Leo Cullen Archives - SportsNewsIreland

Aviva Stadium to Host Majority of Leinster Home Games in 2025/26 – Season Tickets from €115

JoeNa Connacht — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 17:10:38 +0000

Aviva Stadium to Host Majority of Leinster Home Games in 2025/26 – Season Tickets from €115

Leinster Rugby has today announced Season Ticket details for the 2025/26 campaign, confirming that the Aviva Stadium will remain the primary venue for home fixtures in the BKT United Rugby Championship and the Investec Champions Cup. Croke Park will also be available to host additional high-capacity matches when required.

As part of a broader communication to Season Ticket Holders, the following key updates were confirmed:

The RDS Arena will reopen at the beginning of the 2026/27 season with an increased capacity of over 20,000.
For the 2025/26 season, the Aviva Stadium will host the majority of home games.
Ticket prices will increase by an average of 3.9% across most categories—the first rise since the 2018/19 season.
Junior Season Ticket prices remain frozen at €115, with lower-cost entry points for adults and families also retained.

Why the Aviva Stadium Remains the Home Base for Now

Matthew Dowling, Leinster Rugby’s Chief Commercial Officer, explained the decision:

“While the RDS Arena will be available from August 2025, we’d only be able to operate at a reduced capacity—not enough to accommodate our full Season Ticket base. We’ve grown from 12,248 Season Ticket Holders at the RDS to over 15,000 at the Aviva. The aim is to include as many supporters as possible at every game.”

He continued:

“We don’t want to disenfranchise any of our Season Ticket Holders—whether they’ve been with us for 12 years or just joined—so we’ve decided to wait until the new-look RDS Arena is fully complete before moving back.”

Ticket Pricing and Supporter Engagement

Dowling said pricing decisions were made following supporter feedback through the annual Leinster Listener survey and discussions with the Official Leinster Supporters Club (OLSC).

“We’ve extended the renewal window, retained entry-level pricing for adults and juniors, and kept the family-of-five and student ticket options that were well received. Unfortunately, operational costs have increased, and after holding prices steady for over six years, we’ve had to implement a modest average increase of under 4%—but junior prices remain untouched.”

He reaffirmed that Leinster Rugby is a not-for-profit organisation:

“All revenue is reinvested—whether it’s supporting over 39,000 registered players across our 12 counties or funding the pathway from grassroots to the professional game.”

The Road Back to the RDS Arena

Looking ahead, Dowling outlined plans for the transition back to the redeveloped RDS Arena in 2026/27:

“The new stadium will have capacity for over 20,000 and promises a brilliant match day experience. Our priority will be the supporters who were with us before the move to Aviva. We’ve engaged a world-renowned consultancy to manage this return and ensure fairness for newer fans too.”

He also expressed gratitude to key partners for their ongoing support:

“We’re thankful to the RDS, IRFU, FAI, Aviva Stadium, and the GAA for their help in managing our home fixtures this season and next.”

Season Ticket Benefits

In addition to access to all home URC and EPCR fixtures, Season Tickets will include:

Admission to all home Leinster Rugby Women’s games.
Access to Leinster Rugby ‘A’ matches in the new interprovincial series (excluding play-offs).

Key Dates for Season Ticket Holders

Renewal window: Friday, 14 March – Friday, 4 April 2025
Seat relocation option: Tuesday, 8 April 2025
Waiting list sales: Thursday, 17 April 2025
General public sale: Wednesday, 23 April 2025

A Strong Season On and Off the Pitch

Dowling concluded with a reflection on what has been a standout season so far:

“The Aviva and Croke Park have been brilliant hosts. We’ve averaged over 37,000 supporters at home games. Tania Rosser’s squad kicked off the season with an interpro title and a record crowd at Energia Park. Leo Cullen’s team has continued that momentum and remains unbeaten across both the URC and the Investec Champions Cup.”

“With a return to the RDS Arena on the horizon, this is a hugely exciting time for Leinster Rugby—and we can’t wait to share that journey with our supporters.”

The Season Ticket renewal window opens on Friday, 14 March 2025, with general sale starting Wednesday, 23 April 2025.

The post Aviva Stadium to Host Majority of Leinster Home Games in 2025/26 – Season Tickets from €115 appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Leo Cullen says there are bigger concerns than rugby after SA Covid news

JoeNa Connacht — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 15:17:57 +0000

Leinster boss Leo Cullen has underlined that there are bigger things in life than rugby as Munster, Zebre, Cardiff and Scarlets all attempt to get out of South Africa as soon as possible due to the country’s struggles with a new Covid variant.

The teams are hoping to leave South Africa today after United Rugby Championship’s South African games for rounds six and seven were postponed.

The four South African sides in the competition have yet to play a home game in their new competition and the upcoming rounds of rugby were set to correct that.

Leinster are not due to travel to South Africa until later this season and instead have two interprovincial clashes to look forward to against Ulster and Connacht.

However, Head Coach Cullen acknowledged the situation in Friday’s pre-match press conference.

“It’s not great news, our thoughts are with the people trying to get themselves out of there, hopefully, that’ll all play out over the next couple of days,” Cullen said.

“Presumably there’ll be some sort of plan put in place to reschedule the games, at least there are plenty of free weekends during the Six Nations from a logistics point of view, so we’ll see how it plays out.”

Most teams in the competition currently face a 10-week-long stretch of games before the next international break.

Cullen said that he has not been made aware of any contingency plans in place regarding situations such as these, other than the previous talk of the South African ‘home’ games being held in Italy.

The URC organisers now face a scheduling headache as they scramble to fit the postponed fixtures into the season.

“There are bigger concerns than rugby matches I’m sure. We’ll see how it plays out but from our point of view we’re playing two interprovincial derbies in the next two weekends and then we’re into Europe so nothing changes drastically from our point of view.”

The post Leo Cullen says there are bigger concerns than rugby after SA Covid news appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Leinster appoint Leamy as Contact Skills Coach

JoeNa Connacht — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 10:24:31 +0000

Leinster Rugby have appointed former Munster and Ireland back row Denis Leamy as their new Contact Skills Coach.

Leamy had been involved with the Leinster setup as an Elite Player Development Officer since September 2019 and leaves that role to join the senior coaching staff.

Prior to joining Leinster Rugby, Denis played with Munster Rugby until his retirement in 2012 at the age of 30 due to a hip injury.

He won 144 Munster caps having made his debut in September 2001 and played in both the 2006 and 2008 Heineken Cup finals. Leamy was also capped 57 times by Ireland, played in two World Cups, was twice a Triple Crown winner and was a member of the 2009 Grand Slam-winning side.

Commenting on his appointment, Leamy said, “I am thrilled to be Leinster Rugby’s new contact skills coach.

“It is my hope to build on the great work that Hugh Hogan has done over the last four years or so.

“I would like to thank Leinster Rugby for this opportunity. It is an honour for me to be to be working with one of Europe’s premier clubs and I am very much looking forward to the challenge ahead in the coming seasons.”

Leamy had previously been involved with the Ireland U20 team as defence coach, and was also involved with Cashel RFC as head coach, as well as Rockwell College, Garryowen and the Munster underage teams.

The Tipperary native was part of his county’s 2016 All-Ireland hurling winning backroom team.

The 39-year-old has already started working with Leo Cullen and the rest of the coaching staff in his new role.

Cullen welcomed the addition of his former Ireland teammate to his senior coaching team where he joins Stuart Lancaster, Robin McBryde, Felipe Contepomi and Emmet Farrell.

“Denis has been with us and in and around Leinster Rugby for a few years now so he is well established and is a familiar face. In particular, working with some of our younger players in their development. He has been a huge asset to the club.

“The contact skills role is something we see as hugely important to the overall success of the senior team on a number of fronts.

“Denis is someone who has achieved and experienced so much in terms of his own playing career and has accumulated vast knowledge over the years. He was a fierce competitor on the field and he will be a great role model for our current crop of players.

“We are all very excited to see what he can bring to the role,” said Cullen.

The post Leinster appoint Leamy as Contact Skills Coach appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Leinster Boss Cullen Issues Injury Update Ahead Of Dragons Clash

JoeNa Connacht — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 13:23:23 +0000

Head coach Leo Cullen has released an injury update today ahead of Leinster Rugby’s URC meeting with Dragons at Rodney Parade on Sunday (LIVE on RTÉ, URC TV and Premier Sports).

There was good news for Andrew Porter (foot), Garry Ringrose (shoulder) and Ciarán Frawley (shoulder) as they all came through the game against Vodacom Bulls last Saturday with no issues and will train as normal this week.

Fly-half Harry Byrne will also return to team training this week after recovering from a foot injury.

Caelan Doris was withdrawn in the first half of the province’s opening day victory over the Vodacom Bulls with a calf injury and will be further assessed this week ahead of the trip to Dragons.

Jordan Larmour (groin) and Tommy O’Brien (hamstring) will look to increase their workload this week as they return from their respective injuries.

There are no further updates from Leinster on: Josh Murphy (calf), Dave Kearney (ankle), Michael Milne (calf), Will Connors (knee), Thomas Clarkson (hamstring) and Jack Dunne (ankle).

The post Leinster Boss Cullen Issues Injury Update Ahead Of Dragons Clash appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Leinster Appoint Simon Broughton As Academy Manager

JoeNa Connacht — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 11:41:19 +0000

The IRFU and Leinster Rugby have confirmed that Simon Broughton has been appointed to the role of Academy Manager for the province.

Broughton played for Leinster at senior level and has also represented Ballymena and DLSP in the All-Ireland League.

The New Zealander has led the rugby programme at Leinster’s Ken Wall Centre of Excellence in Energia Park since it opened in 2019 and has been an Elite Player Development Officer for the province since 2016.

He was an assistant coach to Andy Wood when Clontarf won AIL titles in 2014 and 2016 and has coached Leinster representative sides for over 15 years at A, U-20, U-19, and Ireland at U-18 Schools and U-18 Sevens.

Broughton was an assistant coach on John O’Sullivan’s coaching ticket with the Ireland Senior Women’s XV.

He took on O’Sullivan’s role on an interim basis following his departure prior to the FIRA European Championships in 2008.

The new Academy Manager replaces former Ireland U20 manager Noel McNamara in the role.

Peter Smyth, IRFU Head of Elite Player Development, said: “Simon has been doing great work identifying and nurturing talent in Leinster’s player pathway working with both Leinster Provincial Talent Squad and IRFU National Talent Squad players.

“He has a clear vision and understanding of the talent identification and player development processes and will bring a fresh perspective to supporting young elite players across the region.

“His strong connections with clubs and schools will also be invaluable in further developing relationships and identifying opportunities for greater collaboration.”

Broughton commented: “It’s a privilege to take on the Leinster Academy Manager’s role and to progress the great work Noel, Peter and Girvan have delivered before me.

“I’m excited at the opportunity to work with a great group of people, to support Leo, the senior coaching team and I’m committed to enhancing our Academy players development both individually and collectively as they aspire to contribute to the culture and values of the team.

“I also look forward to strengthening our relationships within our community and collaborating with our rugby department to create quality environments within our clubs and schools.”

Leo Cullen, Leinster Rugby head coach, said: “This is a critical appointment for Leinster Rugby and in particular the continuing development of our player pathway model.

“Simon will add considerably to the body of work already delivered in the past by Noel (McNamara), Peter (Smyth), Girvan (Dempsey) and Collie (McEntee).

“Simon has a wealth of experience in his own playing capacity and over the last number of years with age-grade and development sides but more than that he understands from his work over the last few years the value we place on the player pathway in Leinster Rugby.

“It is a pathway that saw 15 players play for the Leinster Rugby senior team for the first time last season.

“Those players come from our clubs and our schools. They played in the Shane Horgan Cup, in the Bank of Ireland Junior and Senior Schools Cup and had taken their first representative steps at age grade level.

“That pathway is critical to our future success and I am delighted that we have someone in the position that already has a first-hand understanding of its importance to us as a club.

“I look forward to working closely with Simon and I wish him all the very best in his new role.”

The post Leinster Appoint Simon Broughton As Academy Manager appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

Johnny Sexton Captains Leinster In Opening URC Clash With Bulls

JoeNa Connacht — Fri, 24 Sep 2021 11:52:10 +0000

Leinster have named a strong side for their opening game of the inaugural United Rugby Championship season against the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday, September 25.

Cullen has made a number of changes from the team that faced Harlequins in the Bank of Ireland pre-season friendly two weeks ago and there are a number of positional changes as well.

Hugo Keenan, Rory O’Loughlin and James Lowe are the back three selected by Cullen with Keenan and O’Loughlin seeing action for the first time this autumn against the Bulls.

In the centre, Ciarán Frawley will also get his first taste of Leinster action since last season as will Garry Ringrose beside him, with both players now fully recovered from shoulder injuries.

In the half-backs, Cullen has chosen the same pair that started against Quins with the experienced duo of Luke McGrath and captain Johnny Sexton teaming up.

In the pack, Andrew Porter has recovered from a foot injury and will start in the number one jersey for Leinster for the first time since November 2016. Dan Sheehan starts at hooker with Michael Ala’alatoa making his competitive debut at tighthead prop.

Ross Molony and James Ryan will form an all-St Michael’s College second row unit when they line out tomorrow evening.

Finally, in the back row, Rhys Ruddock, Josh van der Flier and Caelan Doris complete the starting XV for Cullen. Neither van der Flier nor Doris were involved at the Aviva two weeks ago.

On the bench, Cian Healy will wear the number 18 jersey, while Max Deegan will make his first competitive appearance for the club since October 2020 if he is introduced.

The game is being run at 75 per cent of Aviva Stadium capacity and tickets for the game between the reigning URC champions and the reigning Currie Cup champions are still on sale HERE.

The match will be shown live on TG4, Premier Sports and URC TV with kick-off slated for 5:15 pm.

Leinster Squad v Bulls

15. Hugo Keenan (30)
14. Rory O’Loughlin (87)
13. Garry Ringrose (86)
12. Ciarán Frawley (35)
11. James Lowe (52)
10. Johnny Sexton (173) CAPTAIN
9. Luke McGrath (151)
1. Andrew Porter (77)
2. Dan Sheehan (13)
3. Michael Ala’alatoa (0)
4. Ross Molony (116)
5. James Ryan (50)
6. Rhys Ruddock (188)
7. Josh van der Flier (98)
8. Caelan Doris (40)

Replacements:

16. James Tracy (129)
17. Ed Byrne (70)
18. Cian Healy (231)
19. Ryan Baird (27)
20. Max Deegan (65)
21. Jamison Gibson-Park (101)
22. Ross Byrne (104)
23. Jamie Osborne (6)

Referee: Mike Adamson (SRU)

The post Johnny Sexton Captains Leinster In Opening URC Clash With Bulls appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.