The 1998–99 season was Leinster's fourth season under professionalism. Mike Ruddock was head coach. They competed in the Heineken Cup, finishing third in their pool, and the IRFU Interprovincial Championship, finishing third.
Players selected
Leinster Rugby squadProps Emmet Byrne (St Mary's) Reggie Corrigan (Lansdowne) Henry Hurley (Clontarf) Angus McKeen (Lansdowne)
Hookers Shane Byrne (Blackrock) Peter Smyth (St Mary's)
Locks Leo Cullen (Blackrock) Gabriel Fulcher (Lansdowne) (c) Pat Holden (Terenure) Hubi Kos (Blackrock)Back row Trevor Brennan (St Mary's) Craig Brownlie (Clontarf) Victor Costello (St Mary's) B. Gibney (Blackrock) Colin McEntee (Lansdowne) Declan O'Brien (Clontarf) Patrick Ward (Clontarf)
Scrum-halves Derek Hegarty (Terenure) David O'Mahony (Lansdowne) Ciaran Scally (UCD)
Fly-halves Alan McGowan (Blackrock) Richie Murphy (Clontarf)Centres Brian Carey (Blackrock) Shane Horgan (Lansdowne) Kurt McQuilkin (Lansdowne) Martin Ridge (Lansdowne)
Wings Gordon D'Arcy (Lansdowne) Girvan Dempsey (Terenure) Denis Hickie (St Mary's) John McWeeney (St Mary's)
Fullbacks Ciaran Clarke (Terenure) Kevin Nowlan (St Mary's) (c) denotes the team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped players. * denotes players qualified to play for Ireland on residency or dual nationality.
IRFU Interprovincial Championship
Team P W D LFA BPPts Status Munster 6 4 0 2 125 92 2 18 Champions; qualified for 1999–2000 Heineken Cup Ulster 6 3 0 3 137 119 3 15 Qualified for 1999–2000 Heineken Cup Leinster 6 3 0 3 135 136 2 14 Qualified for 1999–2000 Heineken Cup Connacht 6 2 0 4 95 145 3 11 Qualified for 1999–2000 European Challenge Cup
Heineken Cup
Pool 1
TeamPWDLTries forTries againstTry diffPoints forPoints againstPoints diffPts Stade Français650127101721911710210 Llanelli63031222−10113180−676 Leinster620417125141124174 Bègles-Bordeaux62041123−12127179−524
References