
Tadhg Beirne: ‘It had only been a year since I had been let go by Leinster. To be back there and to get that result with Scarlets was pretty special'
The Munster and Ireland player talks about the historic game that changed everything for him at 15, getting spotted to play for Leinster and embracing every opportunity
I was lucky enough to go to the Ireland versus England game in the 2007 Six Nations. That sticks out to me as a massive moment growing up. I was not long playing rugby at school and was starting to take a real interest in it. That game made such an impact and was an eye-opener for me as a kid. It gave me a real itch to play the game. There was such a huge build-up with the match being played at Croke Park and England coming over. The anthems, ahead of the game, will always stay with me.
There was respect for the English anthem, then this unbelievable noise for the Irish anthems. You could see how much it meant to the players there. Some were singing while others were crying. Some were doing both. Real goose bumps stuff. It showed you how much it meant to everyone. You just had this feeling that it was going to be a special game. Crazy atmosphere.

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Irish Independent
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Extra.ie
an hour ago
- Extra.ie
Another Aviva ambush on cards as Glasgow look to inflict more knockout misery on Leinster
A lot has changed in the past eight weeks. Rewind back to April 11 and Leinster were cruising to a 52-0 win against Glasgow at Aviva Stadium in another utterly and almost farcically one-sided Champions Cup knockout game. A week after a cricket score had been inflicted on Harlequins, the Blues made light work of another foe on their home turf. Leo Cullen's stellar squad were on an unstoppable charge to European glory. Then Northampton rocked up in Dublin and derailed the province's title ambitions in the most dramatic of fashions. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile The vibe, optics and noise around this Leinster squad has altered spectacularly since the Saints stormed the capital. All the energy and enthusiasm has seemingly drained out of this playing group since that ill-fated Champions Cup semi-final. They have not looked like themselves of late. Leinster look flat at the moment. The URC is still there to win but, so far, it hasn't exactly stoked the fires in Camp Leinster. This hunt for a first league title since 2021 has felt a bit like the third day of a stag. Everyone involved seems to be going through the motions – making all the right noises – until the event reaches its conclusion, they can go their separate ways and focus on the hangover recovery. The fanbase certainly seem to feel that way. There were less than 13,000 spectators through the turnstiles for last weekend's nervy and error-strewn quarter-final win against Scarlets and another sparse crowd is expected this afternoon. There is no bank holiday weekend to blame this time around. A lot of the supporters have tuned out. Once the quest for the fifth star crashed and burned, many fans voted with their feet. The worry for Cullen and his coaching team is if a lot of the players – even subconsciously – have checked out, too. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile Leinster find themselves in a weird, end-of-season limbo at the moment. They are trying to fire themselves up emotionally to win a trophy which has been an afterthought for a long, long time. And even if they succeed, they won't get much kudos. Thing is, if they slip up today against an in-form Glasgow outfit, the fallout will be brutal. Leinster will face fresh taunts about their inability to win big knockout games, while staring down the barrel at a fourth consecutive campaign without silverware. The only way the home side can silence all those doubters and exorcise a few European demons is by laying down a marker against the visitors. The big question is whether Leinster have the ability to deliver a big display at this point in time. There hasn't been a lot of compelling evidence recently. Much has been said and written about the psychological state of the players at the moment but Cullen's squad is also beginning to show signs of wear and tear. The hosts were already without captain Caelan Doris and Robbie Henshaw for this playoff charge. Tadhg Furlong and Garry Ringrose joined that international pair on the sidelines recently. And now Hugo Keenan and Josh van der Flier have been sidelined. That's a lot of quality to lose in a short space of time. Yes, Cullen has depth which is the envy of coaches across the globe. Jimmy O'Brien – another Ireland international – has filled the void left by Keenan while Scott Penny, a talented openside who would arguably start for any of the other provinces, steps in for Van der Flier. Cullen was able to swap Ronan Kelleher for Dan Sheehan, he can still field a backline featuring Jamison Gibson-Park, Jordie Barrett, James Lowe, Jamie Osborne and Tommy O'Brien. He has a pack featuring Andrew Porter, Joe McCarthy, James Ryan, Ryan Baird and Jack Conan. Heck, he has Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman and Max Deegan in reserve as well three Test-calibre outside backs. When it comes to injuries, Leinster can't really play the Béal Bocht. On paper, this team looks as fierce as ever. Glasgow themselves felt the full wrath of this Leinster side in full flow barely two months ago. But things have changed. Leinster have been suffering an existential crisis while Glasgow have gone from strength to strength. Franco Smith's troops – who are defending their title – have timed their end-of-season run perfectly. They put a strong Stormers outfit to the sword at Scotstoun seven days ago, the Scots cruising to a 36-18 win to book their place in today's semi-final. They are the polar opposite of Leinster at the moment. Glasgow look tight, united and hungry to land a brace of URC titles. The home side look like a group who are still trying to make sense of what happened against Northampton. This squad – for all its talent and resources – is in danger of becoming rugby's equivalent of the Buffalo Bills, the NFL side which infamously lost four straight Super Bowls in the 1990s. There is a lot of emotional scar tissue in the Blues ranks and a URC title isn't going to flush out all the recent disappointment. Has it left them vulnerable? Glasgow will be sensing a glorious opportunity. They have long forgotten about the 50-point shellacking they suffered at this venue not along ago. They will be taking heart from their most recent visit last month when Leinster ground out a hard-fought 13-5 win. The visitors will look at a Leinster pack without Furlong, Van der Flier and Doris and sense opportunity. They will look at Sam Prendergast's defensive issues and believe they can exploit that avenue, especially with Sione Tuipulotu, their outstanding Scotland and Lions centre, back on the beat and ready to lay down an early marker to Andy Farrell ahead of the series Down Under. In Scotland openside Rory Darge and South African No8 Henco Venter, they have a pair of tough customers who will look to disrupt Leinster's supply lines and make this a real dogfight. Rain is forecast and if this descends into a bit of a slugfest, then an out-of-sorts Leinster could really struggle. Consider that Leinster have failed at this stage of the competition for three consecutive seasons and you get a sense of the challenge ahead. 'Whatever it takes' is the mantra of this Glasgow team. That's what Leinster are facing today. Another Aviva ambush might be on the cards.


RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
The story of Leinster's URC semi-final frustrations
When Leinster won the Pro14 title for the fourth year in a row in 2021, it seemed inevitable that their dominance of the league would continue, even with the arrival of four South African big-hitters to the new and improved BKT United Rugby Championship. They have remained the pace-setters in the regular season, finishing top of the table in three of the last four seasons, but the URC has proven a tough nut to frack for Leo Cullen's side. While their Champions Cup disappointment has been the dominant storyline of recent seasons, it might have been a bit more palatable had they been able to secure some domestic silverware along the way. Four years on from out-muscling Munster in the Pro14 final in 2021, the province haven't even made it back to the decider since, with three semi-final defeats in consecutive seasons putting even more pressure on them ahead of welcoming the Glasgow Warriors to the Aviva Stadium this afternoon. Ahead of that game, we look back on how their URC title bids have fallen short in recent seasons. Having finished top of the URC table in the regular season, and handsomely defeated the Bulls 31-3 at the Aviva on the opening weekend of the season, it was expected that Leinster would have too much for the Bulls in their semi-final at the RDS in June 2022. Two weeks earlier, the province saw their Champions Cup hopes dashed by a late Arthur Retiere try, as La Rochelle edged them out in the final, but when they bounced back a week later by trouncing the Glasgow Warriors 76-14, it looked like they had shaken off some of that disappointment and were ready to take out their frustrations in the URC play-offs. Like all of the South African sides, the Bulls had started slowly in their debut season before going on a run later in the season as they adapted to northern hemisphere rugby, and while they were seen as a better team than the one that had been in Dublin nine months earlier, an away semi-final win, against the five-in-a row chasing Leinster, seemed like a tall order. With James Lowe injured, and Johnny Sexton on the bench, the game looked like it was going according to script when Dan Sheehan scored an early try to put Leinster 7-0 in front, but as the first half progressed it was clear the Bulls had come to Dublin ready to cause a shock. They should have scored a try on 19 minutes when a 19-year-old Canan Moodie spilled the ball as he dived over in the corner, but although they try was chalked off by the TMO, the Bulls scored with their second attempt, as Johan Grobbelaar finished off a brilliant move from a five-metre penalty. A few minutes later, the Bulls' power was again too much for Leinster, Marcell Coetzee getting his side's second try, as they moved 17-7 in front. Robbie Henshaw's converted try got Leinster back to 17-14 before half time, but it was as close as they would get to turning it around. On 53 minutes, a penalty try and a James Ryan yellow card left Leinster trailing 24-14, and while they had plenty of chances to get back into the game, it took then until 69 minutes to make one stick, Jordan Larmour scoring in the corner to make it a five-point game. Morne Steyn's penalty with four minutes left the Bulls on the verge of a great upset, and they saw it out impressively, with Cian Healy's try in the final minute just a consolation score. Having endured a trophyless season in 2021/22, Leinster were on course for a double ahead of their URC semi-final against Munster in May 2023. Just as they had the previous season, Leinster came into the play-offs with the top seed, winning 16 of their 18 games, and although Munster had been on a late-season run, including an away quarter-final win at Glasgow the week before, this derby had been emphatically one-sided in the previous years. Leinster had won 10 of the previous 11 games between the sides, and Munster's only win in that time had been in the Rainbow Cup two years earlier. Graham Rowntree's side were also counting the cost of a taxing quarter-final win at Glasgow, which saw RG Snyman, Malakai Fekitoa, Calvin Nash and Conor Murray all ruled out with injury. With another Champions Cup final coming up against La Rochelle seven days later, Leo Cullen took a major risk with his selection, naming a largely second string team. Only Jack Conan and Robbie Henshaw would continue in the starting side the following week at the Aviva. The gamble looked like it was paying off when Leinster carried a 10-6 lead into the half-time break. Ryan Baird had previously seen a try disallowed for a knock-on, but right on half time Jason Jenkins crashed over against his former side, to give Leinster a lead into the second half. Munster came out flying after the break, Tadhg Beirne's converted try giving them a 13-10 lead on 45 minutes, and Rowntree's side were utterly dominant in that third quarter, but wasted a series of opportunities which could have put the game out of reach. It was looking like a familiar tale when Joe McCarthy's try on 62 minutes put Leinster back in front, although Harry Byrne's missed conversion means they were just two points ahead, 15-13. With four minutes left, Leinster even had Munster pinned back into their own 22 as they looked to close out the win, but Rory Scannell and John Hodnett combined to get Munster free, before they advanced upfield and Jack Crowley drilled a dropgoal on 78 minutes to secure a famous Munster win. From a Leinster point of view, the result would have been easily digested had they done the job a week later against La Rochelle, but another late defeat at the Aviva saw them end the season without a trophy yet again. Two years on from ending Leinster's season at the RDS, the Bulls were again celebrating a URC semi-final win against Leo Cullen's side. Unlike previous seasons, where Leinster cantered their way through the regular season, the damage in this campaign had been done in the weeks leading up to the URC play-offs. Through 13 rounds, the province were top of the table and five clear of Glasgow in second, and had just hammered the Bulls at the RDS, but as they put their chips in on winning the Champions Cup, their URC form hit a wall. Heavy defeats on their tour of South Africa against the Lions and Stormers put them under pressure, before a defeat to Ulster the week before the Champions Cup final left them third in the table at the end of the regular season, and facing an away semi-final, at altitude, against the Bulls. Big favourites when they hosted the Bulls in the semi-final two years previous, this game was billed much more evenly. With the Champions Cup final defeat behind them, there was no question of Leinster resting bodies, and they travelled to Pretoria with a fully-loaded side. After an evenly matched opening quarter, a yellow card for Sergeal Peterson gave Leinster the advantage and they took the lead with a James Lowe try, but that was cancelled out by Johan Goosen's converted try just before the end of the sin-bin period. The game flipped in the minutes either side of half time. Goosen nudged the Bulls 10-7 ahead with a penalty right on the half, before Peterson's try 90 seconds after the restart extended that advantage to 17-7. With their season on the line, Leinster hit back, a Caelan Doris try and a Ross Byrne penalty levelling the game at 17-17, and heading into the final quarter, it was Leinster who looked primed to kick on. Goosen and Byrne traded penalties, but with 14 minutes left Peterson grabbed a high ball from under the nose of Ciarán Frawley to score his second try, and it proved to be the difference as the Bulls once again ended Leinster's season, a third URC semi-final defeat in a row for thee province.