The 1996-97 season was Leinster's second season under professionalism. Ciaran Callan was officially head coach, but team manager Jim Glennon was in overall charge, with Callan coaching the forwards and Paul Dean coaching the backs.Hugh Farrelly, The Coaching Revolution", Irish Independent, 20 May 2011 Chris Pim was captain. They finished third in their pool in the Heineken Cup, and second in the IRFU Interprovincial Championship.
At this stage the Irish provinces were still representative teams, not professional clubs. However, the provinces were now offering contracts and match fees for Heineken Cup and Interprovincial matches, although these contracts sometimes conflicted with players contracted to clubs in England."Reid's cautionary note on contracts", Belfast Telegraph, 23 March 1996
Players selected
Leinster Rugby squadProps Paul Flavin (Blackrock) Henry Hurley (Moseley) Angus McKeen (Lansdowne) Paul Wallace (Saracens)
Hookers James Blaney (Terenure) Shane Byrne (Blackrock) Mark McDermott (Lansdowne)
Locks Greg Duffy (Old Wesley) Neil Francis (Old Belvedere) Steve Jameson (St Mary's College) Malcolm O'Kelly (London Irish)Back row Victor Costello (London Irish) Kelvin Leahy (Wanderers) Dean Oswald (Blackrock) Chris Pim (Old Wesley) (c) Stephen Rooney (Landsowne) Kevin Spicer (Oxford)
Scrum-halves Niall Hogan (Oxford/Terenure) Alain Rolland (Blackrock)
Fly-halves Richard Governey (Landsdowne) Alan McGowan (Blackrock)Centres Vince Cunningham (St Mary's) Ray McIlreavy (St Mary's) Kurt McQuilkin (Lansdowne) Martin Ridge (Old Belvedere)
Wings Paddy Gavin (Old Belvedere) Darragh O'Mahony (Lansdowne) Denis Hickie (St Mary's College) David Coleman (Terenure) Girvan Dempsey (Terenure)
Fullbacks Peter McKenna (Old Belvedere) Ciaran Clarke (Terenure) (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.
Heineken Cup
TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffPts Leicester44001431111443718 Llanelli42029909781164 Leinster4202912−386109−234 Pau410319109137103342 Scottish Borders4103724−1780178−982
IRFU Interprovincial Championship
Team P W D LFA BPPts Status 3 3 0 0 117 92 - 6 Champions; qualified for 1997–98 Heineken Cup 3 1 0 2 88 92 - 2 Qualified for 1997–98 Heineken Cup 3 1 0 2 81 89 - 2 Qualified for 1997–98 Heineken Cup 3 1 0 2 77 90 - 2 Qualified for 1997–98 European Challenge Cup
References