Leinster Rugby - or Rugbai Laighean in the club’s native Gaelic - is Dublin’s leading rugby union team and Ireland’s most successful club on both a domestic and European level. Originally founded back in 1879 in the city, Leinster Rugby is also one of Ireland’s four professional provincial teams alongside Munster, Ulster and Connacht.
Leinster’s long and prestigious history has seen the club enjoy an impressive array of cup triumphs and league victories in competitions old and new. It currently competes in the PRO14 championship, in which it holds the current record for the most championship wins (7), as well as the Heineken Champions Cup, where at present, they are tied with Toulouse for the most titles (4).
While most of the attention in the United Rugby Championship this weekend was on the ongoing drama to get the four sides out of South Africa, elsewhere Ulster rocked the competition with their win over top side Leinster in Dublin.
Leicester Tigers underlined their notable renaissance, Worcester Warriors wilted under a Saints bombardment and Wales' omitted stars delivered a fitting riposte to Wayne Pivac
Leinster Rugby - or Rugbai Laighean in the club’s native Gaelic - is Dublin’s leading rugby union team and Ireland’s most successful club on both a domestic and European level. Originally founded back in 1879 in the city, Leinster Rugby is also one of Ireland’s four professional provincial teams alongside Munster, Ulster and Connacht.
Leinster’s long and prestigious history has seen the club enjoy an impressive array of cup triumphs and league victories in competitions old and new. It currently competes in the PRO14 championship, in which it holds the current record for the most championship wins (7), as well as the Heineken Champions Cup, where at present, they are tied with Toulouse for the most titles (4).
Heineken Cup 
PRO 14 
Pro14 Rainbow Cup 
United Rugby Championship Heineken Cup 
Heineken Cup PRO 14 Pro14 Rainbow Cup United Rugby Championship | Round 0 | P | W | L | D | PF | PA | PD | BP T | BP -7 | BP | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
-  Clermont | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Stade Francais | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Wasps | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Leicester Tigers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Connacht | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Scarlets | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Munster | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Cardiff Blues | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Toulouse | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Castres | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Harlequins | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Bordeaux | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Bath | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  La Rochelle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Sale Sharks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Exeter Chiefs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Ulster | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Leinster | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Northampton Saints | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Ospreys | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Glasgow Warriors | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Montpellier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Racing 92 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
-  Bristol | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Round 0 |
|---|
| - Clermont |
| - Stade Francais |
| - Wasps |
| - Leicester Tigers |
| - Connacht |
| - Scarlets |
| - Munster |
| - Cardiff Blues |
| - Toulouse |
| - Castres |
| - Harlequins |
| - Bordeaux |
| - Bath |
| - La Rochelle |
| - Sale Sharks |
| - Exeter Chiefs |
| - Ulster |
| - Leinster |
| - Northampton Saints |
| - Ospreys |
| - Glasgow Warriors |
| - Montpellier |
| - Racing 92 |
| - Bristol |
Leinster Rugby has been an active provincial team since it was founded in 1879, albeit on an amateur level for over 100 years. As such, in the time before the club officially turned professional in 1995, its sporting history is chiefly around its record in the IRFU Interprovincial Championship – which it has won 22 times in total.
In Leinster Rugby’s early professional years, it saw mixed success. The club was crowned champions in the inaugural season of the defunct Celtic League (now the PRO14) in the 2001-02 season, but in the years following this Leinster were dogged by a series of missed opportunities. This included several failed European campaigns and in particular when it lost out on league titles on the final days of the 05/06 and 06/07 seasons.
Another notable event during this time was a brief stint between 2001 and 2004 where Leinster Rugby was renamed ‘Leinster Lions’. However, ‘Lions’ was later dropped from the club’s name and brand and is now only used for marketing purposes.
It’s since 2008 that the club has truly established itself as one of the greats on both a domestic and European level. Its first Heineken Champions Cup win came in 2009 against Leicester Tigers, with repeated success in this tournament coming in 2011, 2012 and 2018 respectively.
This achievement has been mirrored in its record 7 titles in the PRO14 – including wins when this was the Celtic League and the PRO12 – with the most recent coming in 2020. The club’s wider honours list also includes Celtic Cup wins in 2019 and 2020.
Andrew Porter Prop 
Caelan Doris Number 8 
Cian Healy Prop 
Dan Leavy Flanker 7 
Devin Toner Lock 
Ed Byrne Prop 
Jack Conan Number 8 
James Ryan Lock 
James Tracy Hooker 
Josh Van der Flier Flanker 7 
Max Deegan Number 8 
Michael Alaalatoa Prop 
Peter Dooley Prop 
Rhys Ruddock Flanker 6 
Ronan Kelleher Hooker 
Ross Molony Lock 
Ryan Baird Lock 
Scott Penny Flanker 7 
Sean Cronin Hooker 
Tadhg Furlong Prop 
Vakh Abdaladze Prop 
Will Connors Flanker 6 
Rob Russell Fullback 
Adam Byrne Wing 
Ciaran Frawley Fly half 
Conor O'Brien Centre 
Dan Sheehan Fullback 
Garry Ringrose Centre 
Harry Byrne Fly half 
Hugo Keenan Fullback 
James Lowe Wing 
Jamie Osborne Fullback 
Jamison Gibson-Park Scrum half 
Jimmy O'Brien Centre 
Johnny Sexton Fly half 
Jordan Larmour Wing 
Luke McGrath Scrum half 
Nick McCarthy Scrum half 
Rob Russell Right wing 
Robbie Henshaw Centre 
Rory O'Loughlin Centre 
Ross Byrne Fly half 
Tommy O'Brien Centre With such a revered and prolific history at all levels, many of the biggest names in the sport have played – and still play – for the Leinster Rugby team. Household name Johnny Sexton, who currently captains both the club and the Ireland national team, is Leinster’s top scorer. A few other notable homegrown players who have graced the pitch for Leinster Rugby include legends like Brian O’Driscoll, Jamie Heaslip and the club’s record try scorer Shane Horgan.
At present, the Leinster Rugby team is predominantly made up of Irish players, with many established Ireland internationals. This includes Robbie Henshaw, Cian Healy and Ross Byrne to name just a few examples of the talent currently occupying the Leinster ranks.
Read on to discover more about Leinster Rugby. On this page you’ll find all of the latest Leinster Rugby news as well as the team’s upcoming fixtures and latest results.
