathan DOAK 

14 

13 

12 

11 

10 

9 

LOOSE HEAD PROP 

HOOKER 

TIGHT HEAD PROP 

SECOND ROW 

SECOND ROW 

BLINDSIDE FLANKER 

OPENSIDE FLANKER 

NUMBER 8 

Rory SUTHERLAND 

Rob HERRING 

Tom O’TOOLE 

Alan O’CONNOR [C] 

Kieran TREADWELL 

Dave McCANN 

Nick TIMONEY 

Duane VERMEULEN 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

Tom STEWART 

Eric O’SULLIVAN 

16 

17 

REPLACEMENT 

Jeffery TOOMAGA-ALLEN 

18 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

REPLACEMENT 

Harry SHERIDAN 

Marcus REA 

John COONEY 

Stewart MOORE 

Ben MOXHAM 

19 

20 

21 

22 

23

Leinster Rugby 

Season Ticket 

Renewals Open 


have launched 

their Season 

Tickets for 

2023/24 and 

as always, the 

first step 

is a renewal 

process 

for those 

with a seat 

currently. 

Leinster Rugby have 12,248 

Season Ticket Holders this season, 

and the club has confirmed that 

there would again be no increase 

in the price of the season tickets 

for the coming season. 

The club also confirmed that the Guinness 

Fan Zone has again been confirmed for 

next season at the RDS Arena following 

a hugely popular debut season in 

2022/23. 

Once again, a number of local bands 

and DJs have been secured to provide 

pre and post-match entertainment for all 

supporters at games at the RDS Arena 

and a number of additional match-day 

activations are also being looked at for 

the 2023/24 season. 

Leinster Rugby CEO, Shane Nolan, said, 

“The current season is still very much 

alive and going strong but the planning 

for next year and indeed beyond that, 

can’t wait. 

“We have had a brilliant reaction from 

our supporters this season and it’s been 

heartening to get through a full season 

with no interruptions and to see that 

confidence in our Season Ticket numbers 

and in our match day attendances. 

“We are though mindful that we are 

all making our way out of the impact 

of Covid-19 and an on-going cost of 

living crisis and for that reason, we have 

decided that prices for 2023/24 will stay 

as they are. 

“Leinster Rugby supporters stood by us 

during the Covid-19 pandemic and we 

feel that it’s important that we recognise 

that fact.” 

Nolan also confirmed that Season Ticket 

Holders would not be impacted over the 

course of the 2023/24 season by any 

redevelopment works at the RDS Arena 

but that an update from the RDS would be 

the next step in the process. 

“Both Leinster Rugby and the RDS Arena 

are hugely excited by the work already 

underway. 

“As a club we are supporting the work 

of the RDS, on what is an exciting multipurpose 

Arena regeneration project, to 

ensure that this important opportunity 

advances. We are excited about our 

long-term future in the RDS, especially 

having recently signed a 25-year 

agreement. 

“When the time is right, the RDS will 

give the next update and I know our 

supporters are looking forward hugely 

to that.” 

As well as confirming the pricing strategy, 

Leinster Rugby also confirmed that 

Season Tickets would include entry to all 

Leinster Rugby Women’s games, as well 

as any Leinster Rugby ‘A’ games played 

during the regular season, excluding 

play-offs and finals. 

The key dates for current Season Ticket 

Holders and for members of the public 

looking to purchase season tickets were 

also confirmed by the club. 

Supporters with a seat currently will have 

until 14 April 2023 to renew, after which 

time the tickets will be made available to 

the waiting list and finally, from 26 April 

2023, the remaining tickets will be made 

available to the general public. 

“I think we have seen so many positives 

on the pitch this season from Leo Cullen 

and his squad of players and from Tania 

Rosser and her squad and you see the 

talent that is coming through the player 

pathway from our clubs and our schools,” 

continued Nolan. 

“Supporters are seeing the best of talent 

on a weekly basis in Energia Park, in the 

RDS and in the Aviva and I know there is 

a real and genuine excitement for what’s 

to come next season and beyond.” 

The renewal window for Leinster Rugby 

Season Tickets opens this morning, while 

remaining tickets will be available to the 

public from 26 April 2023. 


offical leinster supporters club 

Welcome from 

the OLSC to 

today’s Round of 

16 match in the 

2023 Heineken 

Champions Cup. 

It’s Derby day here in the 

Aviva where we welcome our 

interprovincial rivals Ulster Rugby. 

We arrive back to Lansdowne 

Road after a tough clash against 

the DHL Stormers in the RDS last 

week, down 17-0 at half-time and 

then coming away with a 22-22 

draw, and three crucial points 

securing that all-important cushion 

at the top of the table. 

It was a super performance from a 

relatively young Leinster side pitched 

against a team who are second in the 

table and with a full-strength team 

including their International players. 

We seem to like a bit of drama this 

season, when we last played Ulster in 

Round 9 of the URC on 3 December, the 

game had plenty of that. Leinster went in 

at half-time with the loss of Cian Healy to 

a red card and 19 points down (3-22) it 

all felt like what was going to be a home 

defeat. Whatever the dressing room talk 

was it truly worked, the lads came out 

firing on all cylinders, Gary Ringrose 

calling the shots, and we scored a much 

needed try early into the second half. The 

team performance kicked on from there 

in might, scoring in the end 38-22 and 

another bonus point win. 


What will today bring and will take 

pride in? It’s two weeks since Ireland 

won the Grand Slam here and we have 

lost some experienced players from that 

competition through injury, but its winner 

takes all, there are no second chances this 

year, this really is knockout rugby. 

Ulster won their South African contest 

last week at home in Kingspan Stadium, 

beating the Bulls 32-23 in an exciting 

game of rugby. It was an excellent 

performance for a team that will be eying 

up the prize of a quarter-final spot next 

week. Make no mistake that this time 

around Ulster will be looking to strike 

hard and fast from the opening whistle 

and this is something we need to be 

prepared for. We need to get behind the 

lads from kick-off, we are here in huge 

numbers, so raise those flags, be loud, 

sing and shout at the top of your voices 

and get that Leinster noise going and 

secure a home victory. 

Last week, we announced Dave Kearney 

as our 24th OLSC Legend. We were 

delighted to unveil the latest t-shirt last 

Friday in the RDS. Dave joined us on 

stage to chat through his rugby career. 

He was delighted to unveil the design, 

and he will take pride of place on the 

Legends Wall in the RDS. There are some 

t-shirts still for sale online, at shop.olsc. 

ie, with all proceeds going to our chosen 

charity, Jigsaw. 

We also host our annual quiz in The Bath 

Pub, D4 on the 19th of April, in aid of 

Jigsaw, please grab some family and 

friends buy a table, and come along, it 

promises to be a great night, with some 

fantastic prizes to be won and we will 

have a great raffle on the night, look out 

on our SM channels for updates. 

Once again, a big thanks to all our 

volunteers who help us out regularly, we 

just couldn’t do any of it without your 

help, if you would like to help out, please 

reach out. Please tag us in any of your 

photos from the day #OLSC. As always, 

we’re thankful for the support we as a 

committee get from Leinster Rugby, Bank 

of Ireland, Laya, Guinness, and all our 

other sponsors and we encourage you 

to show your support through our social 

media channels. A special thanks today 

to Lansdowne FC and The Sandymount 

Hotel for providing great spaces for our 

supporters to meet. 

Be loud, be true, be blue! 

The OLSC Committee 

olsc@leisterrugby.ie

Mental health support... 

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. 

jigsaw.ie 

Jigsaw is a registered charity in Ireland.

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Leinster Rugby and 

Syracuse University 

announce partnership 

Leinster Rugby and Syracuse University have recently announced a 

wide-ranging partnership allowing both organisations to utilise 

the on and off-field expertise of the other. 

Founded in 1870, Syracuse 

University is based in New York 

and has 45 sports clubs, including 

rugby union and this is the first 

such partnership for their rugby 

programme. 

Syracuse University RFC was established 

in 1969 and as part of the partnership, 

Leinster Rugby will appoint a coach 

to live and work on campus full-time, 

offering student athletes attending 

Syracuse University access to Leinster 

Rugby coaching and training expertise. 

The partnership will also see the 

establishment of the Leinster Rugby 

School of Excellence summer camps 

bringing young players from around 

the States to Syracuse, and will create 

coaching development programmes for 

Syracuse and for Leinster Rugby coaches. 

Finally, it will also provide opportunities 

for Syracuse students to learn in Leinster’s 

head office, in addition to exploring 

exchange opportunities for Irish and 

Syracuse University students. 

Announcing the partnership, Shane 

Nolan, CEO of Leinster Rugby said, 

“Leinster is excited to begin its relationship 

with Syracuse University, an institution 

with a great history, excellent academic 

standards and values, and a strong rugby 

culture. 

“As Leinster Rugby looks to build a 

presence in America, Syracuse is an ideal 

partner for us to explore the possibilities 

and we’re excited to see what that looks 

like.” 

Kent Syverud, Chancellor of Syracuse 

University echoed those sentiments and 

said, “The University is committed to 

becoming a leader in collegiate club 

sports offerings, and our partnership with 

an exceptional organisation like Leinster 

Rugby helps us further that goal. 

“We are excited for the future of our 

rugby programmes and look forward to 

building close ties with Leinster Rugby 

in the coming years that will hopefully 

benefit us both.” 

Representatives from Leinster Rugby have 

already visited the campus and Head 

of Rugby Development, Philip Lawlor, 

commented, “We’ve been to Syracuse 

University and have met with the 

administration, the rugby club coaches, 

their alumni and current student-athletes, 

and we’re very excited to launch this 

initiative. 

“We want to help propel Syracuse’s 

rugby teams to be among the best in 

the United States, and we think that 

Syracuse University, with its impressive 

educational quality and strong rugby club 

programmes, can also benefit Leinster 

Rugby in terms of our players but also for 

our coach and staff development. 

“With a lot of excitement building in the 

States towards hosting a Rugby World 

Cup for the first time in 2031 and 2033, 

we feel it is the right time to put in place 

a partnership such as this and we believe 

that Syracuse, based in New York with 

its strong Irish connections, is the perfect 

setting for this partnership.” 

The Leinster Rugby School of Excellence 

has been running for over 25 years, with 

over 1,200 boys and girls taking part 

every summer. 

As well as establishing the School of 

Excellence model on campus in Syracuse, 

the ability to harness the knowledge and 

coaching expertise of Leinster Rugby 

staff is one of the key benefits according 

to Bob Wilson, head coach of Syracuse 

University RFC. 

“This truly unique collaboration with 

Leinster Rugby will enhance the studentathlete 

experience and raise the profile 

of rugby on campus, in Central New York 

and throughout the country. 

“It will attract potential students to the 

University from around the world and 

expose our athletes to Leinster’s great 

sporting and professional culture.” 

Wilson also hopes that the University 

will become a sought-after destination 

for Irish students looking to study abroad 

in America while playing competitive 

collegiate rugby, while the partnership 

will provide experiential learning 

opportunities for sport management and 

other University students, who will intern 

at Leinster’s operations in Dublin as part 

of a capstone project. 

The first of the Leinster Rugby School of 

Excellence camps will run from 31 July 

2023 and will be open to boys and girls, 

ages 13 – 17, and will offer residential 

and non-residential options in Syracuse 

University. 

The appointment of a first Leinster Rugby 

coach to live and work on campus in 

Syracuse University will be announced in 

the coming months and will be in place 

for the start of the 2023/24 academic 

year. 


Harry Nichols 

Perpetual Trophy 

23 March saw the fourth running 

of the North Midlands Harry 

Nichols Perpetual Trophy finals 

day at Athy RFC. 

Originally started, in 2019, by the then 

Portlaoise RFC CCRO, Paul Brady, 

the North Midlands competition has 

grown from four schools to the 11 who 

participated in the 2023 program. The 

Trophy, donated by Harry Nicholls, is a 

recycled piece of Bog Oak, recovered 

from a collection of Construction 

and Demolition waste in early 2018. 

Unfortunately, there was a limited 

participation due to Covid-19 over the 

last few seasons, however this year we 

have seen a resurgence of interest. 

The focus of the competition has always 

been on getting 1st year boys onto the 

grass enjoying and experiencing the 

game of rugby. The players, in the main 

come from secondary schools where 

rugby is generally still very much in the 

developmental stage. 

The annual program starts with a seeking 

of interest from schools early in the new 

year. Then progress is made into three 

to four one-off games over a period of 

four to five weeks culminating in a Finals 

Day. The aim of the Finals Day is to grade 

schools into groups so competitive games 

can be played. 

The Harry Nichols Perpetual Trophy 

game this year was a very close contest 

played between Patricians Secondary 

School from Newbridge and Naas 

CBS, with Naas CBS being the eventual 

winners. 

A special mention must go out to 

the player’s involved, especially the 

behaviour exhibited around respecting 

the long-held ethos of respect that goes 

with the game of rugby. As with all 

school’s rugby competitions, it would 

be impossible to run without the support 

of the schools and all the school staff 

involved. Their ongoing contributions 

are very much appreciated by the 

players, the clubs and Leinster “Rugby 

Community” Rugby as a whole. 

Another mention must go out to the 11 

schools who participated in the program 

this season: 

Adamstown Community College, 

Lucan. Co Dublin 

Ardscoil Na Trionoide, 

Athy, Co Kildare 

Confey Community College, 

Leixlip, Co Kildare 

Maynooth Education Campus, 

Maynooth, Co. Kildare 

Mountrath Community School, 

Mountrath, Co Laois 

Naas CBS, 

Naas, Co Kildare 

Salesian College, 

Celbridge, Co Kildare 

Naas Community College, 

Osberstown, Naas, Co Kildare 

Patricians Secondary School, 

Newbridge, Co Kildare 

St Kevins Community College, 

Dunlavin, Co Wicklow. 

St Marys CBS, 

Portlaoise, Co Laois 

Finally pulling the whole program 

together a massive thanks must go to 

the North Midlands Leinster Rugby 

staff particularly the Club Community 

Rugby Officers (CCRO). The CCRO 

program and it’s continued evolution is 

essential to the growth of rugby across 

the province and the clubs that boast a 

well-established program are reaping the 

benefits via their mini, youth and adult 

playing numbers. 

The North Midlands CCRO program 

could not function to the level that it 

does without the continued high level 

of support from the nine North Midland 

Rugby clubs and the two County Councils 

– Laois County Council and Kildare 

County Council. 


GETTING 

We check social media 

for the latest views 

and thoughts across 

SOCIAL 

the 12 counties 


WHERE 

ARE THEY 

NOW? 

STEVE BY DES BERRY 

CROSBIE 

THEN - Steve 

played four 

times for 

Leinster from 

2014 to 2016. 

NOW - He 

is living 

with his 

girlfriend 

Roisin in 

Ballsbridge, 

working on 

building his 

mobile sauna 

business Fad 

Saoil Saunas. 


Steve Crosbie Sea Swimmer 

Steve Crosbie 

is a different 

sort of dude. 

St Gerard’s won three Leinster 

Schools Leagues in a row from 

2009 and 2011 and made the 

Senior Cup semi-finals, beating 

both Blackrock and Terenure 

along the way in 2010. 

It brought the school and its’ players 

to the attention of the Leinster decisionmakers, 

Steve and future British & Irish 

Lions number eight Jack Conan earning 

entry into the Leinster Academy. 

“The pathway is so clear. You can really 

see the markers you have to hit to make 

the next step and the step after that. 

“I also had Jack (Conan) as a source of 

information about the benchmarks in the 

Academy and got completely obsessed 

with living the dream.” 

The process all began when the Crosbies 

moved from Cork to Dublin: “I would 

have started my mini’s career in DLSP 

at 5, usually playing at centre, always 

playing a year up with my brother Jody’s 

group. 

“When I dropped down to my own age 

grade, I got more and more responsibility 

as a ten, being able to read the game, 

being able to deal better with the pace 

from my previous experience without 

realising it. 

“I had a bit more time on the ball, 

organising players, taking control. I grew 

to absolutely love being the shot-caller, 

dictating the play because I have good 

peripheral vision and I loved putting 

players into gaps.” 

It was the beginning of an ascent in the 

game which took in Leinster and Ireland 

honours 

In fact, Steve used the disappointment of 

being dropped by Ireland Schools for the 

FIRA U18 Five Nations Festival in 2011 as 

a powerful motivating force for the future. 

“It wasn’t until I got dropped by Ireland 

that I really realised how much I wanted 

this. I made a promise to myself that that 

would never happen again, especially for 

the reasons that I lost out on selection. 

“Looking back now I think the problem 

was I was completely focused on getting 

an Academy contract. I never thought 

bigger than that. 

“I never thought I am going to be the 

next Johnny Sexton. I never thought I am 

going to be Leinster’s next out-half,” he 

concedes. 

“That is where I look back and see the 

first crack in my mentality. I didn’t know 

my worth or believe in myself as much 

and really relied on my relationships 

with coaches in order to feel needed or 

wanted.” 

The diligence required to reshape his 

body and the knowledge gained from 

two years in the Sub-Academy and three 

in the Academy led to four Leinster caps. 


“I got obsessed. You get a lot of 

measurements when you are in the 

system,” says Steve. 

“For example, we did personality 

tests at Leinster to evaluate the type of 

personality you had and the type of 

learner you were. 

“The personality test characterised you 

in a colour system. Blue meant you were 

very methodical, fact-based. Green was 

very authoritative and benefited from a 

solid framework. 

“Yellow was very charismatic, relying on 

feeling and relationships. I was measured 

as a yellow-orange type. The less I knew 

the better. It came through in my natural, 

flowing style of play. 

“It was clear as day I was quite different 

to a lot of the guys,” he says. 

“I flourished under Mike Ruddock where 

there was enough of a framework to work 

with while enough openness to go off 

script or play what was in front of you. I 

thrived in that structure. 

“You go into a Joe Schmidt-era where 

you know exactly what you are doing for 

three-to-five phases and then you play. 

“I struggled a lot with that. Even from the 

second or third phase, what I perceived 

as a gap to be exploited was interpreted 

as going off-script and I would get the 

head eaten off me. 

“As a young fella, I went into my shell, 

didn’t express myself and was forever 

asking a coach ‘what exactly do you 

want me to do here?’ Because that was 

embedded in me at that time. 

“It stymied my game. There were more 

and more statistics. The pile on of the data 

started to affect my performance. 

“I would focus on making those numbers 

better as opposed to performing on the 

pitch.” 

He grew up in a creative household 

where his mother was a singer and his 

father involved in advertising in the 

newspaper industry. 

Where some rugby players wrap 

themselves around being a rugby player 

first and last, it was only ever part of the 

identification process for Steve. 

“I hated being seen as just a rugby 

player,” he adds. 

“I would hate it when I would meet 

someone for the first time and all they 

wanted to talk about was Leinster or 

rugby. It felt inauthentic. 

“I was more than just a player. I had 

interests and hobbies. I wanted my 

personality to speak way more than the 

label of being a Leinster player.” 

It has caused the 30-year-old to rethink 

his past and contemplate whether or not 

the dream was just an illusion. 

“There is always an internal voice that 

asks ‘was rugby ever for me?’ I thought it 

was my destiny. I lived the dream. When 

I got my first cap, it was unbelievable. 

I was delighted - especially at that 

moment. But was it worth all of the 

sacrifice even when things were going 

my way? 

“But, when your hobby becomes your job 

you see it differently, more distractions 

started to come my way, the sacrifice 

of missing family occasions and friends’ 

birthdays began to weigh on me. 

“If you want to be the best of the best, 

you have to do those things,” he shares. 

“There was an 18-month period when I 

did dedicate myself completely to that 

lifestyle when playing with the Ireland 

U20s and just every decision I made 

every day was about me. 

“In that time, I broke up with my girlfriend, 

my relationship with my brother and 

family suffered because If it wasn’t 

anything to do with rugby I didn’t care.” 

After travelling to play for Wanganui in 

New Zealand, Steve was very specific 

about what he wanted to achieve when 

coming back home to accept a senior 

contract with Munster. 

“I wrote out SMART goals, a framework 

taught to me by IRUPA, but sport, as I 

have come to terms with, also relies on 

timing. 

“God bless him, but Anthony Foley 

passed away two weeks after signing me 

for Munster, so I never really settled down 

there knowing I only had a three-month 

contract. 

“I have had to do a lot of work on myself 

mentally, digging deep, searching for 

answers. The biggest fear for any rugby 

player is ‘what will I do now?’ 

“I am and will be forever grateful for the 

support I have had from my mum, dad, 

brother, girlfriend, my best mates and 

anyone I was lucky enough to ever work 

with. 


“Being surrounded by the best of the best 

drives you beyond places you thought 

were ever imaginable. High Performing 

environments made me be at my best and 

expect more from myself. 

“The work done both on and off the field 

to develop a whole rounded individual is 

why I still and always will love rugby “. 

The questions that swirled around 

his head when Steve was playing 

professional rugby made it easier to 

leave the game behind. Offers overseas 

were not as attractive as they once may 

have been. 

The stay at Leinster was followed by short 

stints in Wanganui, New Zealand and 

Munster before 18 months at Connacht 

and retirement at just 25. 

Now, Steve has found his mojo as 

the Director of Fad Saoil Saunas, 

Ireland’s first professional mobile sauna 

service at seaside locations promoting 

thermoregulation therapies. 

“I now use the fear I felt in rugby. 

Whenever I feel fear on the 

entrepreneurial path I am on, I interpret 

the feeling of terror as proof that I am 

doing something right. 

Steve Crosbie & girlfriend Roisin 

“I push through. I force myself to embrace 

the terror, ‘embrace the unknown.’ That 

is a mantra of business, a mantra for life 

really.” 

The idea for ‘Fad Saoil’ evolved over 

time. 

“I have been a sea swimmer for most of 

my life and it drove me nuts that no one 

would come with me,” he shares. 

He experienced many different 

professional environments and realised 

the benefits of going from one extreme 

temperature to another, as professional 

athletes do so often from a recovery 

perspective. 

He thought that this should be rolled out 

to the general public and that this practice 

should be experienced by everyone. 

“Finland, for example, has roughly the 

same population as Ireland. There are 

over 3.5million public saunas in the 

country. 

“‘Fad Saoil’ means long life or longevity 

in Irish. The business is aimed at anybody 

who is searching for more out of their 

lives.” 

This experience is a fun, healthy, unique 

lifestyle that can have astronomical health 

benefits. 

“It was established in 2019 to 

communicate, educate and inspire 

people about the health benefits of sauna 

use and Irish Sea Swimming in rain, hail 

or snow.” 

It is his passion. He didn’t have to think 

twice to dive right in. 

“I got to live one dream, why can’t I live 

another one?” 


ENTER THE CODE BELOW 

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Referees 

Corner 

BY DAN WALLACE 

A warm welcome to another 

edition of Referees Corner. 

A special welcome also to the 

refereeing team from the RFU 

of Luke Pearce, assisted by Dan 

Jones and Jamie Leahy and the 

TMO is Andrew Jackson. John 

Carvill is No. 4, Mark Gargan is 

No. 5 and the Timekeeper is Dan 

Wallace. 

Luke joined the Devon Referee Society 

in 2005 at the age of 16. He previously 

played rugby at junior level, being part 

of the Exeter Saracens Rugby Club and 

captained a Welsh Exiles Under-16’s 

team. In September 2005, Luke refereed 

his first game, Crediton Seconds against 

Newton Abbot Thirds. From there, Luke 

quickly went through the referee system, 

becoming the youngest referee to be 

promoted to the RFU National panel in 

2009. 

In September 2011, Luke took charge 

of his first Premiership match, officiating 

Gloucester’s home game against 

Worcester Warriors. That same season, 

he debuted on the World Sevens Series 

and since then has appeared in nine 

series tournaments. 

In November 2011, he took charge 

of his first European game, referring 

Stade Français’s victory over București 

Wolves during the 2011–12 European 

Challenge Cup. In February 2013, he 

refereed his first international, taking 

charge of Romania against Russia in the 

European Nations Cup. Later that year, 

he was appointed by World Rugby to 

officiate in the 2013 IRB Junior World 

Championship in France. In 2014, Luke 

made his first Six Nations Championship 

appearance, acting as Assistant Referee 

for Steve Walsh in the meeting between 

Italy and Scotland. In the 2018 mid-year 

rugby union internationals, he took 

charge of his first tier 1 international of 

New Zealand vs France. 

This is his eighth time refereeing Leinster, 

his last being Leinster v Racing 92 in 

Paris last December. His first time was 

Ulster v Leinster in 2014. 


Annual Dinner 

The annual dinner of the Leinster 

Rugby Referees is the highlight 

of our somewhat limited social 

calendar and is always a great 

event. This year it took place in 

Green Isle Hotel on Saturday, 

March 25th and was hosted 

by Leinster Rugby Referees 

President Gordon Condell. 

On the night, our much-anticipated 

annual awards are handed out. There 

are five main awards, one for lifetime 

achievement, one for referee of the year, 

another for refereeing performance 

of the year, one for the referee who 

progressed the most during the year and 

one for club of the year. 

The lifetime achievement award is 

named after Ham Lambert who passed 

away a few years ago. Ham was an 

Irish cricketer, rugby union player and 

later international rugby referee. By 

profession a veterinary surgeon, he was 

noted for being the first in Ireland to 

own a practice devoted to the care of 

companion animals. This year’s winner 

was David MacDonald of Seapoint RFC 

who has devoted a number of years 

to the association. As well as being 

a former president of the association 

(2016/17) he is chairman of our 

management committee, an unenviable 

task. He follows a long line of winners 

including Peter Donnelly, Brendan 

Jenkinson, Tom Aplin, Des McCabe, 

and Brian Pender to name a few. 

The award for referee of the year is 

named after Harold ‘Harry’ Ardill. 

Harry was instrumental in developing, 

recruiting and educating referees 

within Leinster. The referee of the year 

award accounts for both on field and 

off field efforts and contribution to the 

association. This year’s award went to 

long-serving member Trevor McHugh. 

Trevor officiates at all levels and is 

always there when needed, another 

tireless servant to the referees. 

The Club of the Year award is named 

after Terry Doyle, former President of 

the association and was presented 

by his wife Deirdre. The award was 

named after Terry in 2011 and the 

first recipients were Edenderry RFC. 

This year’s recipients of the Terry 

Doyle Memorial Award were first time 

winners Balbriggan RFC. In a tightly 

fought contest they came out above 

last year’s winner Old Wesley (2nd), 

and Barnhall (3rd). Other winners 

of this award include Coolmine, Old 

Wesley, Greystones, Terenure College, 

Lansdowne, Ashbourne, and Skerries. 

Balbriggan were clear winners 

amongst the active referee population 

for both their captains and players 

attitudes and their off-field facilities and 

welcome. 

The Alain Rolland Referee Performance 

of the Year was won last year by 

Robbie Jenkinson. This year’s winner 

was Padraic Reidy. Padraic has had a 

fantastic season. Early in the year he 

was promoted into the Level 1 Panel 

of the IRFU. His season culminated 

in the Leinster School Senior Cup 

Final, which he refereed brilliantly, 

between Gonzaga and Blackrock. 

He also refereed the Bateman Cup 

Final between Terenure College and 

Buccaneers and was involved in a host 

of other high profile games. Well done 

Padraic. 

The last award of the night was the 

Denis Collins Perpetual Award for 

Progressive Referee. Presented by the 

great man himself, this award is for the 

referee who was seen to progress the 

most during the season, and has shown 

themselves to have put in time and 

effort into their own development. No 

one encouraged referees more in his 

time as referee administrator than Denis 

Collins. Last year, Mitch Enderby won 

the trophy and he has had a fantastic 

season. This year’s winner was Ciaran 

O’Flynn. Ciaran has had a great 

season and is quickly rising through the 

ranks of Leinster Rugby Referees. May 

he continue to do so. 

With only a few weeks left in the 

season we are immensely proud of the 

work that has been put in by referees at 

all levels this season and look forward 

to moving onwards in the 2022/23 

season. 

Want to get 

involved? 

Feel free to make contact with 

the Leinster Rugby Referees at 

hayley.whyte@leinsterrugby.ie 

If you are interested in becoming 

a referee get in contact with 

us through our Facebook, our 

website 

www.leinsterrugbyreferees.ie 

or through twitter 

@leinsterreferee. 


ank of ireland 

MATCHDAY minis 

Bective Rangers RFC 

Players: Harry Popplewell, Finn O’Reilly, Luke Hamilton, Harry 

Lane, James McNamara, Jack Walsh, Matthew Keane, Andrew 

Haugh, Archie Lee, Will Loughlin, Alex Bannon, Oscar Fahey, 

Sam McCreery, Patrick Fenton, Michael Matthews, David 

Kirby, Daniel Meijer, Daniel Burrows, Connor Walsh and Cael 

Columb 

Coaches: Dave Lane and Matt Shaw 

Clontarf RFC 

Players: Alex McLoughlin, Conor Kelly, Daniel Freeman, 

Dillon Barnes Fitzgerald, Eoin Hamill, Fionn Foley, Harry 

Moore, Hugo Stafford, James O’Reilly, Lachlann Traynor, Luan 

McNeice, Morgan Wright, Nicholas Watson, Oran Dooley, 

Paul Grimes, Reuben Butler, Rhys Synnott, Sean Cahill, Sean 

Crimmins and Will O’Reilly 

Coaches: Vincent Crimmins and Paul Grimes 

Edenderry RFC 

Players: Dylan O Keefe, Joseph Moore, Darragh Kirwan, 

Dathan Brennan, Rory Gleeson, Ben Roberts, Fionn Kilmurray, 

Ferdia Killally, Alex Hickey, Evan Hickey, Aaron Dunne, Charlie 

McKeown, Kyle Fitzgerald, Tommy Cummins, Louka Edelman, 

Patrick Cully, Daniel Lally, Shawn Doran, Bradley Gill and 

Matthew Crampton 

Coaches: Gordon Cummins, Kenny Roberts, David Gleeson, 

David Crampton and Jack Kilmurray 

Malahide RFC 

Players: James Devoy, Harry Beausang, Raymond Daly, 

Nathan King, Ryan Lambert, Cameron Stanley, Charlie 

McLoughlin, Dara Cummins, Ollie McQuade, Eoin Friel, Liam 

Van Der Walt, Enna Cawley, Hector Carrion, Tom Murray, 

Damien Korshunov, Freddie Kilduff, Jack Stephenson, Ruairi 

O’Gorman, Ben Walls and Judy Lantry 

Coaches: Mark Devoy and Mark King 


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Bank of Ireland Leinster Paul 

Flood Cup and Paul Cusack Cup 

Quarter-Final Recap 

BY DES BERRY 

The Bank of Ireland Leinster Paul 

Flood Cup quarter-finals were 

down for decision on Sunday. 

Mullingar and Tullamore came through 

impressively, while Portlaoise was forced 

to concede a walkover to PortDara 

Falcons due to an extensive injury list. 

Tullow hosted MU Barnhall at home in 

Blackgates last night in the remaining 

quarter-final. 

Mullingar 40 

CYM 10 

Ciara Wynne was the hat-trick 

hero as Mullingar marched into 

the semi-finals. 

It wasn’t as straight-foward as the final 

scoreline might suggest. Sure, they moved 

into a 14-0 lead through tries by out-half 

Aine Hayden and flanker Eadaoin Liddy 

and conversions from Ciara Foxe. 

However, CYM were able to respond in 

impressive fashion to hit back not once, 

but twice, as centre Caoimhe Brady broke 

through for tries to leave it 14-10 at the 

interval. 

Thereafter, the physicality of Liddy and 

the control of Hayden led to good things 

happening for the Westmeath club. 

Wynne was involved in everything, the 

centre striking for two tries back-toback 

in what amounted to the decisive 

moments. 

CYM were just unable to keep pace and 

the holes that opened up due to tiring 

bodies were exposed by Kara Mulcahy 

and Wynne with Foxe converting five 

from six tries overall. 

Scorers: Mullingar – C Wynne 3 tries; A 

Hayden, E Liddy, K Mulcahy try each; C 

Foxe 5 cons. CYM – C Brady 2 tries. 

Balbriggan 8 

Tullamore 44 

The home side were in the mood 

to show what they could do, 

marching ahead 8-5 early on as 

a reward for pressure after Clare 

Leonard had given Tullamore the 

lead. 

Balbriggan had a fine general in out-half 

Rachel Mulligan, who struck a penalty 

and created their only try of the game. 

As the Offaly club pushed up in defence, 

Mulligan slid a clever kick in behind 

where Sorcha Murphy pounced. 

Left-wing Leonard turned fine approach 

play into a second try and a third 

followed from full-back Caroline Aherne 

for 15-8 at the break. 

Balbriggan were in it for an hour as 

centre Laura Browne, prop Caoimhie 

Coleman and the scrum provided 

encouragement. 

The Dubliners were not without their 

chances before scrum-half Aoibhe Kelly 

sniped to the line from a ruck. 

Tullamore kept their feet on the 

accelerator as Sinead Rigney notched 

two tries in a minute, number eight 

Hannah Foxe cruised over and Aherne 

picked up her second. 

Scorers: Tullamore – C Leonard, S 

Rigney, C Aherne 2 tries each; H Foxe, 

A Kelly try each; L Sampson 2 cons. 

Balbriggan – S Murphy try; R Mulligan 

pen. 


New Ross, Wicklow and 

Greystones all made it through to 

the Bank of Ireland Paul Cusack 

Cup semi-finals last Sunday. 

The last of the quarter-finals took 

place last night when Tullamore hosted 

Longford. 

New Ross 52 

Wanderers 7 

New Ross welcomed Wanderers 

to FBD Park today for the quarterfinal 

of the Paul Cusack Cup. 

The first half began in perfect conditions 

with New Ross playing against a slight 

breeze. 

From the off, the home side looked hungry 

and organised, Carol Kavanagh firing 

through a gap to stride home for Cora 

Cousins to convert. 

Georgina Hearn and Anna Breen, from 

40 metres out, added tries and Cousins 

nailed all them for a 21-point lead. 

Wanderers weren’t deterred by their slow 

start and always showed glimpses of real 

talent and threat. 

They slipped through the fringes nicely 

and after good retention, Jess Kickham 

managed to crash over the line for a 

well-deserved try which was converted 

by Pia Kammer. 

Wanderers now had their heads up and 

really started to grow into the game as 

the half was coming to a close, centre 

Heather Cullen leading the charge. 

However, a loose pass was hacked on 

by second-row Jen Dunne before she 

brilliantly controlled her second kick 

to then pick up and dot down, Cousins 

again converting for 28-7 at the half. 

Thereafter, the Wexford club added fresh 

bodies from the bench to keep the tempo 

up, Eabha Cullen and Jess Sutton going 

over. 

New Ross were now starting to really 

implement their brand of rugby, 

taking advantage of the opposition’s 

understandably tired legs for Caoimhe 

McDonald, Emma Flood and Kavanagh 

all finished off tries in a comprehensive 

victory. 

Scorers: New Ross – C Kavanagh 2 tries; 

G Hearn, A Breen, J Dunne, E Cullen, J 

Sutton, C McDonald, E Flood try each; C 

Cousins 6 cons. Wanderers – J Kickham 

try; P Kammer. 

Kilkenny 7 

Wicklow 45 

Saoirse O’Reilly registered 20 

points in Wicklow’s win over their 

hosts at Kilkenny College. 

There was a spread of six try-scorers with 

full-back O’Reilly claiming two tries and 

five of seven conversions. 

It all started with centre Katherine Ward 

breaking through and left-wing Jen 

Madden, O’reilly, out-half Nicole Humby 

and scrum-half Megan McConnell 

added further tries to open up a 31-0 

lead at the interval 

Kilkenny came out renewed with energy 

and struck for a try by Emma Kenny which 

Tara Holohan converted. 

The work rate of hooker Jenny Kirwan, 

prop Holohan and flanker Rose Miller 

was obvious and out-half Leah McCarthy 

took them out of trouble. 

However, it was never going to amount 

to a comeback as Wicklow struck for two 

more tries by replacement hooker Leah 

Murphy and O’Reilly to close out an 

emphatic victory. 

Scorers: Wicklow – S O’Reilly 2 tries, 5 

cons; K Ward, J Madden, N Humby, M 

McConnell, L Murphy try each. Kilkenny 

– T Holohan con. 

Arklow Amazons 12 

Greystones 39 

Greystones made the best of a 

solid start to come away from 

Arklow with a comfortable win. 

It all began with a penalty by Eibhlin 

Laffin-Downes and continued through the 

direction given by out-half Leah Kearney 

and the incursion of wing Aisling Dalby 

The Amazons fought tirelessly against a 

very strong Greystones defence. They 

were very unlucky not to score in the first 

half despite getting over the line. 

Of course, possession means nothing 

without the points to go alongside. ‘Stones 

Niamh Kelly and Kearney pierced the 

home defence to forge a lead of 15 at the 

interval. 

Arklow came out with more aggression, 

scoring two tries in quick succession by 

Hannah Mai-Jones and Alex Byrne, one 

converted by Laura Rice, to make it a 

contest. 

It was an impressive all-round 

performance by ‘Stones, however, 

as forwards Aine Hughes and Amy 

O’Mahony took the ball up and were 

central to holding the line when Arklow 

camped out close to their line for a full 10 

minutes. 

Dalby, O’Mahony and captain Ana 

Iraizoz, who was superb, added to the 

total before Kearney delivered the last of 

the six tries. 

Scorers: Arklow – H Jones, A Byrne try 

each; L Rice con. Greystones – L Kearney 

2 tries; A Dalby, A O’Mahony, A Iraizoz, 

N Kelly try each; E Laffin-Downes pen, 

3 cons. 

Photo: John Doran 


COUNTRY IRELAND HOME GROUND KINGSPAN STADIUM FOUNDED 1879 CHAMPIONS X1 

last time out 

ulster rugby 32 

Vodacom Bulls 23 

SAT 25 MAR| BKT UNITED RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP · ROUND 16 | KINGSPAN STADIUM | MATCH REFEREE: CRAIG EVANS (WRU) 

Ulster come into Leinster 

clash in fine form 

ULSTER: Lowry, Balocoune, Hume, 

Moore, Stockdale, Burns, Doak; 

Warwick, Stewart, Toomaga-Allen, 

Treadwell, Carter, McCann, Timoney, 

Vermeulen (capt). 

REPLACEMENTS: Andrew, O’Sullivan, 

Milasinovich, O’Connor, Sheridan, 

Marcus Rea, Cooney, Postlethwaite. 

TRIES: Baloucoune, Stewart 

CONVERSIONS: Doak (3) 

PENALTIES: Doak, Cooney 

BULLS: Arendse, Moodie, Hendricks, 

Vorster, Kriel, Smith, Burger; Steenekamp, 

Grobbelaar, Smith, Vermaak, Nortje 

(capt), Van Staden, Brink, Louw. 

REPLACEMENTS: Matanzima, Du 

Plessis, Klopper, Swanepoel, Steenkamp, 

Papier, Steyn, Gans 

TRIES: Arendse, Burger 

CONVERSIONS: Smith (2) 

PENALTIES: Smith (3) 

Ulster made it three BKT United 

Rugby Championship wins in a 

row, in a fiercely competitive 

Round 16 match against Vodacom 

Bulls, last Saturday night. 

A hat-trick of tries from the BKT URC 

Player of the Match, Tom Stewart, 

ensured Ulster continued their winning 

form as the season goes into a crucial 

stage. 

The victory at Kingspan Stadium means 

Ulster have become the first side to win 

against all four South African sides - the 

Bulls, Stormers, Lions and Sharks. 

Ulster Head Coach, Dan McFarland, 

named a strong side, with Kieran 

Treadwell returning from winning the 

Grand Slam with Ireland and winger Rob 

Baloucoune returning to the starting 15. 


It had been two months since the 

Ulstermen last played at Kingspan 

Stadium and the fans didn’t have to wait 

long for a moment to cheer. 

The rafters shook as returning winger, Rob 

Baloucoune, marked his return from injury 

with a trademark finish in the corner after 

nimble work and an excellent pass from 

Mike Lowry. Nathan Doak was unable to 

convert a tricky conversion. 

Bulls pulled three points back quickly 

through their accurate fly half Chris Smith 

who was impressive for the away side. 

The Bulls took the lead after 18 

minutes, with the dangerous Springbok 

international winger Kurt Lee Arendse 

making the breakthrough for the South 

Africans. Smith added the extras to send 

the Bulls ahead by five points at 5-10. 

Ulster punched back only a few minutes 

later through their well trusted maul 

weapon, with leading try scorer Tom 

Stewart finishing off for his first of the 

night. 

Nathan Doak made no mistakes as he 

converted to send the home side back 

into the lead at 12-10. 

The back-and-forth nature of the game 

was on full show as next it was the 

Bulls turn to score. Scrum half Zak 

Burger finishing off a wave 

of Bulls pressure. Smith 

converted and then scored 

a penalty a few minutes 

later to ensure the Bulls went into the 

break with an eight-point lead at 12-20. 

Ulster started the second half meaning 

business and made the perfect reaction. 

After Bulls number 8, Elrigh Louw, was 

shown a yellow for repeated offences, 

Ulster made the breakthrough through 

Tom Stewart, again after a maul. That 

made it two tries and 12 for the season 

for the dangerous hooker. 

Doak’s conversion made it a one-point 

game at 19-20. 

With the home crowd fully with the 

momentum, Ulster burst into the 

lead through Tom Stewart, who 

rolled his way over the line 

for the try. A hattrick of tries 

for the 22-year-old who 

has been in fine form. 

Doak punched his kick 

through the posts to give Ulster 

a 26-20 lead. 

Smith and Doak would add further 

penalties to leave the scores at 29-23 

heading into the last 15 minutes. 

Then one of the pivotal moments of the 

game. Bulls thought they had won an 

important penalty that they could attack 

from but referee Craig Evans reversed 

the decision having seen that Billy Burns 

was hit with an illegal tackle from Bulls 

veteran hooker Bismarck du Plessis. The 

former Springbok international was 

giving marching orders to the sin bin with 

a yellow. 

Replacement scrum half, John Cooney, 

added the icing on the cake in the last 

kick of the game as he aced his penalty 

to secure the match by ten points. 


Thank you 

to all the rugby volunteers 

& behind-the-scenes heroes. 

You make the 

game we love possible. 

Think of the Possibilities

Dan McFarland 

Head Coach 

Dan McFarland was named Head 

Coach of Ulster Rugby ahead of the 

2018/2019 season, joining from the 

Scottish Rugby Union. The 50-year-old 

finished his playing career with Connacht, 

before beginning his coaching career in 

Galway, where he stayed for almost a 

decade. 

McFarland also spent spells coaching the 

Emerging Ireland and Irish Wolfhounds 

teams, before moving to Scotland 

working under Gregor Townsend at 

Glasgow Warriors and the Scotland 

national team 

Iain Henderson 

Captain 

Iain Henderson was named Ulster Rugby 

captain ahead of the 2019/2020 

season. He has made over 130 

appearances for his native province, 

and was an integral part of Ireland’s 

Six Nations Grand Slam-winning team 

before he missed the England game with 

injury. 

Henderson has 72 caps for Ireland, 

making his debut in 2012. He had the 

honour of captaining Ireland against 

France in the 2021 Six Nations, The 

31-year-old has also been selected for 

the British and Irish Lions, playing on ten 

occasions across the 2017 and 2021 

Tours of New Zealand and South Africa 

respectively. 

ulster squad 

FORWARDS 

JOHN ANDREW 

HOOKER 

FRANK BRADSHAW-RYAN 

LOCK 

SAM CARTER 

LOCK 

IAIN HENDERSON 

LOCK 

ROB HERRING 

HOOKER 

CORMAC IZUCHUKWU 

LOCK 

GREG JONES 

FLANKER 

DAVID MCCANN 

FLANKER 

GARETH MILASINOVICH 

PROP 

MARTY MOORE 

PROP 

DECLAN MOORE 

HOOKER 

JORDI MURPHY 

FLANKER 

ALAN O’CONNOR 

LOCK 

ERIC O’SULLIVAN 

PROP 

TOM O’TOOLE 

PROP 

MATTY REA 

FLANKER 

MARCUS REA 

FLANKER 

SEAN REFFELL 

FLANKER 

CALLUM REID 

PROP 

TOM STEWART 

HOOKER 

RORY SUTHERLAND 

PROP 

NICK TIMONEY 

FLANKER 

JEFF TOOMAGA-ALLEN 

PROP 

KIERAN TREADWELL 

LOCK 

DUANE VERMEULEN 

FLANKER 

ANDREW WARWICK 

PROP 

BACKS 

WILL ADDISON 

FULLBACK 

ROBERT BALOUCOUNE 

WING 

BILLY BURNS 

FLY-HALF 

JOHN COONEY 

SCRUM-HALF 

ANGUS CURTIS 

FLY-HALF 

NATHAN DOAK 

SCRUM-HALF 

JAKE FLANNERY 

FLY-HALF 

CRAIG GILROY 

WING 

JAMES HUME 

CENTRE 

MIKE LOWRY 

FLY-HALF 

ROB LYTTLE 

WING 

IAN MADIGAN 

FLY-HALF 

LUKE MARSHALL 

CENTRE 

STUART McCLOSKEY 

CENTRE 

MICHAEL McDONALD 

SCRUM-HALF 

ETHAN McILROY 

FULLBACK 

STEWART MOORE 

CENTRE 

BEN MOXHAM 

CENTRE 

JUDE POSTLETHWAITE 

CENTRE 

AARON SEXTON 

FULLBACK 

DAVE SHANAHAN 

SCRUM-HALF 

JACOB STOCKDALE 

WING 


Club in 

Focus 

CILL DARA 

Cill Dara has hosted the 

Provincial Towns Cup final on 

three occasions in 2007, 2015 

and 2022. 

It has never won it. It has 

never even made the final. It 

has reached the semi-final 

just three times. 

BY DES BERRY 

Next week (9 April), they will 

tackle holders Kilkenny in the 

final-four at Portlaoise in yet 

another sign of the rude health of 

a club founded in 1976. 

There is no one better placed than Conor 

Byrne to review the journey taken by Cill 

Dara to its’ current home near Kildare 

Town on the edge of The Curragh. 

“I have been on the executive of Cill 

Dara since 2001 and I am 13 years into 

a 2-year term as President of the club,” 

laughs Conor. 

“The real changing point in Cill Dara 

came in 2003 when we moved to Beech 

Park which is now Silken Thomas Park. 

“We moved from a facility in town where 

we had two pitches, which were really 

only 1 ¾ in size, to a venue where we 

have four pitches, two of them which are 

fully floodlit. 

“That enabled the club to grow and 

expand, the numbers of minis and youths 

increasing as the popularity of rugby 

grew. 

“We have somewhere in the region 

of 500 players spread throughout 25 

teams. It is vibrant. No doubt about it.” 

In recent years, the CCRO Paddy Behan 

has been able to gain access to Kildare 

Community School to coach rugby, 

paying off this year when they reached 

the Pat Rossiter Development Cup semifinal. 

“It is all about the community. It is 

all about what the club can offer the 

community through the broad spectrum 

of what we do. 

This is probably best illustrated in the 

development of their Disability Team, 

the Foxes, the brainchild of member Paul 

McGrath. 


“He visited clubs, gathered information 

around what was required and 

committed to run it,” stresses Conor. 

“Paul is a Special Needs Assistant in 

Patrician College, Newbridge and, every 

year, he gets transition year students to 

come out and help with coaching. He 

has also been able to attract TY students 

from Kildare Community School.” 

Our Towns Cup team is almost 

exclusively local players. I estimated 

eleven of our starting senior 15 played 

minis and youths for the club. 

The ability to be versatile and move with 

the times has served the club well too. In 

the age of the screen, PRO Bernadette 

Prendergast has pushed the social media 

identity of Cill Dara. 

“When we started up the minis and 

youths, it was postbox drops and calling 

around to schools with leaflets. Now, 

it is Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

Even websites are probably becoming 

outdated at this point. 

“It is all about being active on social 

media and we are very lucky to have 

Bernie as our PRO. She is fantastic. 

The strategy around selling rugby to the 

area has not left behind the traditional 

print media partners either. 

“To be fair, we have a great relationship 

also with the local newspapers, The 

Kildare Nationalist and The Leinster 

Leader. They have been brilliant at 

covering rugby in the area. 


Try Leinster’s Next Big Dish 

from Mao At Home today

“Through a number of outlets, we get our 

messages out there to promote the club at 

every given opportunity.” 

The club has stayed true to its commitment 

to community, nurturing the boys and 

girls of the area to feed them the skills so 

that they can enjoy the thrills of the game. 

“Our Towns Cup team is almost 

exclusively local players. I estimated 

eleven of our starting senior 15 played 

minis and youths for the club. 

“That is what has really come to fruition 

in recent years, the work that has been 

done with the minis and the youths. 

“We have also been lucky enough to 

have the volunteers to accommodate the 

growth in numbers playing the game. 

“We are seeing all of this work come 

through in our senior side. With one 

exception, everyone in the Cill Dara 

backline is 23 and under and we had 

two 19-year-olds in there too. 

Conor is quick to acknowledge that this 

all stands on a grassroots operation. 

Getting players in the door is the first step 

to keeping them interested enough to feel 

it is a home away from home. 

“We are really seeing the benefits of our 

work which is phenomenal,” he says. 

“It is not really about winning trophies. 

But, getting to finals and semi-finals, as 

we have in the Towns Cup this year, is 

a real shot in the arm to promoting Cill 

Dara.” 

The explosion of women’s rugby has 

brought new energy and many new 

members. 

But, it has taken time to convince children 

Cill Dara is the place for them given the 

obvious multiple sports attractions in the 

area. 

“Originally, we started with a senior 

ladies’ team in Cill Dara. It was very 

successful. At that stage, there was no 

defined pathway for girls. Some of them 

played mini rugby. Unfortunately, there 

was no outlet after that, in terms of youth 

teams. So it stopped. 

“Aine Donnelly got fully capped for 

Ireland as a Cill Dara player. I don’t 

suppose that will ever happen for us at 

any other level given the structure of the 

game now. 

“Her name was listed in the match 

programme beside her club, Cill Dara. 

That was something we were very proud 

of. That helped to promote girls’ rugby. 

“We have developed a large player 

base aided by the phenomenal boom in 

girls’ and women’s rugby.” 

The relationship with Portarlington has led 

to PortDara being one of the best youth 

programmes in Leinster. 

“We have joined with Portarlington to 

set up PortDara at U12s, U14s, U16s 

and U18s all playing up into the Falcons, 

the senior women’s team between the 

amalgamated clubs 

“We have regular representation on 

the Leinster U18 Girls squad. Hannah 

Wilson played for Leinster U18s and 

Ireland U18s last year. Katelynn Doran 

and Muireann Scully would have played 

for Ireland. 

“It has been great that the two clubs 

have worked so well together because it 

doesn’t always work. The clubs alternate 

training and for home games. 

“The simple truth is that we need each 

other.” 


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


Leinster Rugby Summer 

Camps launch for 2023! 

The 2023 Bank 

of Ireland 


Summer Camps 

have officially 

launched, with 

29 camps to 

choose from 

around the 12 

counties. 

The summer camps are open to 

girls and boys aged six to 12 and 

all of the camps are run by fully 

accredited IRFU coaches. Each 

camp runs from Monday to Friday 

and from 9.30am to 1pm. 

The summer camps, which will take place 

in 28 different locations all across the 

province in July and August, offer children 

the chance to learn to play the Leinster 

way while having plenty of fun! 

Leinster Rugby have also announced that 

with the change in the rugby schedule 

this summer due to the Rugby World Cup, 

Leinster Rugby players will once again be 

available and will make appearances at 

this year’s summer camps. 

There are also a number of new venues 

added reflecting the growth in popularity 

of the camps, including; Rathfarnham/ 

Stillorgan, Birr, Carlingford Knights, 

Carlow and Roscrea rugby clubs. 

Ray McCabe, Leinster Rugby Summer 

Camp Co-ordinator, said, “We’re thrilled 

to have Bank of Ireland on board again 

as the title sponsor of our Leinster Rugby 

summer camps. 

“And it’s brilliant as well to have the 

Leinster Rugby players back visiting 

our camps. The players playing for Leo 

Cullen and for Tania Rosser, they are the 

stars of the show and it’s a real bonus to 

have them back visiting our camps and 

inspiring all the boys and girls. 

“We know from the feedback we receive 

that the kids really enjoy meeting the 

players and we look forward to having 

them back this summer.” 

As well as learning to play the Leinster 

way, making new friends and having lots 

of fun, each child will also receive a pack 

including a rugby training t-shirt, a Rhino 

rugby ball and a boot bag. 

They will also get one free ticket to a 

selected Leinster Rugby game. 

The cost of attending the camp will be 

€90 per child. 

For more information, and to book 

your place before it’s too late, visit 

LeinsterRugby.ie 



M

Diarmuid 

angan 

THE ACADEMY 

INTERVIEW 

BY PAUL CAHILL 

To win one Grand Slam is 

more than most players 

could hope for. To win two 

in a row is remarkable. 

As the final whistle blew in 

Musgrave Park two weeks ago, 

Diarmuid Mangan celebrated 

with his Ireland U-20 teammates, 

before running to his friends and 

family in the stands. 

His parents, his brothers and his grandad 

were all in Cork to see it unfold. 

It was a special day on a rugby journey 

that started quite a few years ago in 

Kildare. 

Having started playing rugby at Naas 

Rugby club as a five year old, he has 

been on a remarkable path with two 

other players in particular. 


PROUD TO BE OFFICIAL 

BUSINESS ADVISORS 

TO LEINSTER RUGBY 

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or email: info@bdo.ie 

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“I played minis and youths with Andrew 

Osborne and Oscar Cawley and then we 

all went on to win the U-20 Six Nations 

title together this year, which is pretty 

cool. 

“We would have been five or six when 

we started playing together. Andrew’s 

dad would have been our coach back 

then. 

“Even though I play with UCD in the 

Energia All-Ireland League now, I would 

still head along to Naas games if I can. 

“Johne Murphy is their Head Coach 

and he would have coached me in 

Newbridge. A few of my friends from 

school would be on that Naas team 

now.” 

It was during his time in Newbridge 

College that he really began to excel on 

the rugby pitch. Starting out as a number 

8 before moving into the second-row, 

and is now as comfortable in the backrow. 

“When I was in fifth year, we beat St 

Michael’s College in the semi-final of the 

Senior Cup, but we had to share the cup 

with Clongowes Wood because the final 

was never played because of Covid. 

“That was devasting sitting at home 

during lockdown thinking about it. 

“My younger brother, Ciaran was on the 

Junior Cup team that year and they also 

got to the final. It would have been class 

if we both had managed to win a cup in 

the same year. 

“Then in sixth year, we didn’t get to play 

any rugby. 

“Johne Murphy, Adam Coyle and 

Bernard Jackman were our coaches. They 

brought in a good culture and got a lot of 

buy-in from the lads. It was great. 

“I really enjoyed my rugby in Newbridge 

College.” 

After leaving school, Mangan entered the 

Leinster Rugby Sub-Academy and began 

working under the likes of Trevor Hogan, 

Simon Broughton and Dave Fagan. 

Some find it quite difficult to keep up with 

the famously tough Dave Fagan sessions, 

but Mangan looks back on his time there 

with great fondness. 


“I really enjoyed my time under Dave. In 

my second year in this building I really 

got to know what buttons to press and 

what not to press. I have so much respect 

for him. 

“All of the staff there were great to work 

with. I really enjoyed my time in the Ken 

Wall Centre of Excellence and I feel 

like I progressed as a rugby player and 

physically during my time there. 

“It was always a bit of craic with Dave as 

well. A small bit of a fear factor there, but 

it was always fun.” 

In his second year in the Sub-Academy, 

Diarmuid Mangan spent most of his time 

in Irish U-20 camps preparing for the 

2022 Six Nations under Richie Murphy. 

It would go on to be a famous campaign, 

but the Sallins man knew he wanted a 

little bit more. 

“I had been injured so I only got back in 

for the last two games of the Six Nations. 

“I wanted to get back into the squad 

so badly because I just wanted to be a 

part of it. Then, when I got in there I was 

thinking, wow, I’m coming into this cold 

while they are really ticking over.” 

He eventually returned for rounds four 

and five, featuring in the away win over 

England and the Gland Slam clincher 

against Scotland in Musgrave Park. 

“I was quite nervous ahead of the 

England game. I got on in the second half 

and it went well. 

“The final game was at home to 

Scotland to secure the Grand Slam. The 

atmosphere was class and a few of my 

family members came down. 

“It didn’t really feel like I had won a Six 

Nations though. It just felt like I won a 

game. 

“The lads then had a week off to 

celebrate, but I was back in on the 

Tuesday which was a bit of a reality 

check. 

“I had the Sunday night to celebrate after 

the game. I then had a recovery session 

on the Monday and was back in UCD on 

the Tuesday. 

“I then played two Leinster A games 

against the Ireland Universities and the 

Ireland Club side and then started getting 

ready to go back into Ireland U-20 

camps ahead of the Summer Series.” 

Before he set off once again with the Irish 

U-20s, he was given the news that every 

aspiring professional rugby player wants 

to hear. 

He was being awarded a Leinster Rugby 

Academy contract. 

“Myself and Sam Prendergast were 

born in 2003 but the rest of the lads on 

that Irish U-20 squad who were given 

Academy contracts were born in 2002. 

They had all found out the week before 

Sam and I were called in. 

“When I heard the lads had all received 

their contracts a week earlier, I thought all 

of the spaces were gone. But, I was really 

happy when I was told by Dave Fagan 

and Simon Broughton. 

“Sam and I were delighted with the news. 

“I was living in UCD at the time and I 

was cycling back up with a friend. I told 

him the news and I was so happy cycling 

back up to the campus. I rang my parents 

and my grandparents when I got home.” 

With his Academy contract secured, 

Mangan headed off to Northern Italy 

with the Irish U-20 squad as the build up 

to the 2023 U-20 Six Nations began. 

“We had a few mixed results during the 

series but it was a brilliant experience. 

We beat England and Scotland and lost 

to France and South Africa. 

“We were based in Verona and it was 

a brilliant spot with nice weather. I really 

enjoyed the trip.” 

As he began the 2022/23 season as a 

Leinster Rugby Academy player, much 

of his time was preparing for the recent 

2023 U-20 Six Nations campaign. 

So many of us sat back and watched an 

incredible team battle their way to Grand 


The lads then 

had a week off to 

celebrate, but I 

was back in on 

the Tuesday which 

was a bit of a 

reality check. 

Slam glory, but, it was all about getting in 

the team for Diarmuid Mangan. 

“Coming into my second U-20 Six Nations 

campaign, I was just desperate to start 

for the team because I was on the bench 

when I came back in for the Summer 

Series but started towards the end. 

“The entire group bought into the plan. 

We put in some good performances and 

the atmosphere at every home game was 

great. 

“We probably don’t realise how big it is 

now, but you’ll remember all of that for 

a very long time. I loved being a part of 

another winning team. 

“Like I said, it didn’t really feel like I had 

won the Six Nations in 2022, whereas 

now, I went through the full campaign 

and felt so relieved when we got the win 

in the final game against England. 

“That game sold out very quickly and a 

lot of my friends and family came down 

which was amazing.” 

His family once again made the trip from 

Kildare to Cork, including Diarmuid’s 

biggest fan, his grandad Colm. 

“He was at all of my U-20 Irish games 

bar one. He missed the opener in Wales 

this year. He made it over to Scotland 

and Italy. He even brought my granny 

Margaret to Italy. 

“My grandad played rugby into his mid 

30’s, but my granny never went to any of 

his games. I think this was her first game 

in about 40 odd years but she loved it. 

“Saying that, my grandad never played 

anywhere as nice as Verona while he was 

playing for the Curragh. They made a bit 

of a holiday out of it. It was great to see 

them both after the game.” 

After collecting another Six Nations 

medal two weeks ago and enjoying the 

celebrations afterwards, it’s back to work 

this week. 

The Centre of Excellence is busy with the 

Leinster A team preparing for a challenge 

match away to London Irish this weekend 

and Grand Slam winners aren’t given any 

preferential treatment. 

Before our interview begins, he is ushered 

upstairs to tidy the meeting room. 

As soon as we finish, he is called down to 

wipe gym equipment. 

Back to the grind. 

But after his incredible exploits in green 

over the past 14 months, he is looking 

forward to getting back into a blue jersey. 

“We have a very strong squad preparing 

for the London Irish game. I can’t wait for 

it now and then kicking on from there.” 



Rugby 

Academy 

Year 

Three: 


Marcus Hanan (4) #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 (15) #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 (11) #1291 


FROM Long Island, USA 

HEIGHT 1.86m (6’ 1”) 


POSITION Full-back 

SCHOOL St Gerard’s School 

CLUB DUFC 


Andrew Smith (2) #1292 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.8 m (5’ 11”) 


POSITION Back Three 

SCHOOL St Michael’s College 

CLUB Clontarf FC 



Rugby 

Academy 

Year 

Two: 

Alex Soroka (7) #1296 


FROM Cork 

HEIGHT 1.95m (6’ 5”) 



SCHOOL Belvedere College 



Jack Boyle (2) #1317 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.86m (6’ 1”) 


POSITION Loosehead prop 


CLUB UCD RFC 


Lee Barron (5) #1308 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.93m (6’ 3”) 


POSITION Hooker 


CLUB DUFC 


Chris Cosgrave (5) #1305 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.85m (6’ 0”) 




CLUB UCD RFC 


Temi Lasisi (1) #1304 

DOB 9 May 2001 

FROM Enniscorthy, Co Wexford 

HEIGHT 1.83m (6’ 0 “) 


POSITION Tighthead prop 

SCHOOL CBS Enniscorthy 

CLUB Lansdowne FC/Enniscorthy RFC 


(3) = Leinster Rugby Senior caps

Ben Murphy (1) #1309 


FROM Bray 

HEIGHT 1.76m (5’ 8”) 


POSITION Scrum-half 

SCHOOL Presentation College, Bray 




Rugby 

Academy 

Year 

One: 

Rob Russell (16) #1302 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.83m (6’ 0”) 




CLUB DUFC 


Ben Brownlee (2) #1313 


FROM Dublin 

HEIGHT 1.87m (6’ 2”) 


POSITION Centre 


CLUB UCD RFC 


James Culhane (1) #1315 


FROM Enniskerry, Co Wicklow 

HEIGHT 1.94m (6’ 4”) 




CLUB UCD RFC 


Aitzol Arenzana-King 

(1) #1316 


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 (5) #1314 


FROM Wexford 

HEIGHT 1.89 m (6’ 2”) 


POSITION Out-half 

SCHOOL Kilkenny College 

CLUB Lansdowne FC 



fixtures and 

results 2022/23 

Date 

17/09 

23/09 

30/09 

08/10 

14/10 

22/10 

28/10 

26/11 

03/12 

10/12 

16/12 

26/12 

01/01 

07/01 

14/01 

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 J O’BRIEN LARMOUR RINGROSE HENSHAW KEARNEY FRAWLEY 

3C 

W 

13-20 URC ULSTER Kingspan 

Stadium 

W 

54-34 

URC 

CELL C 

SHARKS 

J O’BRIEN LARMOUR RINGROSE HENSHAW KEARNEY 

RDS Arena J O’BRIEN LARMOUR 

HENSHAW 

1T 

NGATAI 

RUSSELL 

1T 

R. BYRNE 

2C 2P 

SEXTON 

1T, 7C 

W 

0-10 URC CONNACHT Sportsground J 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 J O’BRIEN RINGROSE HENSHAW OSBORNE 

COSGRAVE 

1T 

RUSSELL 

1T 

W 

40-5 URC GLASGOW RDS Arena OSBORNE RUSSELL 

3T 

TURNER NGATAI KEARNEY 

TURNER 

W 

38-29 URC ULSTER RDS Arena KEENAN O’BRIEN RINGROSE 

2T 

W 

10-42 HCC RACING 92 Stade 

Océane 

KEENAN 

J O’BRIEN 

RINGROSE 

1T 

NGATAI 

OSBORNE 

NGATAI 

KEARNEY 

1T 

W 

57-0 HCC GLOUCESTER RDS Arena KEENAN J O’BRIEN RINGROSE NGATAI LOWE 

2T 

W 

19-20 URC MUNSTER Thomond 

Park 

W 

41-12 URC CONNACHT RDS Arena J O’BRIEN LARMOUR 

(2T) 

W 

19-24 URC OSPREYS Swansea. 

com Stadium 

LOWE 

1T 

LOWE 

KEENAN J O’BRIEN RINGROSE OSBORNE LOWE 

KEENAN 

(1T) 

W 

14-49 HCC GLOUCESTER Kingsholm KEENAN 

(1T) 

TURNER 

(1T) 

NGATAI 

LARMOUR OSBORNE NGATAI 

LARMOUR 

(1T) 

RINGROSE 

OSBORNE 

(1T) 

RUSSELL 

(1T) 

J O’BRIEN 

(1T) 

J O’BRIEN 

SEXTON 

2C, 1P 

R. BYRNE 

3C 

R. BYRNE 

4C 

R BYRNE 

5C, 1P 

R BYRNE 

4C 

R BYRNE 

5C 

R BYRNE 

2P, 2C 

SEXTON 

(2C) 

H. BYRNE 

(1P, 1C) 

R. BYRNE 

(5C) 

MCGRATH 

1T 

MCGRATH 

1T 

MCGRATH 

MCGRATH 

FOLEY 

1T 

MCGRATH 

1T 

E BYRNE 

PORTER 

PORTER 

PORTER 

1T 

KELLEHER 

SHEEHAN 

4T 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

SHEEHAN 

E. BYRNE SHEEHAN 

HEALY 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

MCGRATH E. BYRNE MCKEE 

MCGRATH E. BYRNE KELLEHER 

GIBSON- PARK 

GIBSON- PARK 

MCGRATH 

1T 

N MCCARTHY 

HEALY 

PORTER 

1T 

PORTER 

PORTER 

KELLEHER 

1T 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

KELLEHER 

2T 

SHEEHAN 

1T 

GIBSON- PARK MILNE KELLEHER 

FOLEY 

HEALY 

SHEEHAN 

(1T) 

GIBSON- PARK PORTER SHEEHAN 

21/01 

W 

36-10 HCC RACING 92 Aviva 

Stadium 

KEENAN 

(2T) 

LARMOUR 

RINGROSE 

(1T) 

OSBORNE 

J O’BRIEN 

(2T) 

R. BYRNE 

(2C) 

GIBSON- PARK PORTER KELLEHER 

28/01 

18/02 

04/03 

24/03 

W 

28-14 

W 

43-14 

URC 

CARDIFF 

RUGBY 

URC 

DRAGONS 

RFC 

RDS Arena 

COSGRAVE 

RDS Arena J O’BRIEN 

W 

27-47 URC EDINBURGH DAM Health 

Stadium 

D DHL 

URC 

22-22 STORMERS 

01/04 17:30 HCC ULSTER 

15/04 14:00 URC EMIRATES 

LIONS 

22/04 16:05 URC VODACOM 

BULLS 

RDS Arena 

Aviva 

Stadium 

Emirates 

Airline Park 

Loftus 

Versfeld 

O’REILLY 

(1T) 

LARMOUR 

(1T) 

TURNER 

(1T) 

BROWNLEE 

KEARNEY 

TURNER OSBORNE KEARNEY 

FRAWLEY LARMOUR TURNER OSBORNE 

LARMOUR 

RUSSELL 

(1T) 

KEARNEY 

(1T) 

TURNER FRAWLEY KEARNEY 

H. BYRNE 

(3C) 

H BYRNE 

(2T, 3C) 

H BYRNE 

(6C) 

H BYRNE 

(1C) 

MCGRATH 

(2T) 

MCGRATH 

(1T) 

MCGRATH 

MCGRATH 

MILNE 

MILNE 

MILNE 

(2T) 

MILNE 

(1T) 

MCKEE 

MCKEE 

MCKEE 

MCKEE 


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

ALAALATOA 

MOLONY 

JENKINS 

1T 

RUDDOCK 

T2 

ALAALATOA MOLONY JENKINS BAIRD 

ALAALATOA MOLONY JENKINS 

ALAALATOA 

MOLONY 

JENKINS 

2T 

BAIRD 

1T 

PENNY DEEGAN MCKEE MILNE ABDALADZE DEENY SOROKA MCCARTHY FRAWLEY CONNORS 

VAN DER FLIER 

1T 

DORIS KELLEHER E. BYRNE HEALY MCCARTHY CONNORS FOLEY 

R. BYRNE 

3C 

NGATAI 

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

BAIRD CONNORS RUDDOCK 

MCKEE 

1T 

HEALY ABDALADZE RYAN MOLONEY FOLEY BYRNE 

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

ALA’ALATOA JENKINS RYAN DEEGAN 

CLARKSON 

1T 

PENNY 

1T 

FRAWLEY 

1P 

DORRIS MCKEE PORTER CLARKSON MOLONY CONAN MCCARTHY R. BYRNE 

RINGROSE 

2T 

HENSHAW 

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

CLARKSON MOLONY MCCARTHY RUDDOCK PENNY DEEGAN 

MCKEE 

1T 

ALA’ALATOA RYAN JENKINS BAIRD VAN DER FLIER CONAN SHEEHAN 

ALA’ALATOA RYAN JENKINS BAIRD 

ALA’ALATOA 

MOLONY 

RYAN 

1T 

DORIS 

1T 

HEALY BAIRD J MCCARTHY RUDDOCK 

ALA’ALATOA 

DEENY 

(1T) 

RYAN 

BAIRD 

(1T) 

VAN DER FLIER 

2T 

VAN DE FLIER 

1T 

PENNY 

1T 

VAN DER FLIER 

(1T) 

DORIS 

KELLEHER 

MILNE 

1T 

PORTER 

1T 

E BYRNE 

1T 

ABDALADZE JENKINS BAIRD FOLEY 

H. BYRNE 

1C 

RUSSELL 

1T 

COSGRAVE 

FURLONG MOLONY DORIS MCCARTHY TECTOR TURNER 

HEALY MOLONY CONAN MCGRATH 

CONAN SHEEHAN E. BYRNE HEALY J MCCARTHY DEEGAN GIBSON- PARK 

H BYRNE 

2C 

SEXTON 

1C 

OSBORNE 

LARMOUR 

1T 

DEEGAN MCKEE MILNE ABDALADZE MOLONY CONAN MCGRATH H BYRNE TURNER 

DORIS MCKEE PORTER ABDALADZE SOROKA PENNY FOLEY 

ALA’ALATOA MOLONY DEENY RUDDOCK PENNY CONAN MCKEE MILNE ABDALADZE RYAN 

ALA’ALATOA 

(1T) 

MOLONY RYAN BAIRD 

ALA’ALATOA J MCCARTHY RYAN DORIS 

ALA’ALATOA 

MOLONY 

DEENY 

(1T) 

ALA’ALATOA MOLONY DEENY 

ALA’ALATOA 

(1T) 

RUDDOCK 

RUDDOCK 

(1T) 

JENKINS MOLONY RUDDOCK 

ALA’ALATOA MOLONY JENKINS RUDDOCK 

VAN DER FLIER 

(1T) 

VAN DER 

FLIER 

(1T) 

PENNY 

DORIS 

(1T) 

KELLEHER 

(1T) 

VAN DER 

FLIER 

MCCARTHY 

MILNE HEALY DEENY CONAN MCCARTHY 

CONAN SHEEHAN MILNE HEALY MOLONY BAIRD MCGRATH 

DEEGAN 

(1T) 

MCELROY HANAN CLARKSON CULHANE CONNORS MCCARTHY 

PENNY DEEGAN BARRON BOYLE CLARKSON JENKINS CONNORS N MCCARTHY 

PENNY 

(2T) 

PENNY 

(1T) 

DEEGAN 

(1T) 

DEEGAN 

1T) 

H. BYRNE 

(1C) 

R. BYRNE 

(2C) 

H. BYRNE 

(2C) 

H BYRNE 

(1C) 

TECTOR 

(1C) 

TECTOR 

(1T, 1C) 

OSBORNE 

RUSSELL 

TURNER 

PENNY 

KING 

RUSSELL 

(1T) 

BARRON BOYLE CLARKSON DEENY CONNORS MCCARTHY N TECTOR RUSSELL 

BARRON E BYRNE ABDALADZE DEENY CONNORS MCCARTHY TECTOR RUSSELL 


Parting Shot 

24 March 2023 

Dave Kearney is pictured 

withBebhinn Dunne of 

the OLSC, after he was 

announced as their 24th 

OLSC Legend last Friday 

evening when his new 

Legends T-shirt was 

revealed following the 

match between Leinster 

and DHL Stormers at the 

RDS Arena in Dublin. 


Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile 


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