Kildare's Rugby Team of the Season 2025/26
The Eadestown ironman, Tadhg Beirne, celebrates Ireland winning the 2026 Triple Crown. Photo: ©INPHO
Ireland’s defeat to New Zealand ten days ago officially brought a close to the 2025/26 season. It has been a remarkable year for several Kildare players at every level, from Leinster League to the international stage – but which player in each position stood out above the rest?
At just 20 years old and still in the Connacht Academy, Billy Bohan made himself the western province’s first-choice loosehead within months and then earned himself a shock call-up to the Ireland squad for the Six Nations Championship.
Bohan excelled for Connacht in both the URC and the Challenge Cup and finished the domestic season by winning the province’s Academy Player of the Year Award. He was selected in the Ireland squad for the summer leg of the Nations Championship where he made his senior debut in a milestone moment against Japan.
Jeremy Loughman, who played a vital role for Ireland during the Six Nations and Nations Championship.
In a turbulent season for Nass, Brad Clements played a major role in ensuring the Kildare club’s survival in Division 1B of the All-Ireland League. Graham Reynolds shared the number two jersey throughout the season, but Clements put his head above the parapet with some outstanding performances, particularly in crunch games and clutch situations.
What a season it was for Athy RFC. They maintained their status in the top tier of the Leinster League, they made it all the way to the semi-finals in their very first year in the Energia All-Ireland Junior Cup, and they ended in the season in historic fashion by becoming one of the handful of clubs to retain their Bank of Ireland Provincial Towns Cup.
And the bedrock of all that success was Conan Dunne. Very few tightheads could hope to maintain the levels of consistency and impact that the Athy man demonstrated across the season. He was pivotal in making his side’s scrum one of the most formidable in all of Leinster, while also getting through a mountain of work on both sides of the ball, all while playing far more games than that usually expected of a prop.
The Eadestown ironman ended the previous season as the British and Irish Lions Player of the Series in Australia, yet took very little time off before captaining Munster through their brightest patch of the entire season.
Beirne won the 2025 Guinness Rugby Writers Players of the Year, produced world-class performances for Ireland in the Six Nations, and managed to recover from a three-month injury to play a major part in Ireland’s Nations Championship.
25/26 was a career-defining season for Diarmuid Mangan to date. He played a total of 18 games for Leinster as well as an appearance for Ireland 'A' against Spain; and as impressive as those numbers are for a 23-year-old loose forward, his 2026 was hampered by an injury that kept him on the sidelines for almost three months.
The Sallins man returned at the perfect time for Leinster, however, as injuries in the second row gave Mangan the platform to get plenty of minutes under his belt before solidifying his place as replacement lock for Leinster’s run to both the Champions Cup and URC finals.
The Suncroft loose forward is now firmly established as the Connacht captain and has formed an impressive partnership out west with Head Coach Stuart Lancaster, guiding the province into the URC play-offs as well as qualifying for next season’s Champions Cup.
Internationally it was a breakthrough year for Prendergast, doubling his career caps total as he played in six of Ireland’s 12 tests, including games against South Africa, England, France and Australia. He impressed in both the lineout and in defence as well as scoring his first international try.
He may not have had his best year at Leinster, as another season saw Will Connors sidelined with an injury; however, the Donadea man made waves off the field when he put pen to paper with his new province. Joining Stuart Lancaster’s Connacht, Connors will have a chance to reinvent his career alongside a number of other Kildare men at the Dexcom Stadium.
Having made the move from Nass, Tom Brady has added a huge x-factor to the Athy pack, playing a major part in the club retaining the Towns Cup. His efforts were rewarded with a place in the Leinster squad for the 2026 IRFU Junior Interprovincial Series.
Brady filled in at lock and blindside sporadically throughout the season and performed commendably when called upon. But his best work came when playing in his specialist position of number eight, where he caused havoc for opposition defences all season long, leading by example on both sides of the ball.
Sean Jansen, who qualifies for Ireland through his Monasterevin grandmother, was Connacht’s Player of the Year before going on to make his international debut during the summer.
25/26 was an arduous season for Johne Murphy’s Naas, battling for survival from the very first month before eventually staving off relegation in the final weeks. Central to their season was the ever-present number nine, Tadhg Brophy, who conducted his side akin to the role of Le Petit General as seen in French rugby.
Brophy’s performances with Naas were recognised at provincial level where the former Irish U20 scrum half is now very much embedded in the Leinster Academy.
Captain fantastic Craig Miller had quite a season. It seemed like he played nearly every minute of most if not all games, guiding Athy to safety for the second consecutive season in Division 1A of the Leinster League, leading the club to their very first All-Ireland semi-final, and lifting the Towns Cup high in the Edenderry sky as Athy successfully defended their provincial title.
Miller was called up to the Leinster Junior squad where he was the starting fly half for all three games in the Interpro Series, a competition he won in 2023 as Leinster captain.
Sam Prendergast, who salvaged what had been a poor season with some good performances for Leinster and Ireland at the tail end of the season.
They say the best ability is availability; that, coupled with his flexibility across the backline, saw Jimmy O’Brien’s resilience and perseverance rewarded at the end of a long, hard 25/26 season.
Having been a bit-part player in blue and green alike right up until Christmas, O’Brien’s season lit the touchpaper in the new year, particularly towards the business end of proceedings. He played 22 games across the season, starting in 20, including 18 games for Leinster (17 starts) and four for Ireland where he started all three games in the Nations Chmpionship.
O'Brien ended the season with seven tries and a whole lof of credit in the bank.
A decisive factor in Athy’s season was Josh Miller leaving Australia and returning to Kildare where he helped turn things around at The Showgrounds. Playing outside his older brother Craig, Josh added a sense of calm and control in midfield that allowed the captain to run the show without shouldering all the responsibility.
There were some sublime runs and memorable tries from Josh throughout the season, but his main contribution came from the tee, where he converted numerous vital kicks that helped Athy to league survival and cup glory. Miller’s form was rewarded with a spot in the Leinster Junior squad for the very first time.
2025/26 was a big season for Naas man Andrew Osborne, who more than doubled his total number of caps for Leinster. The soon-to-be 23-year-old made eight appearances for the province, half of them starts, including seven in the URC and one in the Champions Cup at home to La Rochelle.
October 2025 saw Ciaran Mangan make his senior competitive debut for Leinster with a 30-minute appearance off the bench against Zebre. Three months later came another major milestone as he made his first competitive start for the province against Edinburgh – a special day for the Mangan family as Ciaran and Diarmuid started together for Leinster for the very first time.
What a season it was for Jamie Osborne. Still on a high from his call-up to the British and Irish Lions, the Naas man found himself entrusted with the Ireland number 15 shirt for the November Series, only to go down with an unfortunate injury.
Having played zero minutes for the Leinster in the intervening three months, Osborne was immediately reinstated at full back for Ireland’s Six Nations campaign, where he was not only ever-present, but also hugely impressive.
He spent the remainder of the season playing at centre for Leinster where he was part of their URC Championship win and their run to the Champions Cup final, before starting twice in green yet again during the Nations Championship.
