THIS SEASON WAS always going to be a challenging one for Leinster when it came to their squad management.
That’s nothing new for the Irish province, but events of last summer meant it was heightened.
Leinster had 12 players selected for the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour of Australia, with two further players added during the course of the trip.
10 other Leinster players were involved in Ireland’s summer tour to Georgia and Portugal, meaning that Leo Cullen, Jacques Nienaber and the Leinster coaching staff had to account for three different groups returning for pre-season at different stages.
The Lions players only resumed training after Leinster’s season had started, with most of them making their seasonal bow for the province as late as October before they immediately headed off to Ireland camp for the November Tests.
As ever, Cullen and co. have had to manage those international players closely while fighting for success on two fronts in the Champions Cup and the URC.
Leinster made a poor start to defending their URC title but have recovered to finish second in the regular-season table, earning guaranteed home advantage for their quarter-final against the Lions and for a possible semi-final.
They’re now preparing for the Champions Cup final against Bordeaux in Bilbao this Saturday, having won all of their games in the competition so far.
Despite having injury issues thrown into the mix – especially at loosehead prop and recently in the second row – Leinster have positioned themselves to potentially win a double.
They have used 56 players in their URC campaign, which is second only to the Sharks’ 59, while 40 players have appeared for Leinster in the Champions Cup.
Jacques Nienaber and Leo Cullen. Grace Halton / INPHO
Grace Halton / INPHO / INPHO
40 in the Champions Cup isn’t particularly notable, but 56 in the URC is a large number. By way of comparison, Connacht have used 45 players in the URC, Munster have used 47, and Ulster have used 48.
Cullen and Nienaber would possibly have liked to use fewer players and have more consistency in their selections, but the balancing act has meant sweeping changes to their teams from week to week, particularly in the URC.
However, Leinster have been able to call on their frontline players freely in the Champions Cup, where they have played their best rugby.
With the entire squad permanently with Leinster since the Six Nations, it has been no surprise to see Cullen’s side putting together more cohesive performances. They hope their upward trajectory leads to two trophies in the coming weeks.
The top 10 for most minutes played for Leinster so far this season is made up by Jimmy O’Brien [1,113 minutes], Max Deegan [1,045], Harry Byrne [1,037], Rieko Ioane [1,022], Ciarán Frawley [989], Tommy O’Brien [962], Josh van der Flier [952], Brian Deeny [951], Robbie Henshaw [916], and Thomas Clarkson [870].
Below, we examine who Leinster have relied on in each area of the pitch during this campaign.
Included in brackets after each player’s name is their number of Champions Cup appearances and number of URC appearances [CC + URC].
Loosehead prop
564 minutes Jerry Cahir [4 + 11]
388 Jack Boyle [3 + 7]
356 Paddy McCarthy [3 + 6]
342 Andrew Porter [2 + 5]
230 Alex Usanov [2 + 5]
127 Ed Byrne [0 + 3]
Jerry Cahir has impressed for Leinster. Dan Clohessy / INPHO
Dan Clohessy / INPHO / INPHO
Leinster have had injury travails in this area, with Porter and McCarthy sidelined for lengthy periods, Boyle’s season ended by an Achilles rupture in January, and 20-year-old Usanov also suffering an ankle injury.
Cahir joined on a short-term deal at the start of the season after impressing in the AIL, earned himself a contract for the rest of the campaign, and has been heavily involved. He will join Connacht this summer.
Former Leinster man Byrne re-joined the province on a short-term contract last month as Leinster struggled with injuries. Happily, Porter is now back in action, McCarthy has returned to training, and Usanov is also up and running again.
The figures above also account for Porter having a brief stint at tighthead prop.
Hooker
690 Dan Sheehan [7 + 6]
507 Gus McCarthy [1 + 13]
503 Rónan Kelleher [6 + 7]
320 John McKee [0 + 9]
18 Bobby Sheehan [0 + 1]
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Dan Sheehan is number one at hooker. Ben Brady / INPHO
Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO
Leinster’s two frontliners, Sheehan and Kelleher, have been available throughout their Champions Cup campaign, with the former among the players to feature in every one of their games in the competition so far.
Cullen and co. have been reliant on McCarthy and McKee – who will join Scarlets this summer – in the URC. Bobby Sheehan, younger brother of Dan, joined temporarily in October and got a cap off the bench against Zebre.
The minutes above also include Sheehan and McCarthy briefly playing in the back row in the latter stages of games.
Tighthead prop
870 Thomas Clarkson [7 + 10]
441 Tadhg Furlong [4 + 7]
452 Rabah Slimani [2 + 11]
144 Andrew Sparrow [0 + 5]
75 Niall Smyth [0 + 2]
Thomas Clarkson has continued to improve. Grace Halton / INPHO
Grace Halton / INPHO / INPHO
The highly experienced Furlong has had injury hiccups along the way this season but he made his latest comeback last weekend against the Ospreys to ensure he’s available for the Bordeaux clash.
Clarkson, who shone in the URC success last season when Furlong was sidelined, has continued to grow in importance to Leinster during this campaign, particularly with his ever-present involvement in the Champions Cup.
Slimani, who will move to Toulon at the end of the season, remains a trusted scrummaging presence. 21-year-old Sparrow has gained experience in five URC outings, including two starts, while 20-year-old Smyth won his first two caps in January.
Lock
951 Brian Deeny [1 + 16]
833 James Ryan [5 + 6]
797 Joe McCarthy [7 + 5]
591 Diarmuid Mangan [3 + 11]
433 RG Snyman [2 + 7]
159 Conor O’Tighearnaigh [0 + 6]
36 Alan Spicer [0 + 1]
Brian Deeny [right] has been busy this season. Henry Simpson / INPHO
Henry Simpson / INPHO / INPHO
Snyman’s season was ended by an ACL rupture in March, while Ryan Baird – more often used at blindside flanker but with three starts in the second row – has had an injury-stunted season and could miss the rest of this campaign.
That has put a strain on Leinster’s locking resources recently, although senior man Ryan has continued to play excellent rugby and plenty of it. McCarthy was sidelined until December due to a foot injury from the Lions tour, but he has made up for lost time.
Yet it has been 26-year-old Deeny who Leinster have relied on most in terms of racking up minutes in the second row, and nearly exclusively in the URC. The Wexford man has been a consistent presence in the league campaign.
Mangan has had two starts in the back row, as well as coming off the bench there, but he has also featured lots as a lock. O’Tighearnaigh has had six URC outings in the second part of the season, while Spicer featured once.
Back row
1,045 Max Deegan [6 + 15]
952 Josh van der Flier [7 + 7]
785 Caelan Doris [6 + 5]
755 Scott Penny [3 + 14]
709 Jack Conan [6 + 5]
601 Alex Soroka [1 + 10]
486 James Culhane [0 + 9]
373 Ryan Baird [2 + 3]
327 Will Connors [0 + 9]
6 Josh Ericson [0 + 2]
Max Deegan is a key figure in the Leinster set-up. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Deegan might not start all of the biggest games for Leinster but at 29, he continues to be a very important part of the province’s squad. A versatile and consistently impactful back row, he has featured heavily in both competitions.
As well as being important players for Ireland, captain Doris, Conan, and van der Flier are obviously key to Leinster’s ambitions, with their primary impacts coming in the Champions Cup. With Baird’s injury issues, that trio have continued to lead the way.
Penny and Soroka are cut from similar cloth to Deegan in being central pieces of Leinster’s regular URC team, as well as pushing hard for Champions Cup chances.
23-year-old Culhane has made impressive progress at number eight this season, despite suffering a nasty knee injury in October. He has returned in strong form.
Connors’ involvements were limited to the URC, and he was unfortunate to suffer a season-ending injury recently in what is his final campaign before joining Connacht.
Skerries man Ericson joined the Leinster academy in November and has had his first taste of professional rugby this season.
Scrum-half
856 Jamison Gibson-Park [7 + 6]
760 Luke McGrath [7 + 13]
419 Fintan Gunne [0 + 17]
Jamison Gibson-Park will be crucial this weekend. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO
Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
The next few weeks are the end of an era with McGrath bidding farewell to his beloved province and joining Perpignan ahead of next season. His leadership and defensive resilience will be missed.
McGrath has continued to back up the peerless Gibson-Park in the Champions Cup, despite 22-year-old Gunne’s heavy involvement in the URC. No one has made more league appearances for Leinster this season than the young scrum-half.
26-year-old Cormac Foley has spent time on loan with the Ospreys this season, but has had his Leinster contract extended beyond the summer.
Out-half
1,037 Harry Byrne [7 + 11]
859 Sam Prendergast [5 + 10]
5 Caspar Gabriel [0 + 1]
Harry Byrne has emerged as first-choice this season. Dan Clohessy / INPHO
Dan Clohessy / INPHO / INPHO
Byrne took a loan move to Bristol last season to get momentum back, and the short-term deal achieved exactly that. He made a strong start to this campaign with Leinster, forcing his way past previous incumbent Prendergast around the turn of the year. Having had his fair share of injury troubles in the past, Byrne has proved durable this season.
Prendergast has still played lots of rugby for Leinster, getting eight starts in the URC but only two in the Champions Cup, as well as filling in at fullback occasionally. He missed out on the matchday 23 for two of Leinster’s knock-out games, but Cullen has stressed he’s going to be an important player for years to come.
Part of the issue for Prendergast is that Frawley is playing so well, albeit at inside centre earlier in the campaign and mainly at fullback recently. Frawley hasn’t actually started a game at number 10 this season, but he has moved there on several occasions and played the second half of last weekend’s win over the Ospreys there.
20-year-old academy playmaker Gabriel made his senior off the bench in October and has been prominent for Terenure in the AIL. He will stay with Leinster next season despite an approach from Munster.
Charlie Tector, who usually features at inside centre for Leinster these days, had a start at out-half against Edinbugh in January.
Centre
1,022 Rieko Ioane [7 + 7]
916 Robbie Henshaw [6 + 10]
612 Jamie Osborne [3 + 5]
604 Garry Ringrose [4 + 5]
500 Charlie Tector [0 +9]
380 Hugh Cooney [0 + 8]
110 Ciarán Mangan [0 + 2]
Rieko Ioane has played lots of minutes since arriving. Grace Halton / INPHO
Grace Halton / INPHO / INPHO
Ioane has certainly racked up plenty of game time since arriving in late November. 10 of his 12 starts have been at outside centre, but he has impressed on the left wing in the Champions Cup quarter-finals and semi-finals.
32-year-old Henshaw has come into strong form recently, even if a nasty head injury briefly slowed him up before his return last weekend. That has left Leinster with a tough call in the number 12 shirt ahead of Bilbao.
Osborne started this season at fullback, with Hugo Keenan sidelined, and shone there during the Six Nations, but has been used at inside centre by Leinster since. Similarly to Ioane and Frawley, versatile Osborne covers lots of bases for the province when he’s involved.
Ringrose remains the first-choice outside centre and a leader for Leinster, while Cooney did well there in his eight URC appearances before his season was ended by injury last weekend.
Tector is a consistent performer at inside centre, where 21-year-old academy man Mangan got his first start for the province in January. Frawley also shone in the number 12 jersey at the start of the season.
Back three
1,113 Jimmy O’Brien [4 + 12]
989 Ciarán Frawley [5 + 14]
962 Tommy O’Brien [7 + 6]
837 JJ Kenny [2 + 11]
560 James Lowe [1 + 6]
408 Hugo Keenan [3 + 3]
341 Jordan Larmour [1 + 4]
339 Andrew Osborne [1 + 7]
164 Ruben Moloney [0 + 4]
123 Hugo McLaughlin [0 + 2]
Jimmy O’Brien is in excellent form. Grace Halton / INPHO
Grace Halton / INPHO / INPHO
Amid talk of how Leinster have to pick between the likes of Ioane, Osborne, Frawley, Henshaw, and the fit-again Lowe in their matchday 23 to face Bordeaux, Jimmy O’Brien has been playing some of his best rugby.
Whether at fullback, left wing, or even right wing, O’Brien has been excellent and his importance to Leinster is underlined by being one of only four players to exceed 1,000 minutes so far this season.
Lowe was hit by a groin injury in the Six Nations but is now back, providing Cullen and Nienaber with a proven big-game presence on the left wing. As mentioned above, Ioane provides something similar, albeit with a different skillset from Lowe.
Right wing Tommy O’Brien has made major progress with Ireland this season but also featured prominently for Leinster.
The emerging force out wide has been Kenny, who joined from the disbanded Ireland 7s programme last summer and earned a full-time contract. He has been lethal in the URC.
Frontline fullback Keenan’s return from a long-term layoff after hip surgery has been well-timed, bringing class at number 15, where Frawley has also played well, and where Osborne did well earlier this season.
The experienced Larmour, mainly a right wing now, has had a seriously injury-stunted season but returned in impressive style against the Ospreys last weekend. He has extended his contract with the province beyond the summer.
Andrew Osborne has continued to be used regularly in the URC, where his fellow 22-year-old Moloney has got his first two pro starts. Ciarán Mangan can also play on the wing, while 22-year-old McLaughlin made his debut at fullback against Zebre in October.
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How Leinster have used a 56-player squad to fight on two fronts
THIS SEASON WAS always going to be a challenging one for Leinster when it came to their squad management.
That’s nothing new for the Irish province, but events of last summer meant it was heightened.
Leinster had 12 players selected for the 2025 British & Irish Lions tour of Australia, with two further players added during the course of the trip.
10 other Leinster players were involved in Ireland’s summer tour to Georgia and Portugal, meaning that Leo Cullen, Jacques Nienaber and the Leinster coaching staff had to account for three different groups returning for pre-season at different stages.
The Lions players only resumed training after Leinster’s season had started, with most of them making their seasonal bow for the province as late as October before they immediately headed off to Ireland camp for the November Tests.
As ever, Cullen and co. have had to manage those international players closely while fighting for success on two fronts in the Champions Cup and the URC.
Leinster made a poor start to defending their URC title but have recovered to finish second in the regular-season table, earning guaranteed home advantage for their quarter-final against the Lions and for a possible semi-final.
They’re now preparing for the Champions Cup final against Bordeaux in Bilbao this Saturday, having won all of their games in the competition so far.
Despite having injury issues thrown into the mix – especially at loosehead prop and recently in the second row – Leinster have positioned themselves to potentially win a double.
They have used 56 players in their URC campaign, which is second only to the Sharks’ 59, while 40 players have appeared for Leinster in the Champions Cup.
40 in the Champions Cup isn’t particularly notable, but 56 in the URC is a large number. By way of comparison, Connacht have used 45 players in the URC, Munster have used 47, and Ulster have used 48.
Cullen and Nienaber would possibly have liked to use fewer players and have more consistency in their selections, but the balancing act has meant sweeping changes to their teams from week to week, particularly in the URC.
However, Leinster have been able to call on their frontline players freely in the Champions Cup, where they have played their best rugby.
With the entire squad permanently with Leinster since the Six Nations, it has been no surprise to see Cullen’s side putting together more cohesive performances. They hope their upward trajectory leads to two trophies in the coming weeks.
The top 10 for most minutes played for Leinster so far this season is made up by Jimmy O’Brien [1,113 minutes], Max Deegan [1,045], Harry Byrne [1,037], Rieko Ioane [1,022], Ciarán Frawley [989], Tommy O’Brien [962], Josh van der Flier [952], Brian Deeny [951], Robbie Henshaw [916], and Thomas Clarkson [870].
Below, we examine who Leinster have relied on in each area of the pitch during this campaign.
Included in brackets after each player’s name is their number of Champions Cup appearances and number of URC appearances [CC + URC].
Loosehead prop
Leinster have had injury travails in this area, with Porter and McCarthy sidelined for lengthy periods, Boyle’s season ended by an Achilles rupture in January, and 20-year-old Usanov also suffering an ankle injury.
Cahir joined on a short-term deal at the start of the season after impressing in the AIL, earned himself a contract for the rest of the campaign, and has been heavily involved. He will join Connacht this summer.
Former Leinster man Byrne re-joined the province on a short-term contract last month as Leinster struggled with injuries. Happily, Porter is now back in action, McCarthy has returned to training, and Usanov is also up and running again.
The figures above also account for Porter having a brief stint at tighthead prop.
Hooker
Leinster’s two frontliners, Sheehan and Kelleher, have been available throughout their Champions Cup campaign, with the former among the players to feature in every one of their games in the competition so far.
Cullen and co. have been reliant on McCarthy and McKee – who will join Scarlets this summer – in the URC. Bobby Sheehan, younger brother of Dan, joined temporarily in October and got a cap off the bench against Zebre.
The minutes above also include Sheehan and McCarthy briefly playing in the back row in the latter stages of games.
Tighthead prop
The highly experienced Furlong has had injury hiccups along the way this season but he made his latest comeback last weekend against the Ospreys to ensure he’s available for the Bordeaux clash.
Clarkson, who shone in the URC success last season when Furlong was sidelined, has continued to grow in importance to Leinster during this campaign, particularly with his ever-present involvement in the Champions Cup.
Slimani, who will move to Toulon at the end of the season, remains a trusted scrummaging presence. 21-year-old Sparrow has gained experience in five URC outings, including two starts, while 20-year-old Smyth won his first two caps in January.
Lock
Snyman’s season was ended by an ACL rupture in March, while Ryan Baird – more often used at blindside flanker but with three starts in the second row – has had an injury-stunted season and could miss the rest of this campaign.
That has put a strain on Leinster’s locking resources recently, although senior man Ryan has continued to play excellent rugby and plenty of it. McCarthy was sidelined until December due to a foot injury from the Lions tour, but he has made up for lost time.
Yet it has been 26-year-old Deeny who Leinster have relied on most in terms of racking up minutes in the second row, and nearly exclusively in the URC. The Wexford man has been a consistent presence in the league campaign.
Mangan has had two starts in the back row, as well as coming off the bench there, but he has also featured lots as a lock. O’Tighearnaigh has had six URC outings in the second part of the season, while Spicer featured once.
Back row
Deegan might not start all of the biggest games for Leinster but at 29, he continues to be a very important part of the province’s squad. A versatile and consistently impactful back row, he has featured heavily in both competitions.
As well as being important players for Ireland, captain Doris, Conan, and van der Flier are obviously key to Leinster’s ambitions, with their primary impacts coming in the Champions Cup. With Baird’s injury issues, that trio have continued to lead the way.
Penny and Soroka are cut from similar cloth to Deegan in being central pieces of Leinster’s regular URC team, as well as pushing hard for Champions Cup chances.
23-year-old Culhane has made impressive progress at number eight this season, despite suffering a nasty knee injury in October. He has returned in strong form.
Connors’ involvements were limited to the URC, and he was unfortunate to suffer a season-ending injury recently in what is his final campaign before joining Connacht.
Skerries man Ericson joined the Leinster academy in November and has had his first taste of professional rugby this season.
Scrum-half
The next few weeks are the end of an era with McGrath bidding farewell to his beloved province and joining Perpignan ahead of next season. His leadership and defensive resilience will be missed.
McGrath has continued to back up the peerless Gibson-Park in the Champions Cup, despite 22-year-old Gunne’s heavy involvement in the URC. No one has made more league appearances for Leinster this season than the young scrum-half.
26-year-old Cormac Foley has spent time on loan with the Ospreys this season, but has had his Leinster contract extended beyond the summer.
Out-half
Byrne took a loan move to Bristol last season to get momentum back, and the short-term deal achieved exactly that. He made a strong start to this campaign with Leinster, forcing his way past previous incumbent Prendergast around the turn of the year. Having had his fair share of injury troubles in the past, Byrne has proved durable this season.
Prendergast has still played lots of rugby for Leinster, getting eight starts in the URC but only two in the Champions Cup, as well as filling in at fullback occasionally. He missed out on the matchday 23 for two of Leinster’s knock-out games, but Cullen has stressed he’s going to be an important player for years to come.
Part of the issue for Prendergast is that Frawley is playing so well, albeit at inside centre earlier in the campaign and mainly at fullback recently. Frawley hasn’t actually started a game at number 10 this season, but he has moved there on several occasions and played the second half of last weekend’s win over the Ospreys there.
20-year-old academy playmaker Gabriel made his senior off the bench in October and has been prominent for Terenure in the AIL. He will stay with Leinster next season despite an approach from Munster.
Charlie Tector, who usually features at inside centre for Leinster these days, had a start at out-half against Edinbugh in January.
Centre
Ioane has certainly racked up plenty of game time since arriving in late November. 10 of his 12 starts have been at outside centre, but he has impressed on the left wing in the Champions Cup quarter-finals and semi-finals.
32-year-old Henshaw has come into strong form recently, even if a nasty head injury briefly slowed him up before his return last weekend. That has left Leinster with a tough call in the number 12 shirt ahead of Bilbao.
Osborne started this season at fullback, with Hugo Keenan sidelined, and shone there during the Six Nations, but has been used at inside centre by Leinster since. Similarly to Ioane and Frawley, versatile Osborne covers lots of bases for the province when he’s involved.
Ringrose remains the first-choice outside centre and a leader for Leinster, while Cooney did well there in his eight URC appearances before his season was ended by injury last weekend.
Tector is a consistent performer at inside centre, where 21-year-old academy man Mangan got his first start for the province in January. Frawley also shone in the number 12 jersey at the start of the season.
Back three
Amid talk of how Leinster have to pick between the likes of Ioane, Osborne, Frawley, Henshaw, and the fit-again Lowe in their matchday 23 to face Bordeaux, Jimmy O’Brien has been playing some of his best rugby.
Whether at fullback, left wing, or even right wing, O’Brien has been excellent and his importance to Leinster is underlined by being one of only four players to exceed 1,000 minutes so far this season.
Lowe was hit by a groin injury in the Six Nations but is now back, providing Cullen and Nienaber with a proven big-game presence on the left wing. As mentioned above, Ioane provides something similar, albeit with a different skillset from Lowe.
Right wing Tommy O’Brien has made major progress with Ireland this season but also featured prominently for Leinster.
The emerging force out wide has been Kenny, who joined from the disbanded Ireland 7s programme last summer and earned a full-time contract. He has been lethal in the URC.
Frontline fullback Keenan’s return from a long-term layoff after hip surgery has been well-timed, bringing class at number 15, where Frawley has also played well, and where Osborne did well earlier this season.
The experienced Larmour, mainly a right wing now, has had a seriously injury-stunted season but returned in impressive style against the Ospreys last weekend. He has extended his contract with the province beyond the summer.
Andrew Osborne has continued to be used regularly in the URC, where his fellow 22-year-old Moloney has got his first two pro starts. Ciarán Mangan can also play on the wing, while 22-year-old McLaughlin made his debut at fullback against Zebre in October.
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Champions Cup depth chart Game time Leinster Minutes URC