Noel McNamara to take over from Leo Cullen as Leinster head coach

Noel McNamara will replace Leo Cullen as head coach of Leinster from next season, the Irish province announced on 3 November 2026. McNamara will remain with Bordeaux Begles until the end of the current campaign before returning to Leinster.

Cullen said in June that he would leave his role at the end of the current campaign after a trophy-laden 12 years with Leinster. McNamara is currently attack coach at Bordeaux Begles, the club that defeated Leinster in the Investec Champions Cup final last season.

The 43-year-old previously spent five years at Leinster in several positions, including Leinster 'A' head coach and academy manager. He moved to the Sharks in South Africa in 2021 as attack and backs coach before taking up his current position with Bordeaux in 2023.

Since relocating to France, McNamara has helped Bordeaux win consecutive Champions Cups and the club have twice been runners-up in the Top 14. In May, Leinster struggled to contain Bordeaux's McNamara-led attack in Bilbao, with the French side running out dominant 41-19 winners.

McNamara, who also coached Ireland to an Under-20s Six Nations Grand Slam in 2019, described the Leinster post as "one of the most prestigious roles in world rugby". "It is an honour to be given this responsibility," he said. "We have a very exciting season ahead with UBB and I am fully focused on that before moving back to Leinster next summer."

Leinster chief executive Shane Nolan said: "Noel has a long association with the club and emerged as our preferred candidate very early in the process. His transition into the role will be seamless and we look forward to welcoming him here next July after this season reaches its conclusion." The IRFU's performance director David Humphreys said McNamara has a "deep understanding of Irish rugby" and added: "Noel brings a wealth of coaching experience, strong leadership qualities and a proven track record of developing players and coaching successful teams." "I'm looking forward to working with him to ensure Leinster's continued success, while supporting the development of players for the Ireland national team."

Since taking charge in 2015, Cullen led Leinster to six league titles and the Champions Cup in 2018, but his side subsequently lost five finals in the competition, including four in the past five years. McNamara will join Leinster next July after completing the current season with Bordeaux, and Cullen will leave Leinster at the end of next season.