Rugby Magners League United Kingdom Rugby sports Connacht Rugby vs Leinster Rugby sports live
Match scheduled:
Last updated: 02-01-2010 from 17:00 until 19:00
Magners League
Match scheduled:
Last updated: 02-01-2010 from 17:00 until 19:00
Magners League
Connacht Rugby (more commonly known as Connacht) is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Connacht that competes in the Magners League and the European Challenge Cup. The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Connacht Branch, one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish province of Connacht.
The team plays its home games at the Galway Sportsgrounds, which can hold 5,000 spectators though is expandable to 7,000 for important games. Connacht play in a predominantly green jersey with some black, black shorts and green and black socks. The Connacht Rugby crest is a modified version of the provincial flag of Connacht and consists of a dimidiated (dimidiation) eagle and an arm wielding a sword.
Connacht has a much smaller base of rugby union players to choose from than the other three provinces due in part to its small population and the relative popularity of Gaelic Athletic Association sports such as hurling and Gaelic football. Connacht has only 7% of the total number of Irish rugby union players currently, however rugby union in Connacht has expanded in recent years, with a growing number of players involved and an increasing number of schools now playing the game.
Through the work of the Connacht Branch and the support of the IRFU the province over the last five years has had the largest growth in underage and schools participation in Ireland.
Match scheduled:
Last updated: 02-01-2010 from 17:00 until 19:00
Magners League
Leinster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish Province of Leinster, that competes in the Magners League and Heineken Cup. The team also represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Leinster Branch which is one of four branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union throughout Leinster. The club plays in navy and white and the crest is in the form of a harp. Leinster's traditional home ground is Donnybrook Stadium, in Dublin 4 though all home games are now played at the nearby RDS Arena. Leinster turned professional along with the teams representing the other Irish provinces in 1995 and have competed in the Magners League since it was founded in 2001 having previously competed in the interprovincial championship [1].
Leinster are the current Heineken Cup champions having won the 2009 Heineken Cup Final at Murrayfield and are now ranked 3rd on ERC European Rankings after Munster and Leicester.[2
A rise in crowd numbers for Leinster lead to a move accross Dublin 4 from Donnybrook Stadium to the redeveloped RDS Arena. In 2007-08, despite failing to qualify out of their pool for the Heineken Cup, Leinster ended the season as Magners League champions sealing the title in front of their home fans as they scored a six-try 41-8 victory over the Newport Gwent Dragons at the RDS. The following season, Leinster topped their Heineken Cup pool despite being largely written off after a poor away loss to French side Castres. Victory over Harlequins followed at the Stoop despite the Bloodgate Scandal. Leinster overcame Munster 6-25 in the semi-final having beed billed as underdogs. The game, played in Dublin's Croke Park, broke the world record attendance for a club rugby game with a crowd of over 82,200.[5] The 2009 Heineken Cup Final was held in Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh. Leinster won the Final 19-16 to claim their first European crown.[6]
Leinster went professional in in the mid 1990s. The "Leinster Lions" name came into existence during the 2001-02 season as the result of a joint marketing initiative between Leinster Rugby and its kit sponsors, the Canterbury Clothing Company. Leinster's first season in the newly formed Celtic League ended in success as the Lions were crowned the inaugural champions, beating rivals Munster Rugby in the 2001-02 final. In 2002-03, they became only the third team in the history of the Heineken Cup to win all their games in pool play. They also went one step further in the playoffs than the previous season by reaching the semis (for the first time since 1995-96), but lost at home against French side Perpignan. This was accompanied by an unsuccesful season in the Celtic League which was followed up again with a disappointing season. Before the start of the 2004-05 season it was decided to drop the 'Lions' from the name, however it is still used for marketing and branding in particular the Cubs Club for Junior members of Leinster Rugby[4]. The Leinster mascot is "Leo the Lion".
Match scheduled:
Last updated: 02-01-2010 from 17:00 until 19:00
Magners League
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