Baird And Conan Sign New Contracts With Leinster

Between them they have amassed 235 senior appearances for Leinster, with Conan one of the longest-serving members of Leo Cullen’s squad having made his debut against Cardiff in February 2014.

An athletic presence in either the second row or back row, Baird burst onto the scene in early 2020 with a memorable hat-trick of tries against Glasgow Warriors which showcased his impressive pace and skillset.

The 2023/24 season was Baird’s best yet with 15 starts in 17 matches for Leinster, while he was involved in all five games of Ireland’s 2024 Guinness Men’s Six Nations title-winning run, as well as scoring his second Test try against South Africa last summer.

The current campaign has not gone as smoothly for the 25-year-old Dubliner, who sustained two head injuries in separate appearances for Leinster and Ireland.

Having come up through the ranks at St. Michael’s College and Dublin University, he was back in Trinity colours in mid-December, getting game-time in the Energia All-Ireland League on his way back to full match fitness.

Baird featured off the bench for Leinster against Connacht before Christmas, and started against both Munster and La Rochelle before playing in four of Ireland’s Six Nations encounters, including a start at blindside flanker in the opening victory over England.

Another thoroughbred runner with ball in hand, Conan is having a fine season in both blue and green. He reached the 150-cap mark for Leinster against the Dragons in September, and captained the team on six occasions too.

The powerful Wicklow native, who has scored four tries in 10 games for the province this term, transferred that impactful form onto the international stage, emerging as one of Ireland’s best performers during the 2025 Six Nations.

He was used three times off the bench, playing a significant role in a second half surge that accounted for England in the first round. He earned starts at number 8 and blindside flanker, and touched down against Scotland, Wales, and France to take his Ireland try haul to 13.

Conan, who shone during his younger days with St. Gerard’s School and Old Belvedere, won his 50th cap for his country against les Bleus, and will be hoping to get another British & Irish Lions call-up in May after playing in all three Tests against South Africa in 2021.

Leinster’s latest update on contract news also confirmed that Naas youngster Andrew Osborne is moving up from the province’s Academy.

The 21-year-old has signed his first senior contract and will progress to Leinster’s senior squad where he will join his older brother, Ireland international Jamie.

A 2023 Grand Slam winner with the Ireland Under-20s, Andrew has made the most of his opportunities this season, scoring four tries in seven senior appearances for Leinster, including a brace at home to the DHL Stormers in January.

The previous month he was sprung from the bench to make his Investec Champions Cup debut against Clermont Auvergne, and is a skilful operator who has gained experience with starts on either wing.

Meanwhile, BKT United Rugby Championship leaders Leinster are currently getting down to work in Pretoria ahead of the first match of their South Africa tour against the Vodacom Bulls on Saturday.

Cullen’s charges return to Loftus Versfeld where their URC title hopes were ended by the Bulls at the semi-final stage last June. Ahead of the rematch, senior coach Jacques Nienaber spoke about player availability and the challenge ahead.

“We travelled over here on Saturday, we literally watched the Ireland game in the airport. They finished their game and we are getting feedback from the Irish physios and medical staff regarding injuries and managing protocols,” he said.

“The majority of the group that played in the Ospreys and Cardiff games is here with us currently, and we are hopeful that some of the lads who were participating in the Six Nations will join us.

“There’s three groups. The group that has been in our building during the Six Nations campaign, and then maybe a group that you can divide into two but it’s a group that participated in the majority of the match minutes in the Six Nations.

“Then the other group is obviously the players that were on the fringe, who didn’t always make the matchday 25 or 26 if you can put it like that. That’s why it is so difficult because it is literally a case-by-case individual management.

“Unfortunately with Ireland playing in Rome, and us travelling over here, there’s going to be some logistics that have to happen. Everybody is not here yet. They will filter in as they become available on the other side, as they get cleared on that side.”

He added: “We got unstuck against the Bulls (last year). They’re obviously a very organised, well settled team with a lot of international experience.

“We play them at Loftus, they’ve organised a good coaching team around them. If you look at that team, they’re bolstered with internationals. That will be our challenge, to play a good side.

“But how exciting to come to Loftus to play a team that’s got multiple threats, multiple international threats all over the board? As a professional sportsperson, you want to test yourself against the best, and that’s what we will do on Saturday.

“We know that we will have to be mentally, physically at our best to get an opportunity, and then we have to take those opportunities.

“If we are at our best, performing as well as possible, it will give us an opportunity, it will give us a moment in the game. And then we still have to take those moments, and that’s the exciting part for whoever is going to participate in this game.”