# 2010–11 Leinster Rugby season

The 2010–11 Leinster Rugby season was Leinster's tenth competing in the Celtic League, alongside which they competed in the 2010–11 Heineken Cup. The Leinster 'A' team competed in the British and Irish Cup for their second season.
Leinster reached the 2011 Celtic League Grand Final in Thomond Park, Limerick against Munster, after finishing 2nd in the league format & beating Ulster in the semi-finals, however Leinster were beaten by Munster who had won the league twice before. In the Heineken Cup, Leinster finished top of their pool which consisted of Clermont Auvergne, Racing Metro and Saracens. Leinster beat Leicester Tigers in the quarter-finals & Stade Toulousain in the semi-finals. Leinster beat Northampton Saints in the 2011 Heineken Cup Final in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to win the Heineken Cup for their second time. The Leinster 'A' team were beaten by the Bedford Blues in the British & Irish Cup Quarter-Finals.

## Squad
### Coaching and Management team

The current coaching team will change at the end of 2009–10 with Michael Cheika departing after 5 seasons. Cheika will be replaced by current Clermont backs coach Josef Schmidt. Schmidt is joining on a three-year contract and the rest of the coaching team will be announced before the end of the 2009–10 season.
| Position | Name | Nationality |
| Head & Defence Coach | Josef Schmidt | New Zealand |
| Forwards Coach | Jono Gibbes | New Zealand |
| Scrum Coach | Greg Feek | New Zealand |
| Backs Coach | TBA | |
| Skills & Kicking Coach | Richie Murphy | Ireland |
| Chief Executive | Mick Dawson | Ireland |
| Team Manager | Guy Easterby | Ireland |
| Physiotherapist | James Allen | Ireland |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Chris Dennis | Ireland |
| Chief Scout | Guy Easterby | Ireland |
| Baggage Master | Patrick Moloi | Botswana |

### Playing Squad 2010/2011

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 |
| Richardt Strauss | Hooker | South Africa |
| Cian Healy | Prop | Ireland |
| Jack McGrath | Prop | Ireland |
| Ronan McCormack | Prop | Ireland |
| Mike Ross | Prop | Ireland |
| Heinke van der Merwe | Prop | South Africa |
| Stan Wright | Prop | Cook Islands |
| Leo Cullen (c) | Lock | Ireland |
| Nathan Hines | Lock | Scotland |
| Mariano Galarza | Lock | Argentina |
| Trevor Hogan | Lock | Ireland |
| Ed O'Donoghue | Lock | Ireland |
| Eoin Sheriff | Lock | Ireland |
| Devin Toner | Lock | Ireland |
| Shane Jennings | Flanker | Ireland |
| Kevin McLaughlin | Flanker | Ireland |
| Seán O'Brien | Flanker | Ireland |
| Rhys Ruddock | Flanker | Ireland |
| Paul Ryan | Flanker | Ireland |
| Dominic Ryan | Flanker | Ireland |
| Jamie Heaslip | Number 8 | Ireland |
| Stephen Keogh | Number 8 | Ireland |
| Player | Position | Union |
| Isaac Boss | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Paul O'Donohoe | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Eoin Reddan | Scrum-half | Ireland |
| Shaun Berne | Fly-half | Australia |
| Johnny Sexton | Fly-half | Ireland |
| Ian Madigan | Fly-half | Ireland |
| Gordon D'Arcy | Centre | Ireland |
| Fergus McFadden | Centre | Ireland |
| Brendan Macken | Centre | Ireland |
| Brian O'Driscoll | Centre | Ireland |
| Eoin O'Malley | Centre | Ireland |
| Luke Fitzgerald | Wing | Ireland |
| Shane Horgan | Wing | Ireland |
| Simon Keogh | Wing | Ireland |
| David Kearney | Wing | Ireland |
| Isa Nacewa | Wing | Fiji |
| Andrew Conway | Fullback | Ireland |
| Rob Kearney | Fullback | Ireland |
| Niall Morris | Fullback | Ireland |
Bold indicates full international capped played.

#### In for 2010–11

* Isaac Boss (from Ulster)
* Mariano Galarza (from Universitario de La Plata)
* Ed O'Donoghue (from Ulster)
* Heinke van der Merwe (from Golden Lions)

#### Promoted from the Leinster Academy

* Niall Moris
* Andrew Conway
* Brendan Macken
* Jack McGrath
* Eoin Sherrif
* Paul Ryan
* Dominic Ryan
* Rhys Ruddock
* Ian Madigan

#### Out for 2010–11

* Malcolm O'Kelly (retiring)
* Girvan Dempsey (retiring)
* Mariano Galarza to Pampas XV
* Bernard Jackman (retiring)
* Chris Keane
* CJ van der Linde to Cheetahs

## Celtic League
### Table

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts |
| 1 | Munster | 21 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 474 | 321 | +153 | 41 | 22 | 5 | 2 | 79 |
| 2 | Leinster | 21 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 457 | 333 | +124 | 46 | 25 | 4 | 3 | 65 |
| 3 | Ulster | 21 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 460 | 405 | +55 | 41 | 34 | 3 | 2 | 63 |
| 4 | Cardiff Blues | 21 | 13 | 1 | 7 | 456 | 354 | +102 | 35 | 29 | 3 | 3 | 60 |
| 5 | Ospreys | 21 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 541 | 408 | +133 | 56 | 28 | 6 | 7 | 59 |
| 6 | Scarlets | 21 | 11 | 1 | 9 | 465 | 430 | +35 | 45 | 41 | 4 | 7 | 57 |
| 7 | Newport Gwent Dragons | 21 | 10 | 1 | 10 | 431 | 442 | −11 | 46 | 46 | 3 | 3 | 48 |
| 8 | Edinburgh | 21 | 9 | 0 | 12 | 415 | 429 | −14 | 39 | 41 | 2 | 5 | 43 |
| 9 | Connacht | 21 | 7 | 1 | 13 | 388 | 437 | −49 | 32 | 40 | 3 | 6 | 39 |
| 10 | Benetton Treviso | 21 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 343 | 496 | −153 | 26 | 58 | 0 | 2 | 34 |
| 11 | Glasgow Warriors | 21 | 6 | 1 | 14 | 398 | 505 | −107 | 33 | 44 | 1 | 6 | 33 |
| 12 | Aironi | 21 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 237 | 505 | −268 | 20 | 52 | 0 | 7 | 11 |
| Correct as of 30 April 2011 ||||||||||||||

### Fixtures

* 3 September 2010 19:05
| Glasgow Warriors | 22 – 19 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Firhill Stadium Attendance: 2,879 Referee: Tim Hayes
* 11 September 2010 18:30
| Leinster | 34 – 23 | Cardiff Blues |
| | Report | |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 15,890 Referee: Andy Macpherson
* 18 September 2010 19:05
| Benetton Treviso | 29 – 13 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Stadio di Monigo Attendance: 5,000 Referee: Peter Allan
* 24 September 2010 19:05
| Edinburgh | 32 – 24 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Murrayfield Attendance: 2,923 Referee: Tim Hayes
* 2 October 2010 19:30
| Leinster | 13 – 9 | Munster |
| | Report | |
* Aviva Stadium Attendance: 50,645 Referee: J Garces
* 30 October 2010 18:05
| Leinster | 19 – 18 | Edinburgh |
| | Report | |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 16,786 Referee: Carlo Damasco
* 19 November 2010 19:05
| Leinster | 27 – 6 | Newport Gwent Dragons |
| | Report | |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 10,390 Referee: Stefano Penne
* 28 November 2010 17:00
| Ospreys | 19 – 15 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Liberty Stadium Attendance: 4,122 Referee: David Wilkinson
* 3 December 2010 19:05
| Scarlets | 17 – 17 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Parc y Scarlets Attendance: 5,142 Referee: Nigel Owens
* 27 December 2010 16:00
| Ulster | 13 – 30 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Ravenhill Attendance: 11,426
* 1 January 2011 17:30
| Leinster | 30 – 8 | Connacht |
| | Report | |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 17,136
* 7 January 2011
| Leinster | 15 - 10 | Ospreys |
| | Report | |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 14,876
* 10 February 2011 19:05
| Leinster | 21 – 16 | Aironi |
| | Report | |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 9,790 Referee: Nigel Owens
* 19 February 2011 18:30
| Cardiff Blues | 11 – 3 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Cardiff City Stadium Attendance: 10,741 Referee: Carlo Damasco
* 25–27 February 2011 19:10
| Leinster | 30 – 5 | Benetton Treviso |
| | Report | |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 10,236 Referee: Neil Hennessy
* 4 March 2011 19:35
| Leinster | 26 – 15 | Scarlets |
| | Report | |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 11,976 Referee: Andy Macpherson
* 27 March 2011 14:30
| Newport Gwent Dragons | 16 – 26 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Rodney Parade Attendance: 4,028 Referee: Andy MacPherson
* 2 April 2011 19:30
| Munster | 24 – 23 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Thomond Park Attendance: 25,923 Referee: Andrew Small
* 16 April 2011
| Leinster | 36 – 28 | Ulster |
| | Report | |
* RDS Arena Attendance: 17,670 Referee: Pascal Gauzere
* 23 April 2011
| Aironi | 8 – 20 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Stadio Zaffanella Referee: Andrew McMenemy
* 6 May 2011 19:05
| Leinster | 38 – 3 | Glasgow Warriors |
| | Report | |
* RDS Arena Referee: James Jones

#### Final
## Heineken Cup
### Pool table

| Team | P | W | D | L | Tries for | Tries against | Try diff | Points for | Points against | Points diff | TB | LB | Pts |
| Leinster | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 21 | 9 | +12 | 179 | 104 | +75 | 3 | 1 | 24 |
| Clermont | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 9 | +5 | 114 | 94 | +20 | 2 | 1 | 19 |
| Racing Métro | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 17 | −8 | 104 | 151 | −47 | 0 | 1 | 9 |
| Saracens | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 18 | −9 | 107 | 155 | −48 | 0 | 2 | 6 |

### Fixtures
#### Final
## British & Irish Cup
### Pool stage

| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | +/- | BP | Pts |
| Worcester Warriors | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 175 | 87 | 88 | 3 | 19 |
| Leinster A | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 138 | 117 | 21 | 3 | 19 |
| Cornish Pirates | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 175 | 108 | 67 | 5 | 17 |
| Newport | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 121 | 159 | -38 | 4 | 16 |
| Plymouth Albion | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 76 | 144 | -68 | 0 | 5 |
| Currie | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 104 | 174 | -70 | 2 | 2 |
| Correct as of 1 March 2011 ||||||||||

### Fixtures
#### Pool stage

* 17 October 2010
| Newport RFC | 28-33 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Rodney Parade, Newport
* 11 December 2010
| Leinster | 25-16 | Plymouth Albion |
| | Report | |
* Dr Hickey Park, Greystones
* 19 December 2010
| Cornish Pirates | 43-12 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Mennaye Field, Penzance
* 16 January 2011
| Leinster | 38-23 | Worcester Warriors |
| | Report | |
* Donnybrook Stadium, Dublin
* 23 January 2011
| Leinster | 30-7 | Currie RFC |
| | Report | |
* Donnybrook Stadium, Dublin

#### Quarter-final

* 5 March 2011
| Bedford Blues | 50-15 | Leinster |
| | Report | |
* Goldington Road, Bedford Attendance: 1,313 Referee: David Jones