# 2008–09 Leinster Rugby season

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.

## 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 |
| 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 |
| Seán 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 |
| Johnny 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.
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.

## 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 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | | Final | Final |
| 11 April – Millennium Stadium | 11 April – Millennium Stadium | | | |
| Cardiff Blues | 9 | | | |
| Cardiff Blues | 9 | 3 May – Millennium Stadium | 3 May – Millennium Stadium | | |
| Toulouse | 6 | 3 May – Millennium Stadium | 3 May – Millennium Stadium | |
| Toulouse | 6 | Cardiff Blues | 26 (6) | |
| 11 April – Walkers Stadium | 11 April – Walkers Stadium | | Cardiff Blues | 26 (6) | |
| 11 April – Walkers Stadium | 11 April – Walkers Stadium | Leicester Tigers (p) | 26 (7) | |
| Leicester Tigers | 20 | Leicester Tigers (p) | 26 (7) | |
| Leicester Tigers | 20 | | | | 23 May – Murrayfield | 23 May – Murrayfield |
| Bath | 15 | | | | 23 May – Murrayfield | 23 May – Murrayfield |
| Bath | 15 | | | | Leicester Tigers | 16 |
| 12 April – Thomond Park | 12 April – Thomond Park | | | | | Leicester Tigers | 16 |
| 12 April – Thomond Park | 12 April – Thomond Park | | | | Leinster | 19 |
| Munster | 43 | | | | Leinster | 19 |
| Munster | 43 | 2 May – Croke Park | 2 May – Croke Park | | | |
| Ospreys | 9 | 2 May – Croke Park | 2 May – Croke Park | | | |
| Ospreys | 9 | Munster | 6 | | | |
| 12 April – Twickenham Stoop | 12 April – Twickenham Stoop | | Munster | 6 | | | |
| 12 April – Twickenham Stoop | 12 April – Twickenham Stoop | Leinster | 25 | |
| Harlequins | 5 | Leinster | 25 | |
| Leinster | 6 | | | |