FOR THOSE OF us lucky enough to be at the RDS on a cold November night back in 2020, it was tempting to think we were witnessing the start of the second chapter of Dan Leavy’s career.
This was still in the days of Covid-enforced empty stadia, and an otherwise forgettable 50-10 win over Edinburgh saw Leavy make his first start in a competitive game for 20 months. He had been slowly reintroduced to the Leinster squad over the previous weeks as the province continued to take every precaution with his return from a long-term injury; 28 minutes off the bench against Zebre, 19 against Glasgow, 25 against Ospreys.
By the time he was selected to start against Edinburgh, Leavy was raring to go. He emptied full-back Jack Blain with a massive hit after just two minutes, and capped an encouraging return to the starting team with a second-half try.
Finally, Leavy was back doing with he does best. Post-game, he spoke about his desire to force his way back into the Ireland team with typical confidence.
Unfortunately, that Ireland return would never materialise. He’d only play 12 more times for Leinster before this morning’s announcement that the flanker was to retire from the game with immediate effect following medical advice.
The path that led Leavy to today’s sad news traces all the way back to March 2019, and a Champions Cup meeting between Leinster and Ulster at the Aviva Stadium.
Midway through the second half, Ulster prop Wiehahn Herbst crashed into Leavy dangerously from the side at a breakdown. This writer was watching the game from a bustling bar near Murrayfield, following Munster’s quarter-final meeting with Edinburgh in the Scottish capital earlier that day. A silence fell over the place as fans of both Munster and Edinburgh realised they were watching a season-ending injury. It would turn out to be much worse than that.
Leavy would make a couple of false starts along the way to today’s news. Following that initial return, in February 2021 his season was ended following a procedure to repair cartilage in his knee.
It would be October 2021 before he was back in the Leinster squad. In January of this year he was ruled out for two months with a wrist injury. He’d play just three more times before announcing his retirement, as Leinster and Irish rugby lose a special player far too early.
Even in an underage system as fruitful and productive as Leinster’s, Leavy marked himself out as an exceptional talent.
He starred in the St Michael’s team who were crowned Leinster Schools Senior Cup champions in 2012, which represented only the second time the Dublin school lifted the cup.
On Twitter today, Bernard Jackman described Leavy as “the best schoolboy (player) I ever saw.”
Ireland women’s coach Greg McWilliams, who coached Leavy during his time with St Michael’s, described the flanker as “the best player I had the opportunity to coach.”
Leavy went straight into the Leinster Academy and made his senior debut at the age of 20, coming off the bench against Edinburgh in October 2014.
He’d win two more caps for the province that season while still an Academy player, and quickly found his feet at senior level. Ten caps followed in the 2015/16 season and the following year that figure shot up to 26 as Leavy truly announced himself in Irish rugby.
His first cap for Ireland arrived in November 2016, and after featuring on the summer tour to the USA and Japan in 2017, the 2018 campaign saw him establish himself as a key player in Joe Schmidt’s side.
On the opening weekend of the 2018 Six Nations, Leavy was introduced to the action for his championship debut after just 37 minutes as Josh van der Flier was forced off injured. He played every minute of the subsequent four rounds of fixtures as Ireland powered to a superb Grand Slam success.
At just 23, Leavy proved himself to be a genuine powerhouse on the international stage, his exceptional breakdown work complemented by strong ball-carrying ability and a ferocious workrate. At that point, he was such a destructive and influential force that anything seemed possible for a player still only learning his trade at the elite level.
Munster captain Peter O’Mahony was part of that Ireland backrow in 2018, the golden year of the Schmidt era.
“I’m gutted to hear the news for him,” O’Mahony said today, speaking during a Munster press conference.
“An incredible athlete, an incredible rugby player, but he’s a top man which is more important.
Playing alongside him, I was lucky enough to do it in the 2018 season when we won the Slam, and he was into everything, an incredibly pivotal role in that campaign and that team. He really kicked on into that group, that younger age group that’s with Ireland, he really kicked on with them and was destined for great things.
“It’s very tough for everyone playing rugby in Ireland, to hear that kind of news. Just a good person, mainly, that’s the main reason. An incredible rugby player that Leinster and Ireland have lost. It’s sad news.”
As one chapter closes unfortunately early, the next one opens, and Leavy appears well placed to thrive in his new post-playing career. Having studied Business and Law in UCD, Leavy recently launched a new business venture, Ogham Whiskey, alongside his brother, Adam.
His retirement will also trigger a fresh conversation about how the breakdown is policed. The player himself did nothing wrong in the incident that saw him injured back in 2019, while referee Romain Poite didn’t card Ulster prop Herbst for the clearout. More needs to be done to protect players around what remains a dangerous, often grey area of the game.
As disappointing as today’s announcement will be for the player, Leavy can look back on his rugby career with extreme pride. In 11 Test caps for Ireland, he never tasted defeat. He retires with one Grand Slam, one Champions Cup and one URC medal to his name.
Few players have made as sizeable an impact across Irish Rugby in such a short period of time.
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