The Leinster Listen

Episode 85, and the interpro is back at the Aviva — Leinster host Munster on Saturday evening in a one-off BKT United Rugby Championship Round 4 return to Lansdowne Road, with Leo Cullen naming Dan Sheehan at number eight, Joey Carbery at out-half for his first Leinster start since 2018, and Jamison Gibson-Park back from groin trouble. Sam Prendergast is out injured; Munster bring seven changes from their Racing 92 Champions Cup win, with Sean O'Brien at 13 for his 50th cap. Leinster arrive off a 48-23 win in Clermont; Munster beat Racing 33-25. Last season's league meeting went Munster's way 31-14 at Croke Park. He...

Episode 84, and we're back with another Leinster Club Interview on The Leinster Listen, this time with Guinness RFC and captain Carl Stafford, who also joined the committee this season. A Dublin 12 brewery factory club founded in 1943 at the Iveagh Grounds, still one of the few working-class teams in Leinster rugby, now fielding a combined senior side with Tallaght RFC, and the club where I first picked up a rugby ball. Here is what we cover in this episode:🏉 **Who they are**; Carl Stafford on captaincy, the committee, and a club born in 1943 for Guinness workers at the Ive...

Episode 83, and Leinster finally bank a win at the redeveloped Laya Arena, a bonus-point 29-5 homecoming against Cardiff that ends the winless start after two tight defeats in South Africa. Sam Prendergast takes official man of the match on his first start of the season, Jimmy O'Brien scores twice in a first-half blitz, and the Blue & Blacks suffer their first URC loss of 2026/27. Off the pitch I have thoughts on the arena upgrade, scoreboard readability, screen angles, clock placement, and the price of a pint, plus the usual Sunday news round-up before we look ahead to Clermont. Here is...

Episode 81, and Leinster finally come hom, the official Laya Arena URC homecoming against Cardiff on Saturday night, with Leo Cullen naming a completely changed starting XV after back-to-back South Africa defeats. Dan Sheehan captains a side packed with Ireland returnees; Sam Prendergast starts at 10 and Oliver Coffey gets his first senior start at scrum-half. Cardiff arrive 2-0 in the championship with Taulupe Faletau back at No 8 and Callum Sheedy pulling the strings — but the Blue & Blacks have never won at the RDS in the URC era, and Leinster need a statement before Clermont. Here is what I'm hitting on th...

Episode 81, and the South Africa block ends with another one-score loss, Leinster went down 26–20 to the Sharks at Kings Park, Thomas du Toit’s scrum dominance and Edwill van der Merwe’s late intercept denying the champions even as Andrew Osborne’s injury-time try banked a second losing bonus point. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:📰 News Items; Doris ruled out until the new year, Bleyendaal on a fresh Carbery and evolving Leinster attack, Paisami’s Bledisloe ban, Sheedy’s viral header before Cardiff, and Rennie’s scrum-law broadside.🏉 BKT United Rugby Championship Round 2...

Episode 80, and the URC title defence starts in the Lions den, Leinster fly to Ellis Park for Round 1 with a youthful matchday 23, no Jamison Gibson-Park, and the biggest selection story of the week: Andrew Porter at tighthead, not his usual loosehead jersey. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:📰 News Items; Porter and O'Brien fit, Gibson-Park groin, Nienaber's Ellis Park warning, France Women's burning-bus chaos, and Irish Friday night URC openers for Ulster and Connacht.🏉 BKT United Rugby Championship Round 1 predictions; Full opening-weekend scoreboard from Treviso to Johannesburg.📋 Details of our game; Kic...

Episode 79, and we're reacting to one of the maddest women's Tests you'll see — Ireland led by twelve at half-time at Tallaght Stadium, scored six tries, and still lost 40-36 to a USA side that overturned a 19-point deficit in the WXV Global Series opener. No preview went out — the draft call was a comfortable Ireland win — so this is pure post-match autopsy plus the Sunday Leinster news as the men's squad fly south. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:📰 News Items; Munster's Leicester pre-season sting, Leinster's 41-man South Africa departure, Doris still out, and Baird plu...

Episode 78, and we're back with another Leinster Club Interview on The Leinster Listen, this time with Tullow RFC being represented by Paddy Browne. A Carlow club founded in 1928 and reborn in 1971 at John Browne Park in the Blackgates, now in Leinster League Division 1A with three Towns Cup wins (2017, 2023, and 2024), a clubhouse Bernard Jackman once called home, and the same Browne, Roche, Dawson, and Kenny families still woven through the place.🏉 Who they are; Paddy Browne on his name, role, and a club with roots back to 1928💚 What makes them different; rural Carlow identity, community depth...

Episode 77, and we're back on the men's side — Leinster's first game at the redeveloped Laya Arena in over two years. Zebre Parma visit Donnybrook on Saturday for a pre-season test event before the URC title defence kicks off against Cardiff on the 23rd. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:🏉 Pre-season context; Zebre's 21-21 draw with Benetton, Leinster's 31-29 loss at LOU Lyon, and what to expect from a capped-attendance friendly at the RDS📋 Match details; kick-off, venue, weather, tickets, and the Laya Arena return after two seasons at the Aviva👕 Team lineup...

Episode 76, and the women's interpro season ends where Episode 75 feared it might — with Beth Buttimer and the Munster maul writing the script again. After the 39-19 Cork loss, the Connacht response, and an eleven-try rout of Ulster in Belfast, Sarah Delaney's Leinster side met Matt Brown's unbeaten champions at Dexcom Stadium for the Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship final. Munster won 14-5, claimed their 17th title, and completed a second successive clean sweep. Ruth Campbell's injury and Leinster's red-zone wastefulness will sting long after Galway. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:🏉 Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship match...

Episode 75, and it's the one we've been building towards all month. After the Munster mauling in Cork, the Connacht response at Energia Park, and an eleven-try demolition of Ulster in Belfast, Sarah Delaney's Leinster side meet Matt Brown's unbeaten champions at Dexcom Stadium for the Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship final. Fourth Leinster-Munster decider in four years — revenge for the 39-19 Round 1 loss and last year's 50-15 hammering, or another Munster coronation on the west coast. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:🏉 Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship Finals Day predictions; My calls for Connacht vs Ulster in th...

Episode 74, and we're back with another Leinster Club Interview on The Leinster Listen — this time with Balbriggan RFC. A North Dublin junior club founded in 1925 at Bowhill in Balrothery, with men's sides in Leinster League Division 2A, women's teams in Division 1 and Division 6, thriving minis and youths, and a Stingers disability tag team, plus a history that runs from the 1928 Towns Cup to Alma Atagamen in the Ireland women's squad. Here is what we cover in this episode:🏉 **Who they are**; name, role, and a club founded in 1925 on the Rope Walk and reborn through youths rugby in 19...

Episode 73, and Leinster delivered the statement Belfast demanded. After the Munster mauling in Cork and the six-try response against Connacht at Energia Park, Govender's side needed a bonus-point win at Affidea Stadium to reach the Dexcom Stadium decider — and they produced eleven tries in a 75-5 rout. Robyn O'Connor scored five, Katie Whelan bagged a hat-trick, and Ruth Campbell took official player-of-the-match honours. Munster meanwhile stayed unbeaten with a 47-12 win over Connacht in Galway, setting up a fourth Leinster-Munster final in four years. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:🏉 Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship match...

Episode 72, and it's winner-takes-all in Belfast. After the Munster mauling in Cork and the six-try response against Connacht at Energia Park, Leinster travel north for the final round of the Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship — beat Ulster at Affidea Stadium and the Blues are in the Dexcom Stadium decider against Munster a week later. Murray Houston's side are fighting for pride and a third-place play-off after a 62-0 Cork hiding, but this is a semi-final in all but name. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:🏉 Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship Round 3 predictions; My calls for Ulster vs Le...

Episode 71, and we're back with another Leinster Club Interview on The Leinster Listen — this time with BGF Ravens RFC and Director of Rugby Paul Ng. Ballymun, Glasnevin and Finglas Ravens: a one adult men's team club founded in 1958 as Unidare RFC from the Unidare Works factory in Finglas, reborn as BGF Ravens in 2014, and playing out of Mount Temple in Glasnevin. Here is what we cover in this episode: 🏉 **Who they are**; Paul Ng, Director of Rugby, and a club founded in 1958 from the Unidare Works factory league 💚 **What makes them different**; a one adult men's te...

Episode 70, and Leinster needed a response at Energia Park. After the Munster mauling in Cork, Govender's side faced a semi-final in all but name against Connacht, win or the Galway final was gone. Six tries, debut scores from Stacey Flood and Niamh Murphy, and Erin King leading from the front delivered a 36-21 bonus-point win that keeps the Blues alive. Munster meanwhile booked their final spot with a 62-0 hammering of Ulster, and the U18 Schools opened their title defence with a 33-12 win in Cork. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:🏉 Vodafone Women's Int...

Episode 69, and we're going behind the camera on The Leinster Listen — an interview with Avril Kinsella (@therugbygirlire), a sports videographer who covers rugby for the Leinster and Irish rugby. Here is what we cover in this episode: 🎬 Getting into the game; how Avril found videography and why sport became her focus🏉 First rugby gig; the shoot that started it all and what she remembers from it📍 Pitch-side life; positioning for the shot without getting flattened✍️ Shaping the story; clear briefs from teams and coaches versus finding the angle yourself📱 Fans and video; ho...

Episode 68, and we're picking through the wreckage of another Munster mauling in Cork. Leinster travelled to Virgin Media Park with the internationals back, Sana Govender in the dugout for his first competitive game, and my bold Episode 67 call of a narrow Blues win — Munster had other ideas. Beth Buttimer scored four tries, the champions ran in seven overall, and Leinster's 39-19 defeat leaves them bottom of the table after Round 1 with Connacht up next at Energia Park. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:🏉 Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship match results; Munster 39-19 Leinster in Cork and C...

Episode 67, and we're heading down the N7 for the opening round of the 2026 Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship. Leinster travel to Virgin Media Park to take on defending champions Munster, a repeat of last year's final, but a very different competition this time with all the Ireland internationals back and WXV selection on the line. Sarah Delaney leads a much-changed Blues side under new head coach Sana Govender, looking to banish the memory of that 50-15 hammering in Dublin. Here is what I'm hitting on this week's episode:🏉 Vodafone Women's Interprovincial Championship Round 1 predictions; My calls for Munster vs...

Episode 66, and we're trying something new on The Leinster Listen — a Leinster Club Interview with Emerald Warriors RFC. Ireland's leading LGBT+ inclusive rugby club, founded in Dublin in 2003, with men's+ sides in the Leinster Metro League, the Azure women's+ team in Leinster Women's Division 4, and a trophy cabinet that includes the 2025 Union Cup in Oslo. Here is what we cover in this episode:🏉 Who they are; name, role, and the club's founding in August 2003💚 What makes them different; Ireland's first primarily LGBTQ+ rugby club, open to all, and a fixture on the international IGR circuit 👩‍🦰...