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2008–09 Leinster Rugby season

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Leinster Rugby
2008–09 season
ManagerAustralia Michael Cheika
CaptainIreland 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

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

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

Match Attendance

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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

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

League table

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Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TF TA Try bonus Losing bonus Pts
1 IrelandMunster 18 14 0 4 405 257 +148 49 23 6 1 63
2 ScotlandEdinburgh 18 11 0 7 416 296 +120 40 30 6 5 55
3 IrelandLeinster 18 11 1 6 401 270 +131 38 20 4 2 52
4 WalesOspreys 18 11 0 7 397 319 +78 39 28 3 5 52
5 WalesScarlets 18 9 0 9 376 395 −19 41 46 3 1 40
6 WalesCardiff Blues 18 8 1 9 322 361 −39 31 36 2 2 38
7 ScotlandGlasgow Warriors 18 7 0 11 349 375 −26 36 41 4 5 37
8 IrelandUlster 18 7 0 11 298 331 −33 30 33 2 6 36
9 WalesNewport Gwent Dragons 18 7 0 11 305 429 −124 26 39 1 4 33
10 IrelandConnacht 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

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

Pool Table

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

Knock-out stages

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

See also

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References

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  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.