Denis Leamy
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| Denis Leamy | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal information | |||
| Date of birth | November 27 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Cashel, County Tipperary, Ireland | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||
| Weight | 17 st 0 lb (108 kg) | ||
| School | Rockwell College | ||
| Rugby union career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| Position | Blind side flanker or number 8 | ||
| Clubs | |||
| 1994-1995 1996-1999 1999-2002 2002-current |
Cashel RFC Rockwell College UCC Cork Con |
||
| Provincial/State sides | Caps | (points) | |
| 2002-current | Munster | 92 | (110) (22 tries) |
| National team(s) | |||
| 2004-current | Ireland | 32 | (5) (1 try) |
Denis Leamy (born 27 November 1981 in Cashel) is an Irish professional rugby union player[1]. He is a back row forward who can play either blind side flanker or at number 8[2], and has occasionally played at inside centre [3][4] for his club team, the Irish provincial and Magners League side Munster.
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[edit] Schools career
Leamy's first sport was hurling[5] and he initially dreamed of following in the footsteps of his heroes Nicky English or Pat Fox. He played for his local GAA side, Boherlahan-Dualla, where his early physical strength was noted. His initial introduction to rugby was somewhat accidental, and occurred when he accompanied his two brothers, Ed and Kev, along to a trial game with his local rugby club, Cashel RFC. He harboured some initial reservations, but despite that he joined in the game and kept going back to play at the club[6].
A neighbour and family friend, Ned Tierney, recommended that he change schools to join Rockwell College, a school heavily focused on rugby. For the next number of years, Leamy played hurling in the summer, and rugby through-out the winter, but eventually something had to give. Unable to keep his hurling skills up to the same level as people who played hurling through-out the year, Leamy gave up on hurling at the age of 18, vowing to concentrate on rugby and a possible professional career.
Leamy enrolled in Rockwell College at the age of 15, and in his first year there, he was heavily involved in their successful march on the Munster Junior Schools Cup in 1997. He played for Rockwell Senior Cup Team for three years, the first of which he played at inside centre, before switching back to his more favoured backrow position of number 8 [7]. During this time, he was called to Clongowes for trials for the Ireland Schools team and ended up playing a key role in the Irish Schools' tour of Australia in 2000 when they won all eight games[8].
[edit] Under 21 international honours
Leamy moved on from his international schools career to be picked for the Ireland U21 team, where he was capped 5 times in the 2002 U21 Six Nations competition, starting with a game against Wales[9]. Leamy captained the side in their final match against France [10]. France won an U21 grand slam that season.
Leamy's reputation as having a short temper was given further ammunition during the same season when Leamy was playing for UCC in division 2 of the AIL. Leamy was cited and punished for an incident in a game against Terenure, and after returning from suspension, was involved in another incident with a player from Old Belvedre. The second incident resulted in a citation and a suspension, and it was due to this citation that Leamy was banned from attending the U21 world cup that year [11].
[edit] Provincial Honours
After finishing school in Rockwell, Leamy went to CIT to study Leisure Management, and started to play for UCC in the second division of the AIL. Declan Kidney brought him into the Munster setup on a development contract[12] and he was awarded his first Munster cap at the age of 19[13]. In the 2003/2004 season, Leamy moved from a development contract to a full time contract.[14].
The highlights of Leamy's career with Munster is undoubtedly winning the Heineken Cup twice, first in 2006 and then again in 2008, scoring a try in the final. He was also the province's top try scorer in the 2006/2007 season with 7 tries.[15]
[edit] Senior International Honours
Leamy was called up into the Irish Squad to play against the USA in an autumn friendly in November 2004[16], when he was picked as an Open side flanker. In the following year, Leamy made his Six nations debut against Italy again in the number 7 jersey[17]. In November of that year, Leamy played at Number 8 for Ireland for the first time, in a 7-45 drubbing by the All Blacks[18].
In the Six Nations the following year, Leamy was cited for stamping against Italy [19], but was later cleared to play France[20]. In the last game of the season, Leamy scored a try against England to help Ireland to win the Triple Crown [21][22].
[edit] References
- ^ Leamy Player Profile. IRFU.
- ^ Leamy Player Profile. Munster Rugby.
- ^ Leamy Plays Centre Role For Munster. Munster Rugby.
- ^ Leamy In The Centre For Munster. Munster Rugby.
- ^ Interview with Denis Leamy. Irish Examiner.
- ^ Premier Class. Irish Independent.
- ^ Leamy selected for Ireland XV. Rockwell union.
- ^ Bumps, bruises and burning desire. Irish Independent.
- ^ Matt McCullough Lead Irish Under 21s. IRFU.
- ^ U21 International - Last Gasp Penalty Wins It For France. IRFU.
- ^ Bumps, bruises and burning desire. Irish Independent.
- ^ 2002/03 Munster Team. Munster Rugby.
- ^ Interview with Denis Leamy. Irish Examiner.
- ^ Munster Announce 31 Man Squad for 2003/04. Munster rugby.
- ^ Munster Rugby Squad Profiles 2006/07 Squad Stats. Munster Rugby.
- ^ Leamy in Ireland Side For Game v USA. Munster Rugby.
- ^ Ireland v Italy: Preview. IRFU.
- ^ International: FT: Ireland 7 New Zealand 45. IRFU.
- ^ Leamy Cited For Alleged Stamping. IRFU.
- ^ Leamy Cleared To Play Against France. IRFU.
- ^ Ireland's Late, Late Show. IRFU.
- ^ England 24-28 Ireland. BBC.
[edit] External links
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