Denis Leamy
Denis Patrick Leamy (born 27 November 1981) is an Irish former rugby union player who is currently part of the coaching team with Munster. He was a back-row forward who could play either flanker or at number 8, and occasionally played at centre. He ended his club rugby career for Munster in the Pro12 and Heineken Cup, and internationally for Ireland. He officially announced his retirement in May 2012 due to a long-standing hip injury. Schools career Leamy's first sport was hurling 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. A neighbour and family friend recommended that he change schools to join Rockwell College, a school heavily focused on rugby. Leamy gave up on hurling when he was 18, concentrating instead on rugby and a possible professional career. Leamy enrolled in Rockwell College when he was 15. In his first year there, he was heavily involved in their successful march on the Munster Schools Junior 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. 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. Under-21 international honours Leamy acquired a reputation after an incident with a player from Old Belvedere. A second incident resulted in a citation and a suspension, and it was due to this citing that Leamy missed an U21 game against Wales. Leamy captained the side in their final match against France. Leamy moved on from his international schools career to be picked for the Ireland U21 team, where he was capped. He was involved in another incident, again being cited, and this citation meant that Leamy was banned from attending the U21 World Cup. Leamy's temper was given further ammunition during the same season when he was playing for UCC in Division 2 of the AIL. Leamy was cited and punished for an incident in a game against Terenure College RFC, before returning that year. 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 and he was awarded his first Munster cap at the age of 19. In the 2003/2004 season, Leamy moved from a development