# 2009–10 Leinster Rugby season

The 2009–10 Leinster Rugby season was Leinster's ninth competing in the Celtic League which they finished runners up in, alongside which they were competing in the 2009–10 Heineken Cup as defending champions until they were knocked out at the semi-finals by Stade Toulousain who went on to win the competition.

## 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 |
| Jason Harris-Wright | Hooker | Ireland |
| Bernard Jackman | Hooker | Ireland |
| Richardt Strauss | Hooker | South Africa |
| Cian Healy | Prop | Ireland |
| Ronan McCormack | Prop | Ireland |
| Mike Ross | Prop | Ireland |
| CJ van der Linde | Prop | South Africa |
| Stan Wright | Prop | Cook Islands |
| Leo Cullen (c) | Lock | Ireland |
| Nathan Hines | Lock | Scotland |
| Trevor Hogan | Lock | Ireland |
| Malcolm O'Kelly | Lock | Ireland |
| Devin Toner | Lock | Ireland |
| Shane Jennings | Flanker | Ireland |
| Kevin McLaughlin | Flanker | Ireland |
| Seán O'Brien | Flanker | Ireland |
| Rhys Ruddock | 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 |
| Eoin Reddan | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Shaun Berne | Fly-half | Australia |
| Johnny Sexton | Fly-half | Ireland |
| Gordon D'Arcy | Centre | Ireland |
| Fergus McFadden | Centre | Ireland |
| Brian O'Driscoll | Centre | Ireland |
| Eoin O'Malley | 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 |
| Andrew Conway | Fullback | Ireland |

### Coaching and management team

| Position | Name | Nationality |
| Head Coach | Michael Cheika | Australia |
| Consultant Coach | Alan Gaffney | Australia |
| Backs Coach | Chris Whitaker | Australia |
| Forwards Coach | Jono Gibbes | New Zealand |
| Defence Coach | Kurt McQuilkin | New Zealand |
| Chief Executive | Mick Dawson | Ireland |
| Physiotherapist | James Allen | Ireland |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Jason Cowman | Ireland |
| Chief Scout | Guy Easterby | Ireland |
| Baggage Master | Patrick Moloi | Botswana |

### Transfers
#### In

| Player | From | Source |
| Shaun Berne | Bath Rugby | RTE |
| Nathan Hines | USA Perpignan | RTE |
| Eoin Reddan | London Wasps | RTE |
| Mike Ross | NEC Harlequins | RTE |
| Rhys Ruddock | Ospreys | |

#### Out

| Player | To | Source |
| Felipe Contepomi | Toulon Rugby | BBC |
| Rocky Elsom | Brumbies | RTE |
| Felix Jones | Munster Rugby | Magners League |
| Cameron Jowitt | NSW Waratahs | |
| Chris Whitaker | Retired |

## Pre-Season Results

| Date | Home team | Score | Away Team | Score | Venue |
| 21 August 2009 | Rugby Nice | 10 | Leinster | 38 | Stade des Arboras, Nice |
| 28 August 2009 | Leinster | 8 | London Irish | 24 | Donnybrook Stadium, Dublin |

## 2009–10 Magners League Fixtures/Results

    Key to colours   Magners League Semi-Final   Magners League Final
| Date | Home team | Score | Away Team | Score | Venue |
| 5 September 2009 | Scarlets | 18 | Leinster | 16 | Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli |
| 12 September 2009 | Leinster | 23 | Newport Gwent Dragons | 14 | RDS Arena, Dublin |
| 18 September 2009 | Ospreys | 11 | Leinster | 18 | Liberty Stadium, Swansea |
| 26 September 2009 | Edinburgh Rugby | 19 | Leinster | 21 | Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh |
| 3 October 2009 | Leinster | 30 | Munster | 0 | RDS Arena, Dublin |
| 24 October 2009 | Ulster | 16 | Leinster | 14 | Ravenhill Stadium, Belfast |
| 31 October 2009 | Leinster | 23 | Cardiff Blues | 6 | RDS Arena, Dublin |
| 6 December 2009 | Newport Gwent Dragons | 30 | Leinster | 14 | Rodney Parade, Newport |
| 26 December 2009 | Leinster | 15 | Ulster | 3 | RDS Arena, Dublin |
| 20 February 2010 | Leinster | 27 | Scarlets | 14 | RDS Arena, Dublin |
| 21 February 2010 | Cardiff Blues | 20 | Leinster | 29 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff |
| 18 March 2010 | Leinster | 20 | Glasgow Warriors | 14 | RDS Arena, Dublin |
| 27 March 2010 | Leinster | 17 | Connacht | 14 | RDS Arena, Dublin |
| 2 April 2010 | Munster | 15 | Leinster | 16 | Thomond Park, Limerick |
| 16 April 2010 | Leinster | 20 | Ospreys | 16 | RDS Arena, Dublin |
| 21 April 2010 | Connacht | 27 | Leinster | 13 | Galway Sportsgrounds, Galway |
| 23 April 2010 | Glasgow Warriors | 30 | Leinster | 6 | Firhill Stadium, Glasgow |
| 7 May 2010 | Leinster | 37 | Edinburgh Rugby | 28 | RDS Arena, Dublin |
| 15 May 2010 | Leinster | 16 | Munster | 6 | RDS Arena, Dublin |
| 29 May 2010 | Leinster | 12 | Ospreys | 17 | RDS Arena, Dublin |

### League table

    Key to colours   Top four teams advance to playoffs.
| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts |
| 1 | Leinster | 18 | 13 | 0 | 5 | 359 | 295 | +64 | 27 | 29 | 1 | 2 | 55 |
| 2 | Ospreys | 18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 384 | 298 | +86 | 37 | 26 | 3 | 3 | 52 |
| 3 | Glasgow Warriors | 18 | 11 | 2 | 5 | 390 | 321 | +69 | 31 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 51 |
| 4 | Munster | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 319 | 282 | +37 | 33 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 45 |
| 5 | Cardiff Blues | 18 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 349 | 315 | +34 | 33 | 28 | 2 | 2 | 44 |
| 6 | Edinburgh | 18 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 385 | 391 | −6 | 40 | 40 | 4 | 5 | 41 |
| 7 | Newport Gwent Dragons | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 333 | 378 | −45 | 32 | 37 | 3 | 2 | 39 |
| 8 | Ulster | 18 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 357 | 370 | −13 | 39 | 35 | 4 | 2 | 36 |
| 9 | Scarlets | 18 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 361 | 382 | −21 | 35 | 35 | 1 | 8 | 29 |
| 10 | Connacht | 18 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 254 | 459 | −205 | 20 | 53 | 0 | 4 | 26 |
| Correct as of 9 May 2010 Table from Magners League official site ||||||||||||||

## Heineken Cup Fixtures/Results

| Round | Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Score | Venue |
| Pool Stage | 9 October 2009 | Leinster | 9 | London Irish | 12 | RDS Arena, Dublin |
| Pool Stage | 17 October 2009 | CA Brive | 13 | Leinster | 36 | Stade Amédée-Domenech, Brive-la-Gaillarde |
| Pool Stage | 12 December 2009 | Scarlets | 7 | Leinster | 32 | Parc y Scarlets, Pemberton |
| Pool Stage | 19 December 2009 | Leinster | 39 | Scarlets | 7 | RDS Arena, Dublin |
| Pool Stage | 16 January 2010 | Leinster | 27 | CA Brive | 10 | RDS Arena, Dublin |
| Pool Stage | 23 January 2010 | London Irish | 11 | Leinster | 11 | Twickenham Stadium |
| Quarter Final | 9 April 2010 | Leinster | 29 | Clermont Auvergne | 28 | RDS Arena, Dublin |
| Semi Final | 1 May 2010 | Stade Toulousain | 26 | Leinster | 16 | Stade Municipal, Toulouse |

### Pool Table

| Team | Pld | W | D | L | TF | PF | PA | +/− | BP | Pts |
| Leinster (4) | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 19 | 154 | 60 | +94 | 4 | 22 |
| Scarlets (7) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 116 | 147 | −29 | 1 | 17 |
| London Irish | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 | 150 | 94 | +36 | 3 | 17 |
| Brive | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7 | 68 | 177 | −109 | 1 | 1 |

### Knock-out stage

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| 10 April – Estadio Anoeta | 10 April – Estadio Anoeta | | | |
| Biarritz | 29 | | | |
| Biarritz | 29 | 2 May – Estadio Anoeta | 2 May – Estadio Anoeta | | |
| Ospreys | 28 | 2 May – Estadio Anoeta | 2 May – Estadio Anoeta | |
| Ospreys | 28 | Biarritz | 18 | |
| 10 April – Thomond Park | 10 April – Thomond Park | | Biarritz | 18 | |
| 10 April – Thomond Park | 10 April – Thomond Park | Munster | 7 | |
| Munster | 33 | Munster | 7 | |
| Munster | 33 | | | | 22 May – Stade de France | 22 May – Stade de France |
| Northampton | 19 | | | | 22 May – Stade de France | 22 May – Stade de France |
| Northampton | 19 | | | | Biarritz | 19 |
| 11 April – Stadium Municipal | 11 April – Stadium Municipal | | | | | Biarritz | 19 |
| 11 April – Stadium Municipal | 11 April – Stadium Municipal | | | | Toulouse | 21 |
| Toulouse | 42 | | | | Toulouse | 21 |
| Toulouse | 42 | 1 May – Stadium Municipal | 1 May – Stadium Municipal | | | |
| Stade Français | 16 | 1 May – Stadium Municipal | 1 May – Stadium Municipal | | | |
| Stade Français | 16 | Toulouse | 26 | | | |
| 9 April – RDS Arena | 9 April – RDS Arena | | Toulouse | 26 | | | |
| 9 April – RDS Arena | 9 April – RDS Arena | Leinster | 16 | |
| Leinster | 29 | Leinster | 16 | |
| Clermont Auvergne | 28 | | | |