2008–09 Leinster Rugby season

Leinster Rugby
2008–09 season
Manager Michael Cheika
Captain Leo Cullen
Celtic League3rd
Heineken CupChampions
British and Irish CupQuarter-finals
Top try scorerAll: Luke Fitzgerald (9)
Top points scorerAll: Felipe Contepomi (225)
Highest home attendance18,500 vs Munster
28 September 2008
Lowest home attendance10,910 vs Glasgow Warriors
25 April 2009
Average home attendance15,466
Home colours
Away colours
Third colours
← 2007–08 2009–10 →

The 2008–09 Leinster Rugby season was Leinster's eighth competing in the Celtic League alongside which they competed in the 2008–09 Heineken Cup. Though Leinster were ultimately to lose their Celtic League crown to rivals Munster, they were to cap a great year for Irish rugby with their victory over the Leicester Tigers in the Heineken Cup Final at Murrayfield.[1]

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national union under World Rugby eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-World Rugby nationality.

Player Position Union
John Fogarty Hooker Ireland
Bernard Jackman Hooker Ireland
Cian Healy Prop Ireland
Ronan McCormack Prop Ireland
CJ van der Linde Prop South Africa
Stan Wright Prop Cook Islands
Leo Cullen (c) Lock Ireland
Trevor Hogan Lock Ireland
Malcolm O'Kelly Lock Ireland
Cameron Jowitt Lock New Zealand
Devin Toner Lock Ireland
Rocky Elsom Flanker Australia
Shane Jennings Flanker Ireland
Kevin McLaughlin Flanker Ireland
Seán O'Brien Flanker Ireland
Jamie Heaslip Number 8 Ireland
Stephen Keogh Number 8 Ireland
Player Position Union
Chris Keane Scrum-half Ireland
Paul O'Donohoe Scrum-half Ireland
Chris Whitaker Scrum-half Australia
Felipe Contepomi Fly-half Argentina
Johnny Sexton Fly-half Ireland
Gordon D'Arcy Centre Ireland
Fergus McFadden Centre Ireland
Brian O'Driscoll Centre Ireland
Luke Fitzgerald Wing Ireland
Shane Horgan Wing Ireland
Simon Keogh Wing Ireland
Isa Nacewa Wing Fiji
Girvan Dempsey Fullback Ireland
Rob Kearney Fullback Ireland
Felix Jones Fullback Ireland

Match Attendance

Leinster's average Celtic League attendance was 14,728, up 415 on the 2007-08 season.[2]

Leinster's Heineken Cup semi final against Munster, held in Croke Park, set the record for the highest attendance in club rugby history at over 82,000.[3]

2008–09 Celtic League Fixtures

Date Home team Score Away Team Score Venue
5 September 2008 Cardiff Blues 16 Leinster 16 Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
12 September 2008 Leinster 52 Edinburgh Rugby 6 RDS Arena, Dublin
19 September 2008 Leinster 19 Ospreys 13 RDS Arena, Dublin
28 September 2008 Leinster 0 Munster 18 RDS Arena, Dublin
5 October 2008 Connacht 19 Leinster 18 Sportsgrounds, Galway
24 October 2008 Glasgow Warriors 15 Leinster 12 Firhill, Glasgow
29 November 2008 Leinster 29 Newport Gwent Dragons 13 RDS Arena, Dublin
27 December 2008 Ulster 13 Leinster 21 Ravenhill, Belfast
2 January 2009 Leinster 26 Connacht 18 RDS Arena, Dublin
10 January 2009 Leinster 21 Cardiff Blues 20 RDS Arena, Dublin
21 February 2009 Scarlets 17 Leinster 31 Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli
6 March 2009 Ospreys 8 Leinster 13 Liberty Stadium
29 March 2009 Leinster 32 Ulster 6 RDS Arena, Dublin
4 April 2009 Munster 22 Leinster 5 Thomond Park, Limerick
17 April 2009 Edinburgh Rugby 27 Leinster 16 Murrayfield, Edinburgh
25 April 2009 Leinster 36 Glasgow Warriors 13 RDS Arena, Dublin
8 May 2009 Leinster 45 Scarlets 8 RDS Arena, Dublin
16 May 2009 Newport Gwent Dragons 18 Leinster 9 Rodney Parade, Newport

League table

Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA Try bonus Losing bonus Pts
1 Munster 18 14 0 4 405 257 +148 49 23 6 1 63
2 Edinburgh 18 11 0 7 416 296 +120 40 30 6 5 55
3 Leinster 18 11 1 6 401 270 +131 38 20 4 2 52
4 Ospreys 18 11 0 7 397 319 +78 39 28 3 5 52
5 Scarlets 18 9 0 9 376 395 −19 41 46 3 1 40
6 Cardiff Blues 18 8 1 9 322 361 −39 31 36 2 2 38
7 Glasgow Warriors 18 7 0 11 349 375 −26 36 41 4 5 37
8 Ulster 18 7 0 11 298 331 −33 30 33 2 6 36
9 Newport Gwent Dragons 18 7 0 11 305 429 −124 26 39 1 4 33
10 Connacht 18 4 0 14 224 460 −236 20 54 1 3 20
Correct as of 13 May 2009 MagnersLeague.com

2008/09 Heineken Cup Fixtures/Results

Round Date Home team Score Away team Score Venue
Round 1 11 October 2008 Edinburgh 16 Leinster 27 Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Round 2 17 October 2008 Leinster 41 Wasps 11 RDS Arena, Dublin
Round 3 6 December 2008 Leinster 33 Castres 3 RDS Arena, Dublin
Round 4 12 December 2008 Castres 18 Leinster 15 Stade Pierre-Antoine, Castres
Round 5 17 January 2009 Wasps 19 Leinster 12 Twickenham, London
Round 6 25 January 2009 Leinster 12 Edinburgh 3 RDS Arena, Dublin
Quarter-Final 12 April 2009 Harlequins 5 Leinster 6 The Stoop, London (Report)
Semi-Final 2 May 2009 Munster 6 Leinster 25 Croke Park, Dublin (Report)
Final 23 May 2009 Leicester 16 Leinster 19 Murrayfield, Edinburgh (Report)

Pool Table

Team Pld W D L TF PF PA +/− BP Pts
Leinster (6) 6 4 0 2 15 140 70 +70 4 20
Wasps 6 4 0 2 9 114 112 +2 1 17
Edinburgh 6 2 0 4 8 91 103 −12 1 9
Castres 6 2 0 4 6 73 133 −60 1 9

Knock-out stages

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
11 April – Millennium Stadium
 
 
 Cardiff Blues9
 
3 May – Millennium Stadium
 
 Toulouse6
 
 Cardiff Blues26 (6)
 
11 April – Walkers Stadium
 
 Leicester Tigers (p)26 (7)
 
 Leicester Tigers20
 
23 May – Murrayfield
 
 Bath15
 
 Leicester Tigers16
 
12 April – Thomond Park
 
 Leinster19
 
 Munster43
 
2 May – Croke Park
 
 Ospreys9
 
 Munster6
 
12 April – Twickenham Stoop
 
 Leinster25
 
 Harlequins5
 
 
 Leinster6
 

See also

References

  1. ^ "European Rugby Cup : Leicester Tigers v Leinster". Archived from the original on 18 May 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  2. ^ "Magners League : Match Centre : Match Centre". Archived from the original on 26 November 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
  3. ^ Graham Jenkins. "Rugby Union | Heineken Cup | Rugby Match Pack | Leinster stun Munster to book final berth | Scrum.com". Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
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