The final pre-season area visit by the Leinster squad to Clondalkin RFC in West Dublin on Monday afternoon attracted another healthy crowd…
Upwards of 1,000 supporters of all ages saw the Leinster squad being put through their paces and afterwards the players and management mingled with the large following by signing autographs and posing for photos.
Click HERE to see more photos from the Clondalkin RFC Open Training Session
Meanwhile, a crowd of over 2,000 supporters welcomed the Leinster squad to Wexford Wanderers RFC on Thursday afternoon at the second Area visit by the senior squad ahead of the start of the new season.
Fresh from completing a hard week’s work in the nearby Whites Hotel, the squad trained under the eyes of their adoring public with local favourites Gordon D’Arcy and Eoin Sheriff following in the footsteps of the likes of former Leinster greats Seamus Kelly (the first Wexfordian to be capped by Ireland), Johnny ‘Spud’ Murphy, Declan O’Brien and Nick Popplewell who were all in attendance.
A special presentation was made to Leo Cullen and Gordon D’Arcy following the training session by the Mayor of Wexford, Joe Ryan.
Leinster centre Gordon D’Arcy says competition amongst the squad is quite literally “bubbling” ahead of the new campaign. “It’s going to be a good, long hard season in the Magners League and the Heineken Cup.. but watching the way we’ve been training here this week ….it’s going to make for a very interesting season. The competition is bubbling”.
D’Arcy said he was making what he called a proud return to his roots and had very fond memories of the ground where he first picked up a ball. He was also full of praise for the facilities provided by Whites Hotel during their visit.
He said the high performance gym and cryotherapy sessions made a big difference. “Probably the biggest complement we could pay them is that we didn’t have to bring much of our own equipment with us.
“The cryotherapy makes a big difference …we were able to do that little bit extra, work that bit harder and get the extra couple of sessions in that we maybe would not have had if we were elsewhere.”
Click HERE to see more photos from the Wexford Wanderers RFC Open Training Session
Meanwhile, over 1,200 supporters packed into Mullingar RFC the previous week as the Leinster squad began the first of their provincial visits. Supporters from the Midlands and beyond rubbed shoulders with the players after their training session in the impressive facility followed by a special presentation by the squad of a signed jersey and picture to the club.
This initiative follows on from pre-season visits to the likes of Kilkenny, Wicklow, Edenderry, Tullamore, Boyne, Navan, Portlaoise and Malahide in recent years.
Click HERE to see more photos from the Mullingar RFC Open Training Session
