1996–97 Leinster Rugby season

Last updated
1996–97 Leinster Rugby season
Ground(s) Donnybrook, Dublin
Coach(es) Jim Glennon
Ciaran Callan
Paul Dean
Captain(s)Chris Pim
League(s) Heineken Cup (3rd in pool)
IRFU Interprovincial Championship (2nd of 4)
← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The 1996-97 season was Leinster's second season under professionalism. Ciaran Callan was officially head coach, but team manager Jim Glennon was in overally charge, with Callan coaching the forwards and Paul Dean coaching the backs. [1] Chris Pim was captain. They finished third in their pool in the Heineken Cup, and second in the IRFU Interprovincial Championship.

Contents

At this stage the Irish provinces were still representative teams, not professional clubs. However, the provinces were now offering contracts and match fees for Heineken Cup and Interprovincial matches, although these contracts sometimes conflicted with players contracted to clubs in England. [2]

Players selected

Leinster Rugby squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Back row

  • IRFU flag.svg Victor Costello (London Irish)
  • IRFU flag.svg Kelvin Leahy (Wanderers)
  • Flag of New Zealand.svg Dean Oswald (Blackrock)
  • IRFU flag.svg Chris Pim (Old Wesley) (c)
  • IRFU flag.svg Stephen Rooney (Landsowne)
  • IRFU flag.svg Kevin Spicer (Oxford)

Scrum-halves

Fly-halves

Centres

Wings

Fullbacks

(c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players.
* denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.

    Heineken Cup

    TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffPts
    Flag of England.svg Leicester 44001431111443718
    Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg Llanelli 42029909781164
    IRFU flag.svg Leinster 4202912−386109−234
    Flag of France.svg Pau 410319109137103342
    Flag of Scotland.svg Scottish Borders 4103724−1780178−982
    12 October 1996
    14:30    		Llanelli Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg 34–17 IRFU flag.svg Leinster Stradey Park  
    Try: Wyatt
    Moon
    Boobyer
    Con: Botica (2)
    Pen: Botica (5)
    		Report [3] Try: Gavin
    McKenna
    O'Mahony
    Con: Governey
    		Attendance: 2,800
    Leinster lineup:

    1. Henry Hurley, 2. Mark McDermott, 3. Paul Wallace,
    4. Neil Francis, 5. Malcolm O'Kelly,
    6. Chris Pim, 7. Stephen Rooney, 8. Victor Costello,
    9. Alain Rolland, 10. Richard Governey,
    11. Darragh O'Mahony, 12. Kurt McQuilkin, 13. Ray McIlreavy, 14. Paddy Gavin.
    15. Peter McKenna.
    Replacement: Niall Hogan.

    16 October 1996
    18:45    		Leinster IRFU flag.svg 10–27 Flag of England.svg Leicester Tigers Lansdowne Road  
    Try: Penalty try
    Con: McGowan
    Pen: McGowan
    		Report [4] Try: Rowntree
    Kardooni
    Wells
    Con: Liley (3)
    Pen: Liley (2)
    		Attendance: 3,500
    Leinster lineup:

    1. Henry Hurley, 2. Mark McDermott, 3. Paul Wallace,
    4. Neil Francis, 5. Malcolm O'Kelly,
    6. Chris Pim, 7. Victor Costello, 8. Stephen Rooney,
    9. Alain Rolland, 10. Alan McGowan,
    11. Darragh O'Mahony, 12. Martin Ridge, 13. Kurt McQuilkin, 14. Patrick Gavin.
    15. Peter McKenna.
    Replacement: Ciaran Clarke, Richard Governey.

    26 October 1996
    14:30    		Borders Flag of Scotland.svg 25–34 IRFU flag.svg Leinster The Greenyards  
    Try: Aitken
    Changleng
    Parker
    Con: Parker (2)
    Pen: Parker (2)
    		Report [5] Try: Oswald
    Clarke
    McGowan
    Hickie
    Con: McGowan
    Pen: McGowan (4)
    		Attendance: 3,500
    Leinster lineup:

    1. Henry Hurley, 2. Mark McDermott, 3. Angus McKeen,
    4. Neil Francis, 5. Malcolm O'Kelly,
    6. Chris Pim, 7. Dean Oswald, 8. Victor Costello,
    9. Niall Hogan, 10. Alan McGowan,
    11. Darragh O'Mahony, 12. Kurt McQuilkin, 13. Martin Ridge, 14. Denis Hickie.
    15. Ciaran Clarke.
    Replacements: Girvan Dempsey, Stephen Rooney.

    2 November 1996
    14:30    		Leinster IRFU flag.svg 25–23 Flag of France.svg Pau Donnybrook  
    Try: McQuilkin
    Con: McGowan
    Pen: McGowan (6)
    		Report [6] Try: Claverie
    Paille
    Aucagne
    Con: Aucagne
    		Attendance: 4,000
    Leinster lineup:

    1. Henry Hurley, 2. Mark McDermott, 3. Paul Wallace,
    4. Malcolm O'Kelly, 5. Neil Francis,
    6. Chris Pim, 7. Victor Costello, 8. Dean Oswald,
    9. Niall Hogan, 10. Alan McGowan,
    11. Darragh O'Mahony, 12. Kurt McQuilkin, 13. Martin Ridge, 14. Denis Hickie.
    15. Ciaran Clarke.
    Replacements: James Blaney, Stephen Rooney.

    IRFU Interprovincial Championship

    TeamPWDLFABPPtsStatus
    330011792-6Champions; qualified for 1997–98 Heineken Cup
    31028892-2Qualified for 1997–98 Heineken Cup
    31028189-2Qualified for 1997–98 Heineken Cup
    31027790-2Qualified for 1997–98 European Challenge Cup
    21 September 1996 Ulster Flag of Ulster.svg 25-35 Flag of Leinster.svg Leinster Ravenhill  
    Try: Ritchie
    Duncan
    Topping
    Con: Laing (2)
    Pen: Laing (2)
    		Preview [7]
    Report [8]     		Try: McKenna (2)
    Jameson
    Spicer
    Con: Governey (3)
    Pen: Governey (3)
    		Referee: L. Mayne
    Leinster lieup:

    1. Henry Hurley, 2. Mark McDermott, 3. Angus McKeen (Lansdowne),
    4. Steve Jameson, 5. Greg Duffy,
    6. Chris Pim (c), 7. Dean Oswald, 8. Kevin Spicer,
    9. Niall Hogan, 10. Richard Governey,
    11. Denis Hickie (St. Mary's), 12. Kurt McQuilkin (Lansdowne), 13. Martin Ridge (Old Belvedere), 14. David Coleman (Terenure),
    15. Peter McKenna (Old Belvedere).

    28 September 1996 Leinster Flag of Leinster.svg 40–45 Flag of Munster.svg Munster Donnybrook  
    Try: Coleman
    Ridge
    McQuilkin
    Francis
    Hickie
    Con: Governey (3)
    Pen: Governey (3)
    		Report [9] [10] Try: Galwey (2)
    Halvey
    Con: Begley
    Lynch (2)
    Pen: Begley (8)
    Lynch (2)
    Drop: Keane
    		Referee: Graham Hughes
    Leinster lineup:

    1. Henry Hurley, 2. Mark McDermott, 3. Angus McKeen,
    4. Steve Jameson, 5. Neil Francis,
    6. Chris Pim (c), 7. Stephen Rooney, 8. Kevin Spicer,
    9. Alain Rolland, 10. Richard Governey,
    11. Denis Hickie, 12. Kurt McQuilkin, 13. Martin Ridge, 14. David Coleman,
    15. Peter McKenna.
    Replacements: Girvan Dempsey (for Coleman), Paul Flavin (for McKeen).

    5 October 1996 Connacht Flag of Connacht.svg 22-13 Flag of Leinster.svg Leinster Galway Sportsgrounds  
    Try: Leahy
    Elwood
    Pen: Elwood (3)
    		Report [11] Try: Francis
    Con: Governey
    Pen: Governey (2)
    Connacht lineup:

    1. Paul Flavin, 2. Mark McDermott, 3. Angus McKeen,
    4. Steve Jameson, 5. Neil Francis,
    6. Kelvin Leahy, 7. Kevin Spicer, 8. Stephen Rooney,
    9. Alain Rolland (c), 10. Richard Governey,
    11. Darragh O'Mahony, 12. Kurt McQuilkin, 13. Martin Ridge, 14. Paddy Gavin,
    15. Peter McKenna.
    Replacemets: Shane Byrne (for McDermott 30'), Vince Cunningham (for Ridge 35'), Greg Duffy (for Francis 38').

    References

    1. ↑ Hugh Farrelly, The Coaching Revolution", Irish Independent, 20 May 2011
    2. ↑ "Reid's cautionary note on contracts", Belfast Telegraph, 23 March 1996
    3. ↑ Kieran Rooney, "Brillian Botica makes it a black day for Leinster", Evening Herald, 12 October 1996
    4. ↑ John O'Sullivan, Leinster mauled by Tigers", Irish Independent, 17 October 1996
    5. ↑ "Leinster toast a Heineken victory", Sunday World, 27 October 1996
    6. ↑ John O'Sullivan, "Mac's boot floors Pau", Evening Herald, 2 November 1996
    7. ↑ Jim Stokes, "Ulster seek sweet revenge", Belfast Telegraph, 20 September 1996
    8. ↑ Peter O'Reilly, "Leinster pack steamrolls ahead", The Sunday Tribune, 22 September 1996
    9. ↑ "Leinster 40-45 Leinster". Munster Rugby. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
    10. ↑ "Marvellous Munster best in a classic", Limerick Leader, 30 September 1996
    11. ↑ "Eric makes it 'ell for Leinster", Sunday Life, 6 October 1996
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