Noel McNamara named Leinster head coach, replacing Leo Cullen
Leinster have appointed Noel McNamara as their next head coach, ending the 12-year reign of Leo Cullen. McNamara, currently attack coach at Bordeaux Begles in France, will take over from next season, once the current campaign finishes.
Cullen, who took charge in 2015, is stepping down at the end of this season. Under him, Leinster won six league titles and the 2018 Champions Cup, the European club competition. Seven of the 15 trophies the club has won in the professional era came while he was in charge, according to RTÉ Sport.
McNamara, who is 43, has a long history with the Dublin club. He spent five years at Leinster in roles including head coach of Leinster 'A', the second team, and academy manager. He then left for the Sharks in South Africa in 2021 as attack and backs coach. The attack coach runs the team's plans for moving the ball and creating scoring chances, while the backs are the fast, creative players on the outside of the scrum and lineout.
He joined Bordeaux in 2023. The French side have won the Champions Cup twice in a row under his watch and twice finished runners-up in the Top 14, France's domestic league. Those two European triumphs came against a backdrop of strong results at home, and the club's latest meeting with Leinster ended in Bordeaux's favour. In May in Bilbao, Bordeaux beat Leinster 41-19 in the Champions Cup final.
McNamara's earlier coaching includes a notable international moment. He coached Ireland's Under-20s to a Six Nations Grand Slam in 2019, winning all five matches in the age-group tournament.
The appointment has drawn warm reaction from inside the game. Paul O'Connell, the former Ireland and Munster lock who is now part of the Irish coaching set-up, said he was excited about the prospect of McNamara's move to Leinster, RTÉ Sport reported on 1 November.
For Leinster supporters, the change marks the end of a long era and the start of a new one. Cullen has been a constant figure at the club for more than a decade, first as coach and before that as a player. McNamara will be the one tasked with keeping that success going, and with taking Leinster back to the top of European rugby.
Leinster have not yet confirmed the details of the wider coaching team. BBC Sport reported the announcement on 3 November.
