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Leinster Rugby
Full name	Irish Rugby Football Union Leinster Branch
Nickname(s)	Leinster Lions
Founded	1875
Location	Donnybrook, Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Ground	Donnybrook Rugby Ground Royal Dublin Society Lansdowne Road
Capacity	7,500 18,000 49,000
Coach	Michael Cheika
League	Magners League Heineken Cup
2006-07	3rd
Home colours		Away colours
Official website
www.leinsterrugby.ie

The Irish Rugby Football Union Leinster Branch (also known as Leinster Rugby) is one of four branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish province of Leinster. The branch is also responsible for the Leinster team (previously known for a period as the Leinster Lions; see below), which plays in national and international competitions. The amateur Leinster sides previously played in a plain navy jersey with white shorts and navy socks. The Leinster Harp is an ever-present on the jersey.

Leinster's traditional home ground is in Donnybrook, in Dublin City's south side. They have development plans to build a new 12,500 capacity stadium — up from its existing 7,500. In 2004/2005 they played some home games at the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) showgrounds to great success. The RDS ground is currently being redeveloped into a 15,000 all-seater stadium, Leinster are playing the 2007/8 home games in both the Celtic (Magners) League and European (Heineken) Cup there. In the recent past they played high profile games at the national rugby stadium, Lansdowne Road.

For the 2006/07 season, the province are played 8 of their 10 'Home' Magners League games in their traditional Donnybrook grounds and games versus inter-provincial rivals Munster and Ulster were played in Lansdowne Road, while pre-Christmas Heineken Cup pool games were also played at Lansdowne Road. Leinster's final home Heineken Cup pool game (versus Edinburgh Gunners) was played in the traditional Donnybrook ground. However, due to space constraints and Health & Safety reasons, the ground was only able to cater for an attendance of 6,400. Leinster regularly pull in crowds of more than 20,000 for Heineken Cup pool games, but after the closure of Lansdowne Road no stadium of that size is available to them in Ireland. The clash between Leinster and Ulster on New Years Eve was the final fixture to be played in the Lansdowne Road, which was the oldest International Rugby ground in existence.

Contents 1 History 2 2007/2008 Season 2.1 2007/2008 Magners League Fixtures/Results 2.2 2007/2008 Heineken Cup Fixtures/Results 3 2006/2007 Season 3.1 2006/2007 Magners League Fixtures/Results 3.2 2006/2007 Heineken Cup Fixtures/Results 4 Notable Former Players 5 Match attendance 6 Provincial honours 7 Leinster Squad 7.1 Club Competitions 8 Schools Competitions 9 See also 10 External links

The Leinster Branch was formed in 1875. In amateur days the four provinces played against each other in the Inter-provincial Championship and also played touring sides (usually midweek). When rugby union was declared 'open' in 1995, these four teams became the four professional teams run by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU).

Leinster reached the Heineken Cup semi-final in 1995/96, 2002/03 and 2005/06. They were the inaugural Celtic League Champions (01/02) beating rivals Munster in the Final in Lansdowne Road.

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, but 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. The Leinster mascot is "Leo the Lion".

In 2002/03, they became only the third team in the history of the Heineken Cup to win all their games in pool play and the first team to do it twice in the 2004/05 season. They also went one step further in the playoffs than the previous season by reaching the semis, but lost at home against French side Perpignan.

The 2004/05 Leinster team also won all of their games in pool play, and were again considered among the favourites for the title. However they went out at the quarter final stage to Leicester Tigers.

In 2005/2006 Leinster qualified for the quarter finals as a best runner up by demolishing Bath at "the Rec". In the quarter-final they gave one of the province's greatest ever performances, beating number 1 seeds and reigning champions Toulouse in France by a scoreline of 41-35. On April 23rd they continued to the semi finals of the Heineken Cup against fellow Irish provincial team Munster, where they were beaten 30-6. Leinster finished second in the Celtic League that year losing out on the final day (Although winning and earning a bonus point Vs Edinburgh) as Ulster managed to beat The Ospreys in Swansea and win the Celtic League title.

In 2006/2007, Leinster again qualified for the quarter finals stage of the Heineken Cup winning their pool yet losing 2 pool games along the way. This meant that Leinster would have to face London Wasps away in the quarter finals and which Leinster went on to lose 35-13. Leinster were again pipped to the Magners League title on the last day by The Ospreys. Leinster's loss to the Cardiff Blues sealed their fate and handed them another second spot (like the prvious year).

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Score	Venue	Match Report
September 22nd 2007	Leinster	23	Edinburgh Gunners	8	R.D.S, Dublin	[1]
September 28th 2007	Cardiff Blues	19	Leinster	30	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff	[2]
October 5th 2007	Leinster	23	Llanelli Scarlets	52	R.D.S, Dublin	[3]
October 12th 2007	Glasgow Warriors	21	Leinster	17	Firhill, Glasgow	[4]
October 26th 2007	Ulster	16	Leinster	16	Ravenhill, Belfast	[5]
November 2nd 2007	Leinster	29	Connacht	9	R.D.S, Dublin	[6]
November 23rd 2007	Ospreys	19	Leinster	26	Liberty Stadium, Swansea	[7]

Round	Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Score	Venue	Match Report
Round 1	November 10th 2007	Leinster	22	Leicester	9	R.D.S, Dublin	[8]
Round 2	November 18th 2007	Toulouse	33	Leinster	6	Stade Ernest Wallon, Toulouse	[9]

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Score	Venue	Match Report
September 8th 2006	Edinburgh	20	Leinster	14	Murrayfield, Edinburgh	[10]
September 16th 2006	Leinster	16	Cardiff Blues	9	Donnybrook, Dublin	[11]
September 23rd 2006	Llanelli Scarlets	33	Leinster	21	Stradey Park, Llanelli	[12]
September 29th 2006	Connacht	16	Leinster	31	Sportsground, Galway	[13]
October 6th 2006	Leinster	27	Munster	20	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	[14]
October 13th 2006	Border Reivers	22	Leinster	19	Netherdale, Galashiels	[15]
November 4th 2006	Leinster	35	Newport Gwent Dragons	13	Donnybrook, Dublin	[16]
November 10th 2006	Leinster	38	Glasgow Warriors	23	Donnybrook, Dublin	[17]
December 2nd 2006	Ulster	6	Leinster	6	Ravenhill, Belfast	[18]
December 27th 2006	Munster	25	Leinster	11	Thomond Park, Limerick	[19]
December 31st 2006	Leinster	20	Ulster	12	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	[20]
January 6th 2007	Leinster	44	Ospreys	22	Donnybrook, Dublin	[21]
January 26th 2007	Leinster	44	Llanelli Scarlets	34	Donnybrook, Dublin	[22]
February 16th 2007	Leinster	13	Edinburgh	6	Donnybrook, Dublin	[23]
March 24th 2007	Leinster	30	Connacht	21	Donnybrook, Dublin	[24]
April 6th 2007	Glasgow Warriors	26	Leinster	20	Hughenden, Glasgow	[25]
April 13th 2007	Newport Gwent Dragons	22	Leinster	23	Rodney Parade, Newport	[26]
April 27th 2007	Ospreys	19	Leinster	17	Liberty Stadium, Swansea	[27]
May 5th 2007	Leinster	31	Border Reivers	0	Donnybrook, Dublin	[28]
May 11th 2007	Cardiff Blues	27	Leinster	11	The Arms Park, Cardiff	[29]

Round	Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Score	Venue	Match Report
Round 1	October 21st 2006	Leinster	37	Gloucester	20	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	[30]
Round 2	October 29th 2006	Edinburgh	25	Leinster	24	Murrayfield, Edinburgh	[31]
Round 3	December 9th 2006	Leinster	26	Agen	10	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	[32]
Round 4	December 16th 2006	Agen	13	Leinster	25	Stade Armandie, Agen	[33]
Round 5	January 13th 2007	Leinster	39	Edinburgh	10	Donnybrook, Dublin	[34]
Round 6	January 19th 2007	Gloucester	19	Leinster	13	Kingsholm, Gloucester	[35]
Quarter Final	March 31st 2007	London Wasps	35	Leinster	13	Adams Park, High Wycombe	[36]

• Shane Byrne
• Ollie Campbell
• Victor Costello
• Neil Francis
• Tom Grace
• Denis Hickie
• Tony Ward
• Eric Miller
• Reggie Corrigan
• Guy Easterby
• Jim O'Callaghan

Leinster hold the record for the biggest Celtic League attendance. The match was against Ulster 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. The previous attendance record in the Celtic League was also set at Lansdowne Road, for a game between Leinster and Munster.

• Celtic League 01/02
• Irish Inter-Provincial Championship

Leinster were Guinness Inter-provincial Champions in 2002. They have won the Irish Inter-provincial Championship 22 times, three times as professionals.

Nat. Position Player HK Bernard Jackman HK Brian Blaney PR Stan Wright PR Ollie Le Roux PR Ronan McCormack PR Cian Healy PR Stephen Knoop PR Juan Francisco Gomez LK Trevor Hogan LK Malcolm O'Kelly LK Des Dillon LK Richie Leyden LK Devin Toner LK Leo Cullen FL Keith Gleeson FL Cameron Jowitt FL Sean O'Brien FL Kevin McLaughlin

Nat. Position Player FL Shane Jennings N8 Stephen Keogh N8 Jamie Heaslip SH Chris Whitaker SH Cillian Willis SH Chris Keane FH Felipe Contepomi FH Christian Warner FH Jonathan Sexton CE Gordon D'Arcy CE Brian O'Driscoll CE Michael Berne WG Luke Fitzgerald WG Shane Horgan WG Gary Brown FB Rob Kearney FB Ross McCarron FB Girvan Dempsey

• Leinster Senior Cup
• Leinster Senior League
• Leinster Towns Cup
• Metropolitan Cup
• Leinster Junior Challenge Cup

• Leinster Schools Senior Cup
• Leinster Schools Junior Cup

• Celtic League
• Heineken Cup
• European Rugby Shield

• Official site
• Leinster Supporters Site and Forum

v • d • e Magners Celtic League
Teams	Cardiff Blues • Connacht • Edinburgh • Glasgow Warriors • Leinster • Llanelli Scarlets • Munster • Newport Gwent Dragons • Ospreys • Ulster • (Defunct teams: Border Reivers • Celtic Warriors)
Seasons	2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009

v • d • e Heineken Cup
2007-08 Teams	Benetton Treviso • Bourgoin • Bristol • Biarritz • Cardiff Blues • Clermont • Edinburgh • Gloucester • Glasgow Warriors • Harlequins • Leicester Tigers • Leinster • Llanelli Scarlets • London Irish • London Wasps • Munster • Newport Gwent Dragons • Ospreys • Perpignan • Saracens • Stade Français • Toulouse • Ulster • Viadana
Seasons	1995-96 • 1996-97 • 1997-98 • 1998-99 • 1999-00 • 2000-01 • 2001-02 • 2002-03 • 2003-04 • 2004-05 • 2005-06 • 2006-07 • 2007-08 • 2008-09

v • d • e Rugby union in Ireland
Governing body	Irish Rugby Football Union
Provinces	Connacht • Leinster • Munster • Ulster
National teams	Ireland • A • 7's • U-21 • U-19 • Schoolboys • Women's • British and Irish Lions
Competitions	Magners League • AIB League