HE MAY BE bringing the curtain down on a long association with the province in the coming weeks, but Luke McGrath is doing his best to remain focused as Leinster once again find themselves in a fight for silverware on two fronts.
The 33-year-old is due to depart at the end of the current campaign and embark on a new adventure in France with Perpignan.
This was a major decision for McGrath, who has accumulated seven league titles (under the various guises of the Pro12, the Pro14 and the United Rugby Championship) and a European Champions Cup since making his professional debut for Leinster as a teenager against the Dragons all the way back in May 2012.
There is the prospect of him picking up further silverware in both competitions before his time at Leinster comes to an end, and with the dependable scrum-half in line to make his 253rd appearance in blue against the Lions in the URC on Saturday evening, McGrath is trying to keep a summer farewell at the back of his mind.
A young McGrath in action for Leinster back in 2013. Ryan Byrne / INPHO
Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO
“Since I made the decision to leave, I’m just trying to enjoy every day. I’ve been here 14 or 15 years. I remember walking into this club when I was 18. So it has been my whole life essentially,” McGrath explained.
“So I’m just trying to enjoy every day and hopefully we can get some silverware and that will make it an even more special way to finish. I think there will be a time where I definitely will look back on it.
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“I think a big day was when I made 250 [appearances] there a few weeks ago against Edinburgh. It was a very special day just to have with me and my family.
“It’s a club I supported when I was younger. I had to kind of almost pinch myself when I realised that I hit the 250.”
While Perpignan contested a Heineken Cup final at Lansdowne Road back in 2003 (their semi-final victory over Leinster at the same venue was heavily invoked in an elaborate video the club produced to announce his signing), McGrath’s future employers are currently on course to compete in a relegation play-off for the second year running.
He will be hoping Perpignan are still a Top 14 outfit when he takes up his contract for the 2026-27 club season, but regardless of what league he finds himself in, McGrath won’t be on his own for this overseas journey.
Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Along with his wife Rebecca, McGrath will have his two young children by his side in Perpignan, and he is optimistic they can adapt quickly to life in a new country.
“It’s a whole move. Both of my kids actually have birthdays this month. They’ll be four and two. They’ve just about figured out English and now they’re straight into a French school. That’s what we were told, they pick it up fairly quickly.
“Our two-year-old, she’s not properly speaking yet. She’ll be almost French [speaking] before she’s English, which will be interesting. We were told to throw them straight in. They’re meant to be like sponges, so hopefully they’ll pick up the language pretty quickly.”
Having made the matchday 23 for five previous final appearances, McGrath is aiming to be in the mix for Leinster’s latest European Champions Cup showpiece against Bordeaux Bègles in Bilbao a little over a fortnight from now.
He will also be looking to have a big say in the business end of the URC with Leinster after featuring in 12 of their 16 games thus far in the competition.
McGrath with Rabah Slimani, who will also leave for the Top 14 at the end of the season. Grace Halton / INPHO
Grace Halton / INPHO / INPHO
Whereas there were just two regular season defeats for the side in their successful march to the title in 2024-25, the current campaign has already seen the eastern province losing on six occasions in the URC.
McGrath described their league season to date as ‘bizarre’, and though the march to the Champions Cup final has been an unbeaten one, he stressed they need to find more consistency across both competitions in order for the next few weeks to pan out the way Leinster hope it will.
“It has been a different type of season. We were very inconsistent at the start. Then we went on the block where we had maybe 10 or 11 games won in a row, which was great,” McGrath added.
“Then we’ve a good win against Ulster and unfortunately let it slip in the last play against Benetton.
“It’s something we’re wary of. We’ve found ways to win this year, which is great. We also know that we have to improve over the next few weeks if we want to win some trophies this year.”
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'It has been my whole life essentially': Luke McGrath hoping Leinster farewell will be laced with silverware
HE MAY BE bringing the curtain down on a long association with the province in the coming weeks, but Luke McGrath is doing his best to remain focused as Leinster once again find themselves in a fight for silverware on two fronts.
The 33-year-old is due to depart at the end of the current campaign and embark on a new adventure in France with Perpignan.
This was a major decision for McGrath, who has accumulated seven league titles (under the various guises of the Pro12, the Pro14 and the United Rugby Championship) and a European Champions Cup since making his professional debut for Leinster as a teenager against the Dragons all the way back in May 2012.
There is the prospect of him picking up further silverware in both competitions before his time at Leinster comes to an end, and with the dependable scrum-half in line to make his 253rd appearance in blue against the Lions in the URC on Saturday evening, McGrath is trying to keep a summer farewell at the back of his mind.
“Since I made the decision to leave, I’m just trying to enjoy every day. I’ve been here 14 or 15 years. I remember walking into this club when I was 18. So it has been my whole life essentially,” McGrath explained.
“So I’m just trying to enjoy every day and hopefully we can get some silverware and that will make it an even more special way to finish. I think there will be a time where I definitely will look back on it.
“I think a big day was when I made 250 [appearances] there a few weeks ago against Edinburgh. It was a very special day just to have with me and my family.
While Perpignan contested a Heineken Cup final at Lansdowne Road back in 2003 (their semi-final victory over Leinster at the same venue was heavily invoked in an elaborate video the club produced to announce his signing), McGrath’s future employers are currently on course to compete in a relegation play-off for the second year running.
He will be hoping Perpignan are still a Top 14 outfit when he takes up his contract for the 2026-27 club season, but regardless of what league he finds himself in, McGrath won’t be on his own for this overseas journey.
Along with his wife Rebecca, McGrath will have his two young children by his side in Perpignan, and he is optimistic they can adapt quickly to life in a new country.
“It’s a whole move. Both of my kids actually have birthdays this month. They’ll be four and two. They’ve just about figured out English and now they’re straight into a French school. That’s what we were told, they pick it up fairly quickly.
“Our two-year-old, she’s not properly speaking yet. She’ll be almost French [speaking] before she’s English, which will be interesting. We were told to throw them straight in. They’re meant to be like sponges, so hopefully they’ll pick up the language pretty quickly.”
Having made the matchday 23 for five previous final appearances, McGrath is aiming to be in the mix for Leinster’s latest European Champions Cup showpiece against Bordeaux Bègles in Bilbao a little over a fortnight from now.
He will also be looking to have a big say in the business end of the URC with Leinster after featuring in 12 of their 16 games thus far in the competition.
Whereas there were just two regular season defeats for the side in their successful march to the title in 2024-25, the current campaign has already seen the eastern province losing on six occasions in the URC.
McGrath described their league season to date as ‘bizarre’, and though the march to the Champions Cup final has been an unbeaten one, he stressed they need to find more consistency across both competitions in order for the next few weeks to pan out the way Leinster hope it will.
“It has been a different type of season. We were very inconsistent at the start. Then we went on the block where we had maybe 10 or 11 games won in a row, which was great,” McGrath added.
“Then we’ve a good win against Ulster and unfortunately let it slip in the last play against Benetton.
“It’s something we’re wary of. We’ve found ways to win this year, which is great. We also know that we have to improve over the next few weeks if we want to win some trophies this year.”
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