2008–09 Leinster Rugby season

The 2008–09 Leinster Rugby season was Leinster's eight 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 as has been defined under WR eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-WR 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 Sean 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 Jonathan 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-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	11 April – Millennium Stadium
	Cardiff Blues	9
					3 May – Millennium Stadium
	Toulouse	6
					Cardiff Blues	26 (6)
	11 April – Walkers Stadium
					Leicester Tigers (p)	26 (7)
	Leicester Tigers	20
									23 May – Murrayfield
	Bath	15
									Leicester Tigers	16
	12 April – Thomond Park
									Leinster	19
	Munster	43
					2 May – Croke Park
	Ospreys	9
					Munster	6
	12 April – Twickenham Stoop
					Leinster	25
	Harlequins	5
	Leinster	6

See also

• 2008–09 Celtic League
• 2008–09 Heineken Cup
• 2009 Heineken Cup Final

References