Dan Leavy forced to retire with immediate effect

Capped 11 times by Ireland, Leavy suffered a horrendous knee injury against Ulster in a Heineken Champions Cup game at the Aviva Stadium in March of 2019 and a number of returns to the field of play since have proven to be short-lived.

Dan Leavy’s long battle with injury has ended with the Leinster and Ireland flanker forced to call time on his professional career with immediate effect at the age of 27.

Dan Leavy’s long battle with injury has ended with the Leinster and Ireland flanker forced to call time on his professional career with immediate effect at the age of 27.

The news was announced by his province on Tuesday morning.

Capped eleven times by Ireland, Leavy suffered a horrendous knee injury against Ulster in a Heineken Champions Cup game at the Aviva Stadium in March of 2019 and a number of returns to the field of play since have proven to be short-lived.

He has now been advised to retire, bringing to an end a career that at one point looked like it could blossom into one of the most significant in terms of Irish back rowers. His loss to the game is enormous.

“I have done everything I can to come back from the knee injury I suffered in 2019 but unfortunately I can’t do any more or ask any more of my body,” he said in his retirement statement.

“I’d like to thank Andy Williams, my surgeon, and Karl Denvir, my physio in Leinster, for all that they have done for me in the years since then. I can take solace from the fact that I tried everything over the last three years.

“From the early days in Old Belvedere to my time in St Michael’s College, all I wanted was to pull on a Leinster Rugby jersey. And then when you achieve that, it’s an Ireland jersey. I am very proud of all that I achieved in my short time as a professional.

“Some amazing highs with my brothers in blue and in green and I am beyond grateful for those days and those moments, especially the highs of 2018 in Bilbao, the Aviva Stadium and Twickenham.

“More than that I am proud of how I carried myself, in particular over the last few years, and I hope I represented my club, my country, my family and friends to the best of my abilities in those years.

“I am beyond grateful to them all for their support and in particular to my mum and dad, Eilish and Donal, my sister, Rachel, and my brother, Adam.

“I am also very grateful to Leo Cullen. Leo has been an unbelievable support to me over the last few years. On the field, and off, and I cannot thank him enough.

“Not many people get to enjoy and experience what I have over the last 10 years representing my school, my club and my country.

“This is not the end I had hoped for, but as I look back, at the highs and the lows, they have all been shared with the best teammates, family and friends around me, and what more could I ask for?” 

Leavy did manage seven games for Leinster this season but he was a constant presence in the squad that pulled off a league and European double in 2018 and he leaves the game having never lost once in a senior Ireland jersey.

The high point in green was his key role in the side that claimed the Grand Slam in 2018.

His Leinster head coach Leo Cullen spoke of a player who was earmarked as a special talent from an early age and he highlighted the 2017-209 era when he showed “just how dynamic and destructive a player he could be with Leinster and with Ireland”.

“While the public have seen very little of Dan since his injury, we have seen plenty of him in here and we have seen the same determination, character and drive that marked him out on the pitch as one of the best,” Cullen explained.

“Dan has also received incredible support from his family and all the medical staff here along the difficult path of trying to return to playing.

“Speaking on behalf of the support staff here at Leinster Rugby it has been a pleasure and privilege to have worked with Dan. He always brought such a positive energy to the group and we will all miss him dearly but would like to acknowledge the significant contribution he has made to the team during his time here.

“Talking to him, Dan is very appreciative of the times he has enjoyed in here with Leinster but now, it’s about us all supporting him as best we can as he starts that next stage in his life.

“I have no doubt that he will apply himself with the same determination that we have seen since he first pulled on a Leinster jersey in 2014 and that he will make a success of himself away from the rugby fields. We wish him well and I hope he knows that there will always be a warm welcome for him here in UCD or down the road at the RDS.”