Leinster Rugby
| File:Leinster rugby badge.png | ||||
| Founded | 1875 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Dublin, Ireland | |||
| Ground(s) | RDS Arena (Capacity: 18,500) | |||
| Coach(es) |  Michael Cheika | |||
| Captain(s) | Leo Cullen | |||
| League(s) | Magners League | |||
| 2008-09 | 3rd | |||
| ||||
| Official website | ||||
| www | ||||
Leinster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish Province of Leinster, that competes in the Magners League and Heineken Cup. The team also represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Leinster Branch which is one of four branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union throughout Leinster. The club plays in navy and white and the crest is in the form of a harp. Leinster's traditional home ground is Donnybrook Stadium, in Dublin 4 though all home games are now played at the nearby RDS Arena. Leinster turned professional along with the teams representing the other Irish provinces in 1995 and have competed in the Magners League since it was founded in 2001 having previously competed in the interprovincial championship [1].
Leinster are the current Heineken Cup champions having won the 2009 Heineken Cup Final at Murrayfield and are now ranked 3rd on ERC European Rankings after Munster and Leicester.[2].
History
Amateur Days
The Leinster Branch was formed in, 1879 in a meeting at 63 Grafton Street.[3]. In amateur days the four provinces played against each other in the Interprovincial Championship and also played touring sides. The first Interprovincial matches between Leinster, Ulster and Munster were held in 1875. At this time the matches were played with 20 players a side. Before the days of professional rugby union there was further emphasis on Irish club rugby as opposed to the provincial game. During these times the provincial sides were merely representative sides and games were far less frequent than now. When rugby union was declared 'open' in 1995, these four teams became the four professional teams run by the Irish Rugby Football Union.
Leinster Lions
Leinster went professional in in the mid 1990s. The "Leinster Lions" name came into existence during the 2001-02 season as the result of a joint marketing initiative between Leinster Rugby and its kit sponsors, the Canterbury Clothing Company. Leinster's first season in the newly formed Celtic League ended in success as the Lions were crowned the inaugural champions, beating rivals Munster Rugby in the 2001-02 final. In 2002-03, they became only the third team in the history of the Heineken Cup to win all their games in pool play. They also went one step further in the playoffs than the previous season by reaching the semis (for the first time since 1995-96), but lost at home against French side Perpignan. This was accompanied by an unsuccesful season in the Celtic League which was followed up again with a disappointing season. Before the start of the 2004-05 season it was decided to drop the 'Lions' from the name, however it is still used for marketing and branding in particular the Cubs Club for Junior members of Leinster Rugby[4]. The Leinster mascot is "Leo the Lion".
2004-2007
Leinster did begin to creep back up the table during the 2004-05 season, finishing 3rd, just 3 points behind the eventual winners. Leinster also won all of their pool game sin that year's Heineken Cup, and were again considered among the favourites for the title. However, they went out at the quarter final stage to Leicester Tigers. The next two seasons of the Celtic League were to end in heartbreak for Leinster fans as the both the 2005-06 and 2006-07 titles were lost on the final day of the season. These seasons also saw progress in the Heineken Cup. In 2005-06, Leinster progessed to the semi-final but were eliminated by Irish rivals Munster Rugby at Lansdowne Road. Leinster reached the quarter-final the following year where they were beaten by London Wasps.
Recent Success
A rise in crowd numbers for Leinster lead to a move accross Dublin 4 from Donnybrook Stadium to the redeveloped RDS Arena. In 2007-08, despite failing to qualify out of their pool for the Heineken Cup, Leinster ended the season as Magners League champions sealing the title in front of their home fans as they scored a six-try 41-8 victory over the Newport Gwent Dragons at the RDS. The following season, Leinster topped their Heineken Cup pool despite being largely written off after a poor away loss to French side Castres. Victory over Harlequins followed at the Stoop despite the Bloodgate Scandal. Leinster overcame Munster 6-25 in the semi-final having beed billed as underdogs. The game, played in Dublin's Croke Park, broke the world record attendance for a club rugby game with a crowd of over 82,200.[5] The 2009 Heineken Cup Final was held in Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. Leinster won the Final 19-16 to claim their first European crown.[6]
Colours and Crest
Though Leinster Rugby now compete in navy, the team wore green during the early years. The harp has long been associated with the province of Leinster and so Leinster Rugby have sported the harp since their first interprovincial game against Ulster. Though the club colours have changed since then, the current club crest remains a modernised version of this harp. Legend has it that the harp was adopted Leinster Symbol in the 1600s when Eoghan Ruadh O’Neill flew a green flag with a golden harp from his ship, the St Francis having anchored it at Dunkirk. O'Neill later returned to Ireland to help the Irish Confederation whose was headquarters were in Kilkenny, Leinster. The current crest was introduced in 2005 as Leinster Rugby held no copyright on the previous crest. The new, stylised crest, is made specific to Leinster Rugby as it incorporates the harp with a rugby ball [7]. The Leinster Rugby crest is on all official club merchandise including replica jersies.
The club's current kit is all navy while the second kit has a light blue jersey and socks with white shorts. The third strip is made up of a white shirt and navy shorts and socks.
Stadiums
Donnybrook Stadium
Leinster's traditional home over the years has been Donnybrook Stadium in Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Donnybrook consits of a single covered stand and three sides of open terracing. A move accross Dublin 4 to the RDS Arena for Leinster was needed to accomodate growing crowds [8]. For this reason, Leinster have signed a long term lease with the Royal Dublin Society to play home games at the RDS Arena. Donnybrook has since, however, been improved as a venue with the reconstruction of the grandstand in 2008 [9] and remains an important venue for rugby union in Dublin [10]. Due to limited space, it is unlikely that Donnybrook will undergo further redevelopment.
RDS Arena
Leinster's current home ground is the RDS Arena [11]. Games were first played at the RDS during the 2006-07 season, initially just for Heineken Cup games. By the following season, however, all games had been moved to the RDS. The RDS has undergone large scale redevelopment since Leinster moved in. The Arena now has a mostly seated capacity of 18,500. As the RDS remains a showjumping venue, the North and South stands are removable. A roof has been constructed to cover the grandstand opposite the pre-existing Anglesea stand [12]. The RDS will remain Leinster's home venue for the forseeable future [13] though it is likely that some larger games will be moved to the larger Aviva Stadium after its completion as was done with Lansdowne Road.
Supporters
Leinster were the best supported team in the Magners League for both the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons and are currently the fifth best supported team in Europe after Stade Toulousain, Stade Francais, Leicester Tigers and Irish rivals Munster Rugby. Leinster's supporters were named as 'Player of the Month' for April 2009 following their support in the Heineken Cup Quarter Final against Harlequins at the Stoop[14] Leinster's average crowd numbers have risen considerably in recent years from 3,926 during the first season of the Magners League, to the current Magners League average of 16,923 [15]. Leinster currently have roughly 11,000 season ticket holders [16].
Leinster hold the record for the biggest Magners League attendance. The match was against Ulster on 31 December, 2006 and was the last match held at Lansdowne Road before renovation began on the ground, earning the match the moniker of "The Last Stand". Leinster won the match 20-12, with an attendance of 48,000 [17]. The previous attendance record in the Celtic League was also set at Lansdowne Road, for a game between Leinster and Munster which drew a crowd of 30,000 [18]. Leinster's Heineken Cup clash against Munster at Croke Park set a world record attendance for a club rugby union game witha crowd of 82,208 [19]. The Official Leinster Supporters Club was formally established as a club in 2007 [20] following a period of informal activity.
Coaching and Playing teams
Coaching and Management team
The curent coaching ticket will change at the end of 2009/2010 with Michael Cheika departing after 5 seasons. Cheika will be replaced by current Clermont Auvergne ASM backs coach Josef Schmidt [21]. Schmidt is joining on a three year contract and the rest of the coaching ticket will be announced before the end of the 09/10 season.
| Position | Name | Nationality |
|---|---|---|
| Head Coach | Michael Cheika | Australian
|
| Consultant Coach | Alan Gaffney | Australian
|
| Forwards Coach | Jono Gibbes |  New Zealander
|
| Defence Coach | Kurt McQuilkin | New Zealander
|
| Chief Executive | Mick Dawson | (Ireland) |
| Physiotherapist | James Allen | (Ireland) |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Jason Cowman | (Ireland) |
| Chief Scout | Guy Easterby | (Ireland) |
| Baggage Master | Patrick Moloi |  Botswanan
|
Playing Squad
Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.
Notable Players
See also Category:Leinster Rugby players
British and Irish Lions
The following Leinster players, in addition to representing Ireland, have also represented the British and Irish Lions.[22]
Notable overseas players
Felipe Contepomi- Juan Francisco Gomez
Rocky Elsom
Will Green- Chris Whitaker
- Owen Finegan
Ollie le Roux
Honours
- Heineken Cup
- Winners: 2008/09
- Celtic League / Magners League
- Irish Inter-Provincial Championships
- Winners: 22
See also
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Leicester 16-19 Leinster". BBC Sport. 2009-05-24. Retrieved 2009-05-25.
- ^ http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/aboutus/branch.php
- ^ http://www.davidlloydriverview.ie/leinsterrugbysub.asp?id=2
- ^ "Munster 6 Leinster 25". ercrugby.com. 2009-05-02. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
- ^ "Leicester 16 Leinster 19". ercrugby.com. 2009-05-23. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]
- ^ [7]
- ^ [8]
- ^ http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/3411.php
- ^ [9]
- ^ [10]
- ^ [11]
- ^ [12]
- ^ [13]]
- ^ [14]
- ^ http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/newsroom/4216.php
- ^ The Ireland Rugby Miscellany (2007): Ciaran Cronin