# 2010 Celtic League Grand Final

The 2009–10 Celtic League Grand Final was the final match of the 2009–10 Celtic League season. The 2009–10 season was the fourth sponsored by Magners and was the first ever Celtic League Grand Final. The final was won by the Ospreys who defeated Leinster by 17–12 at the RDS Arena to win their third Celtic League title, the win ended Leinster's 20-month unbeaten home league record.

## Route to the final
### 2009–10 Final 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 |

### Semi-finals

* 14 May 2010 19:05
| Ospreys | 20 – 5 | Glasgow Warriors |
| Try: Williams 9' c Hook 54' c Con: Biggar (2/2) Pen: Biggar (2) 51', 79' | Report | Try: Thomson 42' m |
* Liberty Stadium Attendance: 7,079 Referee: George Clancy
* 15 May 2010 20:00
| Leinster | 16 – 6 | Munster |
| Try: Kearney 44' c Con: Sexton Pen: Sexton (3) 18', 50', 58' | Report | Pen: O'Gara 29' Drop: O'Gara 41' |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 19,750 Referee: Nigel Owens

## Match
### Summary

First-half Ospreys tries from Tommy Bowe after 20 minutes and Lee Byrne after 35 minutes which were both converted put the Ospreys 14–3 up at half time, with the Leinster score coming from a Johnny Sexton penalty after 23 minutes. A further penalty from Sexton brought the score to 14–6 before Dan Biggar kicked over a penalty for the Ospreys after 48 minutes. Two more penalties from Sexton in the 62nd and 71st minutes made the score 17–12, but that was enough for the Ospreys to hold and become the first side to win the title for the third time.

### Details

* 29 May 2010 18:30
| Leinster | 12–17 | Ospreys |
| Pen: Sexton (4) 23', 45', 62' ,71' | Report | Try: Bowe 20' c Byrne 35' c Con: Biggar (2/2) Pen: Biggar 48' |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 19,850 Referee: Chris White
| | 15 | Rob Kearney |
| | 14 | Shane Horgan |
| | 13 | Brian O'Driscoll |
| | 12 | Gordon D'Arcy |
| | 11 | Isa Nacewa |
| | 10 | Johnny Sexton |
| | 9 | Eoin Reddan |
| | 8 | Jamie Heaslip |
| | 7 | Shane Jennings (c) |
| | 6 | Kevin McLaughlin |
| | 5 | Malcolm O'Kelly |
| | 4 | Nathan Hines |
| | 3 | CJ van der Linde |
| | 2 | John Fogarty |
| | 1 | Stan Wright |
| Replacements: ||
| | 16 | Richardt Strauss |
| | 17 | Cian Healy |
| | 18 | Trevor Hogan |
| | 19 | Stephen Keogh |
| | 20 | Paul O'Donohoe |
| | 21 | Fergus McFadden |
| | 22 | Girvan Dempsey |
| Coach: ||
| Michael Ceika ||
| | 15 | Lee Byrne |
| | 14 | Tommy Bowe |
| | 13 | Andrew Bishop |
| | 12 | James Hook |
| | 11 | Shane Williams |
| | 10 | Dan Biggar |
| | 9 | Mike Phillips |
| | 8 | Ryan Jones (c) |
| | 7 | Marty Holah |
| | 6 | Jerry Collins |
| | 5 | Jonathan Thomas |
| | 4 | Alun Wyn Jones |
| | 3 | Adam Rhys Jones |
| | 2 | Huw Bennett |
| | 1 | Paul James |
| Replacements: ||
| | 16 | Ed Shervington |
| | 17 | Ryan Bevington |
| | 18 | Ian Gough |
| | 19 | Filo Tiatia |
| | 20 | Jamie Nutbrown |
| | 21 | Gareth Owen |
| | 22 | Nikki Walker |
| Coach: ||
| Scott Johnson ||

## Reaction

Ospreys head coach Sean Holley reacted to the win saying "it's a special night, I wouldn't say it was our best performance, but certainly one of our most courageous and determined." "Leinster are pretty outstanding in defence, and it's the end of a long, hard season, I'm not that surprised (we cut through them), because we have some great talent." Departing Leinster coach Michael Cheika reacted to the loss by saying "Ospreys deserved the win but we're disappointed with ourselves. We didn't play well, we tried to fight our way back into the game, but we made too many mistakes. We probably just weren't accurate in the defensive section or where we needed to be in the team."