Leinster Rugby

Founding (1879–1899)

The Leinster Branch was inaugurated at a meeting on 31 October 1879. The meeting was held at Lawrence's premises at 63 Grafton Street and was largely attended. Although this was the formal founding of Leinster as we know it today, with the amalgamation of the Irish Football Union and the Northern Union, the Leinster provincial team had been active since 1879 – when the first interprovincial derby was played against Ulster. The Leinster and Ulster teams also made up the representative Irish team that competed against England in Ireland's first-ever international in 1875. Upon the founding of the union, Munster were also added to the fray in 1879, when their first provincial team was selected and first Munster players represented Ireland.^[4][5]

F. Kennedy (Wanderers) was elected first Hon. Secretary of the Branch and C.B. Crocker (Lansdowne) first Hon. Treasurer.

The function of the Branch was to organise the game of rugby football in the province. Every year five representatives would be selected to join the IRFU Committee. They would be known as the "Leinster Five" and would pick the Leinster representative teams.

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. Leinster lost to Ulster by a converted try and beat Munster by one goal to nil. Since then there has been a match between these teams annually, with Connacht joining the fold in 1885.

Leinster Schools Interprovincial matches have been taking place since 1888. Leinster Schools beat the Ulster Schools in Belfast on Saturday 7 April by a dropped goal to a try. Their first match against Munster Schools took place on 18 March 1899, when Leinster won by two tries to one.

Amateur period (1900–1990s)

The early 1920s led to the creation of the Provincial Towns Cup and the Metropolitan Cup, which are still hard-fought competitions in the Leinster Rugby calendar. Much has changed in rugby over the years, but the original idea of Leinster Club Rugby acting as a feeder for the Leinster Interprovincial side, though now professional, still stands true.

All Interprovincial matches were abandoned during the years of the Great War (1914–1918) and the War period (1939–1945), though unofficial matches were played.^[6]

The first major touring side to play Leinster was a team drawn from the New Zealand Army – the Kiwis, in 1946. Although it was not an official touring side organised by the New Zealand Rugby Union, the quality of the match, which was drawn 10 points each, is still remembered to this day.^[6]

The first official overseas touring side that came to play Leinster was an Australian touring side in 1957.^[6] Since then, Leinster has played against every major touring side from Fiji to France.^[6]

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 purely representative sides and games were far less frequent than now. Between 1946 and 2002 the sides would meet annually to contest the Irish Interprovincial Championship and on rare occasions would be tested against touring international sides. When rugby union was declared 'open' in 1995, these four teams became the four professional teams run by the Irish Rugby Football Union and therefore much of the history of the side has been made in the modern era.

Leinster Lions (1990s–2005)

Leinster became a professional outfit 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. Before the start of the 2004–05 season, the 'Lions' was dropped from the name. It is still used for marketing and branding, in particular, the Cubs Club for Junior members of Leinster Rugby.^[7] The Leinster mascot is "Leo the Lion". It was also during this time that the song “Molly Malone” became a match fixture to be sung by the fans.^[8]

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.^[9] In 2002–03, they became only the third team in the history of the European 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 semi-finals (for the first time since 1995–96), but lost at home against French side Perpignan, which was accompanied by an unsuccessful season in the Celtic League. The 2003–04 season also ended in disappointment as Leinster slumped to their worst ever league performance and failed to qualify from their European Cup group.

Title misses (2004–2007)

Leinster improved during the 2004–05 season, finishing 3rd, just three points behind the eventual winners, the Ospreys.^[10] Leinster also won all of their pool games in that year's European Cup, and were again among the favourites for the title, however they went out at the quarter final stage to Leicester Tigers.^[11]

The next two seasons of the Celtic League were to end in near misses for Leinster, as they lost out on the 2005–06 and 2006–07 league titles on the final day of the season. These seasons also saw progress in the European Cup. In 2005–06, Leinster progressed to the semi-final but were eliminated by Irish rivals Munster at Lansdowne Road and they reached the quarter-final the following year where they were beaten by eventual winners London Wasps.

European and domestic dominance (2008–2014)

Increasing attendances at Leinster games led to a move across Dublin 4 from Donnybrook Stadium to the redeveloped RDS Arena.

In 2007–08, Leinster failed to qualify from their European Cup pool, but did end the season as Celtic League champions, sealing the title with a 41–8 victory over the Newport Gwent Dragons in front of their home fans at the RDS.^[12]

In the 2008–09 season, Leinster topped their European Cup pool despite away losses to French side Castres and English side Wasps.^[13] Victory over Harlequins in the quarter-finals followed, despite the Bloodgate Scandal. Leinster overcame Munster 25–6 in a semi-final in Dublin's Croke Park that broke the world record attendance for a club rugby union game with a crowd of over 82,200.^[14] Leinster won the 2009 European Cup Final in Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, beating Leicester Tigers 19–16 to claim their first European crown.^[15]

In 2009–10 Leinster was eliminated from the European Cup at the semi-final stage by eventual winners Toulouse. Also despite having topped the Pro12 league during the regular season, Leinster lost the first-ever Play-off Final 17–12 on their home ground to the Ospreys.^[16]

In the 2010–11 European Cup, Leinster defeated the top English teams (Leicester Tigers, Saracens & Northampton Saints), as well as top French sides, Toulouse (who were the defending European champions), Racing Metro & Clermont Auvergne, (the French Champions).^[17] to go on to regain their title as champions of Europe in the 2011 European Cup Final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Trailing at half time, Leinster scored 27 unanswered points in the second half to beat Northampton 33–22 and claim their second European crown with the biggest comeback in European Cup final history.^[18][19] Leinster were also chasing a Pro12 & European Cup double, but lost 19–9 to Irish rivals Munster in the Pro12 Final.^[20]

In 2011–12 Leinster became only the second side ever to retain the title of European Champions. Leinster emerged unbeaten in group play to top their group^[21] and went on to defeat the Cardiff Blues 34–3 in the quarterfinals,^[22] followed by a 19–15 semifinal victory over ASM Clermont Auvergne.^[23] and defeated Ulster in the first all-Irish final 42–14, recording the most points scored and the most tries scored in a European Cup final as well as becoming the first unbeaten side to win the European Cup.^[24] Once again, Leinster targeted the double, and faced a repeat of the 2010 Pro12 final against the Ospreys. Leinster's domestic title challenge fell at the final hurdle, conceding a final minute try to slump to a one-point defeat, and unable to complete the double despite topping the table in the regular season.^[25]

The 2012–13 campaign proved to be another successful season for Leinster Rugby. The club finished in second place during the regular season of the Pro12 and defeated Glasgow Warriors by a score of 17–15 in their semi-final play-off match on 11 May 2013.^[26] On 17 May, Leinster were crowned champions of the European Challenge Cup after defeating Stade Français 34–13 in the final at their home ground, the RDS Arena.^[27] Leinster successfully completed the double on 25 May, defeating Ulster 24–18 in the Pro12 final to claim their third league championship.^[28][29]

Leinster continued their success in the 2013–14 season by becoming the first team ever to defend the Pro12 title, topping the league in the regular season and defeating Glasgow Warriors 34–12 in their fifth consecutive Pro12 play-off final and also secured their seventh major title in as many years.^[30]

Blooding a new generation (2015–2017)

Following a remarkable run of seven major trophies in seven years, Leinster's title run came to an end following the 2013–14 season. The 2014–15 season saw a dip in form, with Leinster finishing in fifth place in the league and failing to make the play-offs. Fortunes in the newly formed Champions Cup were better, with the team reaching the semi-final where they were defeated in extra-time by eventual winners, Toulon. At the end of the season, head coach Matt O'Connor left the club by mutual consent with former club captain, Leo Cullen, being named as his replacement. Cullen then brought in ex-England coach Stuart Lancaster as senior coach at the start of the 2016–17 season, which saw a huge improvement from Leinster as well a big group of young players coming through. Despite playing brilliant rugby all season, Leinster failed to win any silverware, falling short in the Champions Cup semi-final to old rivals Clermont and shocked by the Scarlets in the Pro12 Semi-Final at the RDS. However, there was huge optimism amongst the players and supporters as they believed this was only the start of a new generation and perhaps another era of success.

Present Day (2018–2024)

Starting with the 2017–18 season, Leinster won four straight Pro14 championships.^[31] In Europe, they won the 2017-18 Heineken Cup, defeating Racing 92 by a score of 15–12 in the final in Bilbao.^[32] They were runners-ups four times in 2018-19 Heineken Cup, 2021-22 Heineken Cup, 2022-23 Heineken Cup and the 2023-24 Heineken Cup.^[33] Leinster were knocked out of the Heineken cup competition in the quarter-finals in 2019–20, and again at the semi-finals stage in 2020–21.

United Rugby Championship Era (2021–present)

Four South African teams joined the Guinness Pro 14 and the tournament was renamed the United Rugby Championship (URC).^[34]

Leinster lost to South African side the Bulls in the inaugural semi-final. In the subsequent two years, Leinster again lost at the URC semi-final stage to Munster, following a late drop goal by Jack Crowley,^[35] and the Bulls.^[36]

Leinster were marginally more successful in the Champions Cup during this period, making the final in three successive seasons, before losing in a semi-final to Northampton Saints in 2024–25.

However, their mentality was routinely questioned during this period given their failure to win trophies despite a relative abundance of resources.^[37][38][39]

The format of the 2021–22 Champions Cup competition was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Leinster won their first round matchup with Bath. However, the day prior to Leinster's second match, an away fixture to Montpellier, the EPCR announced that the match would not go ahead, and instead awarded a 28–0 win to Montpellier.^[40] This was despite Leinster having a full squad certified to be COVID-free, named, and ready to travel. The following day, the EPCR announced that all other matches involving French and UK teams from the same second round would be postponed to a future date.^[41] Following the EPCR's decision to award Montpellier a 28–0 bonus-point win for their cancelled round two clash, Leinster beat Montpellier by 89–7, with the 82 point margin eclipsing their previous biggest win in Europe set against Bourgoin back in 2004.^[42]

Heineken Cup / Champions Cup

Challenge Cup

United Rugby Championship

United Rugby Championship

More information Pos, Team ...

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Glasgow Warriors	15	11	0	4	401	251	+150	60	32	9	2	55	Qualification for the Champions Cup and knockout stage
2	Stormers	15	11	0	4	402	272	+130	51	36	7	0	51
3	Leinster	15	10	0	5	390	320	+70	58	44	10	1	51
4	Lions	15	9	1	5	475	397	+78	65	59	8	2	48
5	Ulster	15	9	0	6	420	315	+105	60	44	8	3	47
6	Munster	15	9	0	6	324	319	+5	48	43	7	3	46
7	Cardiff	15	9	0	6	290	295	−5	42	42	6	4	46
8	Bulls	15	9	0	6	443	347	+96	65	50	8	1	45
9	Connacht	15	8	0	7	369	350	+19	51	49	8	4	44	Qualification for the Challenge Cup
10	Ospreys	15	6	2	7	314	342	−28	47	53	4	2	34
11	Sharks	15	6	1	8	339	369	−30	51	48	6	2	34
12	Edinburgh (E)	15	5	0	10	300	370	−70	47	56	4	4	28
13	Benetton(E)	15	5	2	8	272	376	−104	33	52	3	1	28
14	Scarlets (E)	15	4	1	10	285	375	−90	41	54	2	3	23
15	Dragons (E)	15	2	3	10	281	404	−123	37	60	3	4	21
16	Zebre Parma (E)	15	2	0	13	256	460	−204	35	66	3	3	14

Close

More information Team, P ...

2025–26 United Rugby Championship Regional Shield tables view · watch · edit · discuss
Irish Shield
	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TBP	LBP	Pts	Pos overall
1	Leinster (S)	6	5	0	1	166	120	+46	23	15	4	0	24	3
2	Ulster	5	2	0	3	117	106	+11	16	15	1	2	11	5
4	Munster	4	2	0	2	59	70	–11	8	9	1	1	10	9
3	Connacht	5	1	0	4	105	151	–46	14	20	1	2	7	8
Italian x Scottish Shield
	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TBP	LBP	Pts	Pos overall
1	Glasgow Warriors (S)	6	5	0	1	163	72	+91	25	9	4	1	25	1
2	Edinburgh	6	3	0	3	132	120	+12	20	17	3	1	16	12
3	Benetton	6	3	0	3	98	141	–43	10	19	1	1	14	13
4	Zebre Parma	6	1	0	5	130	190	–60	17	26	2	3	9	16
South African Shield
	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TBP	LBP	Pts	Pos overall
1	Lions (S)	6	4	0	2	168	173	–5	21	25	2	1	19	4
2	Sharks	6	3	0	3	143	153	–10	21	19	3	1	16	10
3	Stormers	6	3	0	3	132	144	–12	16	19	2	0	14	2
4	Bulls	6	2	0	4	165	138	+27	24	19	3	1	12	7
Welsh Shield
	Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TBP	LBP	Pts	Pos overall
1	Ospreys	4	3	1	0	99	73	+26	15	11	2	0	16	11
2	Cardiff	5	3	0	2	113	114	–1	17	17	3	1	16	6
3	Dragons	5	1	1	3	94	89	+5	13	14	1	3	10	15
4	Scarlets	4	1	0	3	69	97	–28	11	14	1	2	7	14
If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:[45] number of matches won the difference between points for and points against the number of tries scored the most points scored the difference between tries for and tries against the fewest red cards received the fewest yellow cards received
Green background indicates teams currently leading the regional shield. Upon the conclusion of the regular season, these teams win their respective regional shields. (S) : URC Shield champion

Close

European Rugby Champions Cup

Pool C

More information Pos, Pld ...

European Rugby Champions Cup Pool 3

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Leinster (3)	4	4	0	0	115	80	+35	16	10	2	0	18	Home Champions Cup round of 16.
2	Harlequins (6)	4	3	0	1	184	86	+98	26	14	3	0	15
3	Stormers (9)	4	3	0	1	117	125	−8	15	19	2	0	14	Away Champions Cup round of 16.
4	Leicester Tigers (16)	4	1	0	3	118	115	+3	17	15	2	0	6
5	La Rochelle (11CC)	4	1	0	3	101	114	−13	15	15	1	1	6	Away Challenge Cup round of 16.
6	Bayonne	4	0	0	4	58	173	−115	8	24	0	0	0

Close

RDS Arena

Leinster's current home ground is the RDS Arena.^[49] Games were first played at the RDS during the 2006–07 season, initially just for European 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.^[50] The RDS will be Leinster's home until 2027, as a 20-year lease was signed in 2007.^[51]

In July 2014, it was announced by the RDS and Leinster rugby that a design competition was being held to develop the arena into a 25,000 capacity world-class stadium, with work expected to commence on the redevelopment in April 2016.^[52] The selling of naming rights to the arena will be a key component in funding the project, with an initial budget of €20,000,000 being proposed.^[53]

Inside the RDS Arena prior to a Leinster Game

Aviva Stadium

For bigger games where the RDS does not have sufficient capacity, Leinster play their games at the Aviva Stadium, which has an all-seater capacity of 51,700. These are often key home games in the European Cup or United Rugby Championship games against domestic rivals. In 2010 they first played a home league game against Munster, the first time the stadium sold out,^[54] and then against ASM Clermont Auvergne.^[55][56][57] Leinster defeated Leicester Tigers at the venue in the 2010–11 European Cup quarter-finals and went on to beat Toulouse in the semi-finals, also held at the Aviva stadium on 30 April 2011, en route to winning their second European Cup.^[58] The following season Leinster hosted Munster, Bath and Cardiff at the Aviva Stadium and remained unbeaten at the ground until December 2012 when they lost 21–28 to ASM Clermont Auvergne.

Donnybrook Stadium

Leinster's traditional home over the years has been Donnybrook Stadium in Donnybrook, Dublin 4. Donnybrook consists of a single covered stand and three sides of open terracing. A move across Dublin 4 to the RDS Arena for Leinster was needed to accommodate growing crowds, as the 6,000 capacity stadium had become too small.^[59] 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, been improved as a venue with the reconstruction of the grandstand in 2008^[60] and remains an important venue for rugby union in Dublin.^[6] Due to limited space, it is unlikely that Donnybrook will undergo further redevelopment. Leinster A play their British and Irish Cup games in the stadium and the senior team have continued to hold certain pre-season friendlies in the stadium as well as most Leinster schools cup matches being held at the venue.^[61][62]

Kit sponsor

From the 1999–2000 season until the 2017–18 season Leinster's kits were supplied by Canterbury of New Zealand having previously been supplied by O'Neills.^[75] For the next five seasons starting with the 2018–19 season Leinster's kits were supplied by Adidas. From the 2023–24 season, the kits are now supplied by Castore.^[76]

Main sponsor

Leinster's main shirt sponsor was ACC Bank from 1992 until the year 2000.^[77] The recently founded Esat Digifone also featured on the back of the jerseys from 1997.^[78][79]

From 2001 to 2007 the main sponsor was Bank of Scotland (Ireland).^[80]

Since 2007 Bank of Ireland, the country's oldest banking institution are Leinster's primary sponsors appearing in the front of their shirt, their sleeves, the top back of their shirt and the front right of their shorts. The Bank of Ireland symbol appeared on Leinster's front right and front left collars. On occasion, the team will wear a shirt adorned with the logo of another sponsor due to a promotion run annually by the bank offering up the sponsorship space to an Irish business by way of a competition to win the right to become a sponsor for a day.^[81] During the 2013–14 season the contest was won by Dublin-based meat wholesaler Gahan Meats^[82] and for 2014–15 the shirt sponsorship winners were accounting software provider Big Red Cloud.^[83] The sponsorship prize package is valued at €50,000 and attracts hundreds of companies keen to be shortlisted each year.^[84] The left of Leinster's back shorts had Bank of Ireland between 2009 and 2013 where it was replaced by Bank of Ireland's Twitter address right up until 2015 where it was replaced by Laya Healthcare.^[85] For about a decade, the team's "official airline"' was Ireland's CityJet.^[86][87]

Academy squad

Club captains

Professional era only

British & Irish Lions

The following Leinster players have also represented the British & Irish Lions.^[47] Bold indicates tour captain.

More information Year, Tour ...

Year	Tour	Series Result	Players
1888	New Zealand Australia	No Test	—
1891	South Africa	3–0	—
1896	South Africa	3–1	Thomas Crean Robert Johnston
1899	Australia	3–1	—
1903	South Africa	0–1–0	—
1904	Australia New Zealand	3–0 0–1	—
1908	New Zealand Australia	0–2–1 No Test	—
1910	South Africa	1–2	—
1910	Argentina	1–0	—
1924	South Africa	0–3–1	—
1927	Argentina	4–0	—
1930	New Zealand Australia	1–3 0–1	—
1936	Argentina	1–0	—
1938	South Africa	1–2	George J. Morgan
1950	New Zealand Australia	0–3–1 2–0	Karl Mullen
1955	South Africa	2–2	Tony O'Reilly Robin Roe
1959	Australia New Zealand	2–0 1–3	Niall Brophy Ronnie Dawson Bill Mulcahy Tony O'Reilly (2)
1962	South Africa	0–3–1	Niall Brophy (2) Bill Mulcahy (2)
1966	Australia New Zealand	2–0 0–4	—
1968	South Africa	0–3–1	Ronnie Dawson (2)
1971	New Zealand	2–1–1	Mike Hipwell Sean Lynch Fergus Slattery
1974	South Africa	3–0–1	Tom Grace John Moloney Fergus Slattery (2)
1977	New Zealand	1–3	Willie Duggan Philip Orr
1980	South Africa	1–3	Ollie Campbell Rodney O'Donnell Philip Orr (2) John Robbie Tony Ward
1983	New Zealand	0–4	Ollie Campbell (2) Hugo MacNeill
1989	Australia	2–1	Paul Dean Brendan Mullin
1993	New Zealand	1–2	Vince Cunningham Nick Popplewell
1997	South Africa	2–1	Eric Miller
2001	Australia	1–2	Brian O'Driscoll Malcolm O'Kelly
2005	New Zealand	0–3	Shane Byrne Gordon D'Arcy Denis Hickie Shane Horgan Brian O'Driscoll (2) Malcolm O'Kelly (2)
2009	South Africa	1–2	Gordon D'Arcy (2) Luke Fitzgerald Jamie Heaslip Rob Kearney Brian O'Driscoll (3)
2013	Australia	2–1	Cian Healy Jamie Heaslip (2) Rob Kearney (2) Seán O'Brien Brian O'Driscoll (4) Johnny Sexton
2017	New Zealand	1–1–1	Tadhg Furlong Robbie Henshaw Jack McGrath Seán O'Brien (2) Johnny Sexton (2)
2021	South Africa	1–2	Jack Conan Tadhg Furlong (2) Robbie Henshaw (2) Ronan Kelleher Andrew Porter
2025	Australia	2–1	Tom Clarkson Jack Conan (2) Tadhg Furlong (3) Jamison Gibson-Park Hugo Keenan Ronan Kelleher (2) James Lowe Joe McCarthy Jamie Osborne Andrew Porter (2) Garry Ringrose James Ryan Dan Sheehan Josh van der Flier

Close

Notable overseas players

The following is a list of non-Irish qualified representative Leinster players:

More information Nation, Player ...

Nation	Player	Season(s)
Argentina	Felipe Contepomi	2003/04 – 2008/09
	Mariano Galarza	2010
	Juan Gomez	2007/08 – 2008/09
Australia	Shaun Berne	2009/10 – 2010/11
	Adam Byrnes	2005/06
	Kane Douglas	2014/15
	Rocky Elsom	2008/09
	Scott Fardy	2017/18 – 2020/21
	Owen Finegan*	2006/07
	Joe Tomane	2018/19 – 2019/20
	Chris Whitaker*	2006/07 – 2008/09
Cook Islands	Stan Wright	2006/07 – 2010/11
England	Will Green	2005/06 – 2006/07
Fiji	Isa Nacewa	2008/09 – 2012/13; 2015/16 – 2017/18
France	Rabah Slimani	2024/25 – present
Georgia	Vakh Abdaladze	2017/18 – 2022/23
New Zealand	Jordie Barrett	2025/26
	Matt Berquist	2011/12
	Jimmy Gopperth	2013/14 – 2014/15
	David Holwell	2005, 2008
	Charlie Ngatai	2022/23 – 2023/24
	Ben Te'o†	2014/15 – 2015/16
	Brad Thorn*	2012
Russia	Vasily Artemiev	2006/07
	Adam Byrnes	2005/06
Samoa	Michael Alaalatoa	2021/22 – 2023/24
	Fosi Pala'amo	2006/07
Scotland	Nathan Hines	2009/10 – 2010/11
South Africa	Jason Jenkins	2022/23 – 2023/24
	Zane Kirchner	2013/14 – 2016/17
	Ollie Le Roux	2007/08
	RG Snyman*	2024/25 - Present
	CJ van der Linde*	2008/09 – 2009/10
	Heinke van der Merwe*	2010/11 – 2012/13
* indicates World Cup winners
† Ben Te'o subsequently represented England at international level

Close