2010–11 Leinster Rugby season

Leinster Rugby
	2010–11 season
Manager	Joe Schmidt
Captain	Leo Cullen
Celtic League	Runners-up
Heineken Cup	Winners
British and Irish Cup	Quarter-finals
Top try scorer	League: Celtic League ; Shane Horgan (7) ; Heineken Cup ; Seán O'Brien (4)
Top points scorer	League: Celtic League ; Isa Nacewa (142) ; Heineken Cup ; Johnny Sexton (138)
Highest home attendance	50,645 vs Munster ; 2 October 2010, Aviva Stadium
Lowest home attendance	9,790 vs Aironi ; 10 February 2011
← 2009–10	2011–12 →

The 2010–11 Leinster Rugby season was Leinster's tenth competing in the Celtic League, alongside which they competed in the 2010–11 Heineken Cup. The Leinster 'A' team competed in the British and Irish Cup for their second season.

Leinster reached the 2011 Celtic League Grand Final in Thomond Park, Limerick against Munster, after finishing 2nd in the league format & beating Ulster in the semi-finals, however Leinster were beaten by Munster who had won the league twice before. In the Heineken Cup, Leinster finished top of their pool which consisted of Clermont Auvergne, Racing Metro and Saracens. Leinster beat Leicester Tigers in the quarter-finals & Stade Toulousain in the semi-finals. Leinster beat Northampton Saints in the 2011 Heineken Cup Final in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to win the Heineken Cup for their second time. The Leinster 'A' team were beaten by the Bedford Blues in the British & Irish Cup Quarter-Finals.

Squad

Coaching and Management team

The current coaching team will change at the end of 2009–10 with Michael Cheika departing after 5 seasons. Cheika will be replaced by current Clermont backs coach Josef Schmidt.^[1] Schmidt is joining on a three-year contract and the rest of the coaching team will be announced before the end of the 2009–10 season.

Position	Name	Nationality
Head & Defence Coach	Josef Schmidt	New Zealand
Forwards Coach	Jono Gibbes	New Zealand
Scrum Coach	Greg Feek^[2]	New Zealand
Backs Coach	TBA
Skills & Kicking Coach	Richie Murphy	Ireland
Chief Executive	Mick Dawson	Ireland
Team Manager	Guy Easterby	Ireland
Physiotherapist	James Allen	Ireland
Strength & Conditioning Coach	Chris Dennis	Ireland
Chief Scout	Guy Easterby	Ireland
Baggage Master	Patrick Moloi	Botswana

Playing Squad 2010/2011

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
Jason Harris-Wright	Hooker	Ireland
Richardt Strauss	Hooker	South Africa
Cian Healy	Prop	Ireland
Jack McGrath	Prop	Ireland
Ronan McCormack	Prop	Ireland
Mike Ross	Prop	Ireland
Heinke van der Merwe	Prop	South Africa
Stan Wright	Prop	Cook Islands
Leo Cullen (c)	Lock	Ireland
Nathan Hines	Lock	Scotland
Mariano Galarza	Lock	Argentina
Trevor Hogan	Lock	Ireland
Ed O'Donoghue	Lock	Ireland
Eoin Sheriff	Lock	Ireland
Devin Toner	Lock	Ireland
Shane Jennings	Flanker	Ireland
Kevin McLaughlin	Flanker	Ireland
Seán O'Brien	Flanker	Ireland
Rhys Ruddock	Flanker	Ireland
Paul Ryan	Flanker	Ireland
Dominic Ryan	Flanker	Ireland
Jamie Heaslip	Number 8	Ireland
Stephen Keogh	Number 8	Ireland

Player	Position	Union
Isaac Boss	Scrum-half	Ireland
Paul O'Donohoe	Scrum-half	Ireland
Eoin Reddan	Scrum-half	Ireland
Shaun Berne	Fly-half	Australia
Johnny Sexton	Fly-half	Ireland
Ian Madigan	Fly-half	Ireland
Gordon D'Arcy	Centre	Ireland
Fergus McFadden	Centre	Ireland
Brendan Macken	Centre	Ireland
Brian O'Driscoll	Centre	Ireland
Eoin O'Malley	Centre	Ireland
Luke Fitzgerald	Wing	Ireland
Shane Horgan	Wing	Ireland
Simon Keogh	Wing	Ireland
David Kearney	Wing	Ireland
Isa Nacewa	Wing	Fiji
Andrew Conway	Fullback	Ireland
Rob Kearney	Fullback	Ireland
Niall Morris	Fullback	Ireland

Bold indicates full international capped played.

In for 2010–11

Isaac Boss (from Ulster)
Mariano Galarza (from Universitario de La Plata)
Ed O'Donoghue (from Ulster)
Heinke van der Merwe (from Golden Lions)

Promoted from the Leinster Academy

Out for 2010–11

Celtic League

Table

	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	Try bonus	Losing bonus	Pts
1	Munster	21	18	0	3	474	321	+153	41	22	5	2	79
2	Leinster	21	14	1	6	457	333	+124	46	25	4	3	65
3	Ulster	21	14	1	6	460	405	+55	41	34	3	2	63
4	Cardiff Blues	21	13	1	7	456	354	+102	35	29	3	3	60
5	Ospreys	21	11	1	9	541	408	+133	56	28	6	7	59
6	Scarlets	21	11	1	9	465	430	+35	45	41	4	7	57
7	Newport Gwent Dragons	21	10	1	10	431	442	−11	46	46	3	3	48
8	Edinburgh	21	9	0	12	415	429	−14	39	41	2	5	43
9	Connacht	21	7	1	13	388	437	−49	32	40	3	6	39
10	Benetton Treviso	21	8	0	13	343	496	−153	26	58	0	2	34
11	Glasgow Warriors	21	6	1	14	398	505	−107	33	44	1	6	33
12	Aironi	21	1	0	20	237	505	−268	20	52	0	7	11
Correct as of 30 April 2011

Fixtures

3 September 2010
19:05

Glasgow Warriors	22 – 19	Leinster
	Report

Firhill Stadium
Attendance: 2,879
Referee: Tim Hayes

11 September 2010
18:30

Leinster	34 – 23	Cardiff Blues
	Report

RDS Arena
Attendance: 15,890
Referee: Andy Macpherson

18 September 2010
19:05

Benetton Treviso	29 – 13	Leinster
	Report

Stadio di Monigo
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Peter Allan

24 September 2010
19:05

Edinburgh	32 – 24	Leinster
	Report

Murrayfield
Attendance: 2,923
Referee: Tim Hayes

2 October 2010
19:30

Leinster	13 – 9	Munster
	Report

Aviva Stadium
Attendance: 50,645
Referee: J Garces

30 October 2010
18:05

Leinster	19 – 18	Edinburgh
	Report

RDS Arena
Attendance: 16,786
Referee: Carlo Damasco

19 November 2010
19:05

Leinster	27 – 6	Newport Gwent Dragons
	Report

RDS Arena
Attendance: 10,390
Referee: Stefano Penne

28 November 2010
17:00

Ospreys	19 – 15	Leinster
	Report

Liberty Stadium
Attendance: 4,122
Referee: David Wilkinson

3 December 2010
19:05

Scarlets	17 – 17	Leinster
	Report

Parc y Scarlets
Attendance: 5,142
Referee: Nigel Owens

27 December 2010
16:00

Ulster	13 – 30	Leinster
	Report

Ravenhill
Attendance: 11,426

1 January 2011
17:30

Leinster	30 – 8	Connacht
	Report

RDS Arena
Attendance: 17,136

7 January 2011

Leinster	15 - 10	Ospreys
	Report

RDS Arena
Attendance: 14,876

10 February 2011
19:05

Leinster	21 – 16	Aironi
	Report

RDS Arena
Attendance: 9,790
Referee: Nigel Owens

19 February 2011
18:30

Cardiff Blues	11 – 3	Leinster
	Report

Cardiff City Stadium
Attendance: 10,741
Referee: Carlo Damasco

25–27 February 2011
19:10

Leinster	30 – 5	Benetton Treviso
	Report

RDS Arena
Attendance: 10,236
Referee: Neil Hennessy

4 March 2011
19:35

Leinster	26 – 15	Scarlets
	Report

RDS Arena
Attendance: 11,976
Referee: Andy Macpherson

27 March 2011
14:30

Newport Gwent Dragons	16 – 26	Leinster
	Report

Rodney Parade
Attendance: 4,028
Referee: Andy MacPherson

2 April 2011
19:30

Munster	24 – 23	Leinster
	Report

Thomond Park
Attendance: 25,923
Referee: Andrew Small

16 April 2011

Leinster	36 – 28	Ulster
	Report

RDS Arena
Attendance: 17,670
Referee: Pascal Gauzere

23 April 2011

Aironi	8 – 20	Leinster
	Report

Stadio Zaffanella
Referee: Andrew McMenemy

6 May 2011
19:05

Leinster	38 – 3	Glasgow Warriors
	Report

RDS Arena
Referee: James Jones

Semi-final

	13 May 2011	Leinster	18 – 3	Ulster	RDS Arena
	19:05	Try: McFadden 25' m Fitzgerald 72' c Con: McFadden (1/1) Pen: Sexton (2/3) 5', 40'	Report	Pen: Pienaar (1/1) 62'	Referee: George Clancy

Final

	28 May 2011	Munster	19 – 9	Leinster	Thomond Park
	17:05	Try: Howlett 12' c Earls 66' m Penalty try 79' c Con: O'Gara (2/3)	Report	Pen: Sexton (3/4) 29', 46', 60'	Attendance: 25,822 Referee: Nigel Owens

Heineken Cup

Pool table

Team	P	W	L	Tries for	Tries against	Try diff	Points for	Points against	Points diff	TB	LB	Pts
Leinster	6	5	1	21	9	+12	179	104	+75	3	1	24
Clermont	6	4	2	14	9	+5	114	94	+20	2	1	19
Racing Métro	6	2	4	9	17	−8	104	151	−47	0	1	9
Saracens	6	1	5	9	18	−9	107	155	−48	0	2	6

Fixtures

Pool stage

	9 October 2010	Leinster	38 – 22	Racing Métro 92	RDS Arena, Dublin
	13:30	Try: O'Brien 30' c Kearney 33' m Strauss 48' m Heaslip 62' c McFadden 79' m Con: Nacewa (2/5) Pen: Nacewa (3/4) 4', 28', 38'	Report	Try: Vulivuli 55' c Con: Fillol (1/1) Pen: Fillol (3/3) 12', 41', 66' Steyn (2/3) 36', 51'	Attendance: 17,936 Referee: Dave Pearson (England)

	16 October 2010	Saracens	23 – 25	Leinster	Wembley Stadium, London
	17:45	Try: Goode 12' m Con: Hougaard Pen: Hougaard (2/3) 15', 33' Goode (4/4) 55', 62', 68', 74'	Report	Try: Sexton 52' c Con: Sexton (1/1) Pen: Sexton (6/6) 6', 19', 26', 35', 44', 63'	Attendance: 45,892 Referee: Christophe Berdos (France)

	12 December 2010	ASM Clermont Auvergne	20 - 13	Leinster	Stade Marcel-Michelin, Clermont
	16:00	Try: Malzieu 6' c Floch 53' c Con: Parra (2/2) Pen: Parra (2/3) 24', 60'	Report	Try: Horgan 3' c Con: Sexton (1/1) Pen: Sexton (2/2) 11', 57'	Attendance: 16,106 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

	18 December 2010	Leinster	24 - 8	ASM Clermont Auvergne	Aviva Stadium, Dublin
	17:45	Try: Healy 7' c Healy 43' c O'Brien 50' c Con: Sexton (3/3) Pen: Sexton (1/1)	Report	Try: Nalaga 68' m Pen: Parra (1/3)	Attendance: 44,873 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

	15 January 2011	Leinster	43 - 20	Saracens	RDS Arena, Dublin
	13:30	Try: O'Brien 6' m D. Ryan (2) 11' c, 37' c McFadden 50' c Nacewa 60' c O'Malley 63' c Con: Sexton (5/6) Pen: Sexton (1/1) 28'	Report	Try: Short 24' c Brown 32' m Mordt 80' m Con: Farrell (1/3) Pen: Farrell (1/1) 56'	Attendance: 18,500 Referee: Romain Poite (France)

	21 January 2011	Racing Métro 92	11 – 36	Leinster	Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes
	21:00	Try: Vakatawa 15' m Pen: Hernández (2/3) 2', 36'	Report	Try: Nacewa 11' c O'Brien 19' c Sexton (2) 23' c, 62' m O'Driscoll 68' c Con: Sexton (4/5) Pen: Sexton (1/1) 54'	Attendance: 8,326 Referee: Greg Garner (England)

Quarter-final

	9 April 2011	Leinster	17 – 10	Leicester Tigers	Aviva Stadium, Dublin
	18:00	Try: Nacewa 48' m Pen: Sexton (4/4) 3', 15' 36', 73'	Report	Try: Hawkins 76' c Con: Flood (1/1) Pen: Flood (1/2) 5'	Attendance: 49,762 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Semi-final

	30 April	Leinster	32 - 23	Toulouse	Aviva Stadium, Dublin
	15:30 (UTC)	Try: Heaslip 30' c O'Driscoll 59' c Con: Sexton (2/2) 30', 60' Pen: Sexton (6/6) 10', 14', 40'+1', 47', 54', 80'	Report	Try: Fritz 4' c Picamoles 43' c Con: Skrela (2/2) 5', 45' Pen: Skrela (1/2) 37' Bézy (1/1) 75' Drop: Skrela (1/1) 11'	Attendance: 50,073 Referee: Dave Pearson (England)

Final

	21 May 2011	Northampton Saints	22–33	Leinster	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
	17:00	Try: Dowson 7' c Foden 30' c Hartley 39' m Con: Myler (2/3) Pen: Myler (1/1) 20'	Report	Try: Sexton (2) 43' c, 52' c Hines 64' c Con: Sexton (3/3) Pen: Sexton (4/5) 13', 35', 56', 60'	Attendance: 72,456 Referee: Romain Poite (France)

British & Irish Cup

Pool stage

Team	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	+/-	BP	Pts
Worcester Warriors	5	4	0	1	175	87	88	3	19
Leinster A	5	4	0	1	138	117	21	3	19
Cornish Pirates	5	3	0	2	175	108	67	5	17
Newport	5	3	0	2	121	159	-38	4	16
Plymouth Albion	5	1	0	4	76	144	-68	0	5
Currie	5	0	0	5	104	174	-70	2	2
Correct as of 1 March 2011

Fixtures

Pool stage

17 October 2010

Newport RFC	28-33	Leinster
	Report

Rodney Parade, Newport

11 December 2010

Leinster	25-16	Plymouth Albion
	Report

Dr Hickey Park, Greystones

19 December 2010

Cornish Pirates	43-12	Leinster
	Report

Mennaye Field, Penzance

16 January 2011

Leinster	38-23	Worcester Warriors
	Report

Donnybrook Stadium, Dublin

23 January 2011

Leinster	30-7	Currie RFC
	Report

Donnybrook Stadium, Dublin

Quarter-final

5 March 2011

Bedford Blues	50-15	Leinster
	Report

Goldington Road, Bedford
Attendance: 1,313
Referee: David Jones

References

^ Leinster statement on new Head Coach Leinster Rugby, 28 December 2009
^ "Schmidt's reign begins". The Irish Times.
^ "Van der Linde, Jackman and Keane to leave Leinster". 25 May 2010.
^ "Van der Linde signs for Cheetahs". 26 May 2010.

External links

Official website

[1] Leinster statement on new Head Coach Leinster Rugby, 28 December 2009

[2] "Schmidt's reign begins". The Irish Times.

[3] "Van der Linde, Jackman and Keane to leave Leinster". 25 May 2010.

[4] "Van der Linde signs for Cheetahs". 26 May 2010.

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