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#Leinster Rugby

A COMPREHENSIVE SERIES OF ARTICLES ON THIS TOPIC

<p>Leo Cullen has been in charge at Leinster for the last dozen years. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile</p>

rugby

Leinster braced for wave of interest as Leo Cullen succession plan begins

Scott Robertson, Ronan O’Gara, Noel McNamara and Felipe Contepomi are already being suggested as possible successors to Leo Cullen as Leinster head coach

<p>Leinster head coach Leo Cullen during the URC grand final match against Vodacom Bulls at Croke Park. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile</p>

rugby

Leo Cullen's exit: time feels right for change at Leinster

<p>LEO LEAVING LEINSTER: Leinster head coach Leo Cullen will leave the province in June 2027. Pic: ©INPHO/Nick Elliott</p>

rugby

Leo Cullen to leave Leinster at end of 2026/27 season

Leinster v Vodacom Bulls - United Rugby Championship Grand Final

rugby

Leo Cullen: 'Munster trolls' responsible for a lot of Leinster criticism

Leinster v Vodacom Bulls - United Rugby Championship Grand Final

rugby

Leinster save best until last after difficult campaign to go back-to-back in URC

Leo Cullen 17/6/2026

rugby

URC title would quieten the noise around Leinster after difficult season

Joe McCarthy 15/6/2026

Joe McCarthy: 'Every season, if you don't win a trophy, you feel pretty inadequate'

The squad has spoken about how no team has gone back-to-back in the short history of the URC. And no club has yet to win it twice. Memories of the day and the trophy lift this time last year get the juices flowing too.

Fri, 19 Jun, 2026

James Lowe 17/6/2026

Leo Cullen on James Lowe exit: 'It's the nature of the business we're in'

The failure to keep James Lowe for another year, up to next year’s World Cup, has caused shockwaves in the game here

Thu, 18 Jun, 2026

Leinster Rugby Awards Ball 2026

Tommy O'Brien's importance even greater as James Lowe plays his last game in Dublin

Lowe’s departure is the headline act in a summer of change. For O’Brien, his exit will resonate.

Wed, 17 Jun, 2026

Leinster Rugby Squad Training

Leinster coach Robin McBryde: 'We can't be scared, we've got to meet them head-on'

Leinster face the Bulls on Friday at Croke Park in a repeat of last year's URC final.

Tue, 16 Jun, 2026

Handre Pollard and Marco van Staden celebrate after the match 6/6/2026

Handré Pollard: 'URC final will be decided by whoever can control their emotions best'

The Bulls, meanwhile, arrive with memories of a painful defeat at the same venue 12 months ago, when Leinster outclassed them in the decider. It was their third final loss in four years in the competition

Thu, 11 Jun, 2026

James Lowe celebrates after the match 6/6/2026

James Lowe Leinster exit confirmed: 'not everyone gets their fairytale ending'

The New Zealand native said the decision to leave Leinster was made with a "heavy heart"

Tue, 09 Jun, 2026

Leinster Rugby Squad Training

Leinster need restorative rays of sunshine

Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber have both given blockbuster press conferences in the last ten days that touched on their futures at the club and other newsworthy topics.

Sat, 06 Jun, 2026

RUGBYU-FRA-TOP14-MONTAUBAN-LA ROCHELLE

Ronan O'Gara: This project was dying in my arms. Now it’s alive and kicking

This may be one of life’s few jobs where you want to keep postponing your summer break. All we want from Saturday is not to finish it on vacation. Missing out on the play-offs in back to back seasons looks good on no-one’s curriculum vitae

Fri, 05 Jun, 2026

Jacques Nienaber 1/6/2026

Leo Cullen: Jacques Nienaber 'fully committed' for next season

On Monday he expressed the hope that his term would be seen out while expressing some doubt about that due to pressure from the public and media

Thu, 04 Jun, 2026

Leinster Rugby Captain's Run

Leinster reveal team for URC semi-final at the Aviva against Stormers

Leo Cullen's side are favourites after a dominant 59-10 quarter-final victory over Lions

Thu, 04 Jun, 2026

James Ryan 1/6/2026

James Ryan: Leinster players have to take some blame for Bilbao blow-out

The loss to the Top 14 side in Bilbao, and the nature of it, has magnified the spotlight on Leo Cullen, Jacques Nienaber and the rest of the coaching staff

Thu, 04 Jun, 2026

James Lowe leaves the field after making his 100th appearance and becoming the all time leading try scorer for Leinster 30/5/202

Leinster grappling with big picture issues as Stormers approach

If the Champions Cup final defeat to Bordeaux-Begles in Bilbao was the centrepiece of their season then the weeks since have thrown up an extraordinary sequence of events and stories that speak for a club struggling with some major existential issues.

Wed, 03 Jun, 2026

Stefan Ungerer 30/5/2026

Stormers have no fear of Aviva assignment, warns Nienaber

South Africa sides have provided five of the eight URC finalists in their four years involved in the competition but just the one winner to date.

Tue, 02 Jun, 2026

Jacques Nienaber 1/6/2026

Jacques Nienaber casts doubts on Leinster future: 'I don't think people value me here'

Nienaber's comments were not aimed at anyone at Leinster but rather the media and disgruntled supporters at large that, according to him, will ultimately decide his future.

Tue, 02 Jun, 2026

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu in action 30/5/2026

Stormers out-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu to miss Leinster clash

Feinberg-Mngomezulu could also miss a number of South Africa Test games this summer

Mon, 01 Jun, 2026

Leinster v Lions - United Rugby Championship Quarter-Final

Leo Cullen on Leinster's Bilbao backlash: 'Why would I have any interest in a troll?'

Leinster booked the place in another URC semi-final this weekend.

Mon, 01 Jun, 2026

James Lowe leaves the field after making his 100th appearance and becoming the all time leading try scorer for Leinster 30/5/202

Leo Cullen keeps mum on James Lowe's Leinster future

Lowe's current contract is due to expire and it is believed that he has not been able to agree a new deal with the province

Sat, 30 May, 2026

Leinster v Lions - United Rugby Championship Quarter-Final

James Lowe breaks Leinster try record as they clinch URC semi-final slot

Leinster will face the Stormers next Saturday at the Aviva Stadium in the URC semi-finals

Sat, 30 May, 2026

Rieko Ioane 26/5/2026

Rieko Ioane: Silverware won't decide success of Leinster sabbatical

Ioane waxes lyrical about the overall experience in Ireland. Awesome, he says. Refreshing.

Sat, 30 May, 2026

Leinster Rugby Squad Training

James Lowe's Leinster and Ireland future still up in the air as record beckons

Currently playing on a contract due to expire this summer, negotiations on a new deal have not found a middle ground. It could be that Lowe moves on after nine years.

Fri, 29 May, 2026

Leinster v Union Bordeaux Bégles - Investec Champions Cup Final

Leo Cullen emphatic that he is still the man to lead Leinster

Cullen has been at the helm since 2015 and needed a URC title last June to bring four years of drought to an end.

Fri, 29 May, 2026

Leinster Rugby Captain's Run

Returning Sam Prendergast can give 'grieving' Leinster a boost

Leo Cullen: 'Even though he's 23 years of age, he has multiple Irish caps under his belt already... we all want to see him progress'

Thu, 28 May, 2026

Leinster Rugby Squad Training

Leinster and Connacht reveal teams for URC quarter-finals

James Lowe will make his 100th Lesinter appearance, after equalling Shane Horgan's all-time try-scoring record in his last outing

Thu, 28 May, 2026

Andrew Porter 26/5/2026

Andrew Porter: 'It’s nearly like PTSD, the last few years'

Does it need saying again that this was Leinster’s fifth Champions Cup final defeat in just eight years? Porter has played in the last four, and in last season’s semi-final loss to Northampton Saints.

Thu, 28 May, 2026

Leinster fans dejected 23/5/2026

S Donal Lenihan: Finding myself sympathising with Leinster fans is a strange place to be

If Leinster are finding it so difficult to compete with the best the Top 14 has to offer, what chance have Ulster, Munster and Connacht?

Wed, 27 May, 2026

Leinster v Union Bordeaux Bégles - Investec Champions Cup Final

Champions Cup loss doesn't signal 'end of an era' for Leinster

Leinster face the Lions in the URC quarter-finals on Saturday but there is an acceptance the province can't brush over last weekend's loss against Bordeaux

Wed, 27 May, 2026

Matthieu Jalibert tackles Ciaran Frawley 23/5/2026

'It was a tough decision to make' - Ciaran Frawley opens up on reasons for move to Connacht

The Skerries man has spent eight years at his current club. A big, physical presence with a varied skillset, his versatility has seen him used in a variety of positions but without ever nailing down one of his own.

Tue, 26 May, 2026

Noel McNamara celebrates after the match 23/5/2026

Ceiling 'a long, long way away' yet for breathtaking Bordeaux

The French outfit had too much for Leinster in Bilbao on Saturday.

Mon, 25 May, 2026

Tommy O'Brien, Jamison Gibson-Park, Harry Byrne during a water break 23/5/2026

S Donal Lenihan: Leinster didn't know what hit them in Bilbao blitz

Overall it proved a thoroughly demoralising weekend of action from an Irish perspective.

Sun, 24 May, 2026

Cameron Woki celebrates with the Champions Cup Trophy and teammates after the match 23/5/2026

Blistering Bordeaux humiliate helpless Leinster to retain Champions Cup

A fifth losing final since their last tournament win here in the Basque Country in 2018, this will cut Leo Cullen's men deeper than any of the agonisingly tight reversals that preceded it. This was a landslide.

Sat, 23 May, 2026

Damian Penaud capitalises on Jamison Gibson-Park miss handling the ball 23/5/2026

As it happened: Bordeaux Begles brush Leinster aside to go back-to-back in Champions Cup

Can Leo Cullen's side get the job done at the San Mames in Bilbao?

Sat, 23 May, 2026

Leo Cullen 22/5/2026

S Donal Lenihan in Bilbao: Something tells me that Leinster's time has arrived

While they are in the box seat to retain their URC crown next month, finally securing a coveted fifth Champions Cup is the goal driving everything in Leinster right now

Sat, 23 May, 2026

Leinster Rugby Captain's Run

Three key battles as Leinster take on Union Bordeaux Bègles in the Champions Cup final

The sides face off in the San Mames on Saturday afternoon.

Fri, 22 May, 2026

Leinster Rugby Captain's Run

Leinster look to end Champions Cup drought beneath familiar Basque sun

Leo Cullen spoke passionately on Friday about a tournament that has unspooled to a point where he was sitting in the bowels of the magnificent San Mames stadium ahead of his province’s latest attempt at bagging a fifth title.

Fri, 22 May, 2026

Union Bordeaux Begles Captain's Run

'A great leader': Clare man Noel McNamara plotting Leinster downfall

Noel McNamara knows the Leinster players well. Now he's plotting how Bordeaux-Begles can defeat the Irish side in the Champions Cup final

Fri, 22 May, 2026

Leo Cullen 22/5/2026

S Ronan O'Gara: When it comes to big games, I like proven form at number ten

Leo Cullen and Leinster are a game -- and a win -- away from taking control of the narrative around their legacy.

Fri, 22 May, 2026

Leinster Rugby Captain's Run

Leinster will need their best to beat Bordeaux in Bilbao says Leo Cullen as team named for final

The sides face off in the San Mames on Saturday afternoon.

Fri, 22 May, 2026

Garry Ringrose 18/5/2026

Garry Ringrose's case for the defence crucial when Leinster face Bordeaux's best

Saturday’s Champions Cup final opponents are always one to catch the eye.

Thu, 21 May, 2026

Matthieu Jalibert scores his side’s second try as Arthur Retiere looks on 12/4/2026

S Donal Lenihan: A Champions Cup without South African involvement is fine by me

Word has emerged that the South African Rugby Union is considering the withdrawal of its team from the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup competitions

Wed, 20 May, 2026

Leinster Rugby Squad Training

Leinster will look to mix of the old and the 'new' in bid to change Champions Cup script

Saturday in Bilbao will be their fourth stab at a decider in just five years.

Tue, 19 May, 2026

Clayton McMillan during the warm up ahead of the match 16/5/2026

Munster to host Glasgow Warriors in opener as next season's URC fixture list announced

Leinster are set to host Munster in Dublin on Saturday, October 24 with the return fixture taking place on Sunday, December 27 in Limerick.

Tue, 19 May, 2026

Leinster Rugby Squad Training

Leinster urged to 'live in the moment' as they return to final action in Bilbao

The Champions Cup final between Leinster and Bordeaux will be the first meeting of the two teams. If ‘UBB’ bring something unique to the table this time then Leinster’s past experiences against big French clubs with lightning backs and behemoth packs will surely stand to them.

Tue, 19 May, 2026

Joe McCarthy runs in his side's seventh try 16/5/2026

Leinster bag home route to final as McCarthy grabs Aviva hat-trick

The Champions Cup finalists went over for ten tries in facile victory over Ospreys

Sat, 16 May, 2026

Connacht v Munster - United Rugby Championship

S Donal Lenihan: Lancaster has made Galway, at once, hostile and attractive

Given the quality and consistency of performance they are delivering at present, Connacht are on a clear upward trajectory even if they fail to make the top eight next weekend.

Wed, 13 May, 2026