| Club: | Leinster Rugby |
| Season: | 2008–09 |
| Manager: |  Michael Cheika |
| Captain: | Leo Cullen |
| League: | Celtic League |
| League Result: | 3rd |
| Cup1: | Heineken Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Champions |
| Cup2: | British and Irish Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Quarter-finals |
| Try Scorer: | Luke Fitzgerald (9) |
| Points Scorer: | Felipe Contepomi (225) |
| Highest Attendance: | 18,500 vs Munster 28 September 2008 |
| Lowest Attendance: | 10,910 vs Glasgow Warriors 25 April 2009 |
| Average Attendance: | 15,466 |
| Pattern B1: | _collarwhite |
| Leftarm1: | 000040 |
| Body1: | 000040 |
| Rightarm1: | 000040 |
| Shorts1: | 000040 |
| Socks1: | 000040 |
| Pattern B2: | _collarwhite |
| Leftarm2: | 00CCFF |
| Body2: | 00CCFF |
| Rightarm2: | 00CCFF |
| Shorts2: | FFFFFF |
| Socks2: | 00CCFF |
| Pattern B3: | _collarwhite |
| Leftarm3: | FFFFFF |
| Body3: | FFFFFF |
| Rightarm3: | FFFFFF |
| Shorts3: | 000040 |
| Socks3: | 000040 |
| Prevseason: | 2007–08 |
| Nextseason: | 2009–10 |
The 2008–09 Leinster Rugby season was Leinster's eighth competing in the Celtic League alongside which they competed in the 2008–09 Heineken Cup. Though Leinster were ultimately to lose their Celtic League crown to rivals Munster, they were to cap a great year for Irish rugby with their victory over the Leicester Tigers in the Heineken Cup Final at Murrayfield.[1]
Leinster's average Celtic League attendance was 14,728, up 415 on the 2007-08 season.[2]
Leinster's Heineken Cup semi final against Munster, held in Croke Park set the record for the highest attendance in club rugby history at over 82,000.[3]
| Date | Home team | Score | Away Team | Score | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 2008 | 16 |  Leinster | 16 | Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff | ||
| 12 September 2008 | Leinster | 52 | 6 | RDS Arena, Dublin | ||
| 19 September 2008 | Leinster | 19 | 13 | RDS Arena, Dublin | ||
| 28 September 2008 | Leinster | 0 | 18 | RDS Arena, Dublin | ||
| 5 October 2008 | 19 | Leinster | 18 | Sportsgrounds, Galway | ||
| 24 October 2008 | 15 | Leinster | 12 | Firhill, Glasgow | ||
| 29 November 2008 | Leinster | 29 | 13 | RDS Arena, Dublin | ||
| 27 December 2008 | 13 | Leinster | 21 | Ravenhill, Belfast | ||
| 2 January 2009 | Leinster | 26 | 18 | RDS Arena, Dublin | ||
| 10 January 2009 | Leinster | 21 | 20 | RDS Arena, Dublin | ||
| 21 February 2009 | 17 | Leinster | 31 | Parc y Scarlets, Llanelli | ||
| 6 March 2009 | 8 | Leinster | 13 | Liberty Stadium | ||
| 29 March 2009 | Leinster | 32 | 6 | RDS Arena, Dublin | ||
| 4 April 2009 | 22 | Leinster | 5 | Thomond Park, Limerick | ||
| 17 April 2009 | 27 | Leinster | 16 | Murrayfield, Edinburgh | ||
| 25 April 2009 | Leinster | 36 | 13 | RDS Arena, Dublin | ||
| 8 May 2009 | Leinster | 45 | 8 | RDS Arena, Dublin | ||
| 16 May 2009 | 18 | Leinster | 9 | Rodney Parade, Newport |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | TA | Try bonus | Losing bonus | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Munster | 18 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 405 | 257 | +148 | 49 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 63 | |
| 2 | Edinburgh | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 416 | 296 | +120 | 40 | 30 | 6 | 5 | 55 | |
| 3 | Leinster | 18 | 11 | 1 | 6 | 401 | 270 | +131 | 38 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 52 | |
| 4 | Ospreys | 18 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 397 | 319 | +78 | 39 | 28 | 3 | 5 | 52 | |
| 5 | 18 | 9 | 0 | 9 | 376 | 395 | -19 | 41 | 46 | 3 | 1 | 40 | ||
| 6 | Cardiff Blues | 18 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 322 | 361 | -39 | 31 | 36 | 2 | 2 | 38 | |
| 7 | Glasgow Warriors | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 349 | 375 | -26 | 36 | 41 | 4 | 5 | 37 | |
| 8 | Ulster | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 298 | 331 | -33 | 30 | 33 | 2 | 6 | 36 | |
| 9 | Newport Gwent Dragons | 18 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 305 | 429 | -124 | 26 | 39 | 1 | 4 | 33 | |
| 10 | Connacht | 18 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 224 | 460 | -236 | 20 | 54 | 1 | 3 | 20 | |
| Correct as of 13 May 2009 MagnersLeague.com | ||||||||||||||
| Round | Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Score | Venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 11 October 2008 | Edinburgh | 16 | Leinster | 27 | Murrayfield, Edinburgh | |
| Round 2 | 17 October 2008 | Leinster | 41 | Wasps | 11 | RDS Arena, Dublin | |
| Round 3 | 6 December 2008 | Leinster | 33 |  Castres | 3 | RDS Arena, Dublin | |
| Round 4 | 12 December 2008 | Castres | 18 | Leinster | 15 | Stade Pierre-Antoine, Castres | |
| Round 5 | 17 January 2009 | Wasps | 19 | Leinster | 12 | Twickenham, London | |
| Round 6 | 25 January 2009 | Leinster | 12 | Edinburgh | 3 | RDS Arena, Dublin | |
| Quarter-Final | 12 April 2009 | Harlequins | 5 | Leinster | 6 | The Stoop, London (Report) | |
| Semi-Final | 2 May 2009 | Munster | 6 | Leinster | 25 | Croke Park, Dublin (Report) | |
| Final | 23 May 2009 | Leicester | 16 | Leinster | 19 | Murrayfield, Edinburgh (Report) |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | TF | PF | PA | +/- | BP | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leinster (6) | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 140 | 70 | +70 | 4 | 20 | |
| Wasps | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 114 | 112 | +2 | 1 | 17 | |
| Edinburgh | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 91 | 103 | -12 | 1 | 9 | |
| Castres | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 73 | 133 | -60 | 1 | 9 |