Larmour signs deal as Connacht land hooker

JORDAN LARMOUR’S dream debut season shows no signs of abating as he was rewarded with a Leinster senior contract.

The electric 20-year-old is amongst 21 players who have re-signed with the Champions Cup winners.

Seán Cronin, Fergus McFadden, Rhys Ruddock and Josh van der Flier join the likes of Tadhg Furlong and Rob Kearney whose contract renewals had been confirmed earlier this season.

Ireland U-20s star Caelan Doris, who missed the Six Nations due to a hamstring injury, is now fit again, and he too has been handed a senior deal.

As they do with most contract

renewals, Leinster did not reveal contract lengths, but it is understood that Peter Dooley and Michael Bent have extended their stay by two years.

Leo Cullen spoke of his pride at seeing a plethora of home-grown players remaining with the province, saying: “Of the 21 contracts announced today, 18 came through the Leinster Rugby system and played in clubs and schools around the province.

“It is also great to see four players promoted from the Academy in the last few months and they will all start next season in the senior squad.

“Jordan Larmour has grabbed a lot of the headlines given his involvement with Ireland during the Six Nations and starting last weekend but Vakh Abdaladze, Josh Murphy and Caelan Doris have all made telling contributions for both Leinster ‘A’ and the senior side in the Guinness PRO14 during the course of the season.”

Elsewhere, Connacht have signed former Ulster hooker Jonny Murphy from Rotherham Titans. The 26-year-old Banbridge native has represented Ireland at U-18, U-19 and U-20 levels.

“I am relishing the challenge of joining Connacht and looking forward to joining the squad for pre-season,” Murphy said.

LEINSTER CONTRACT RENEWALS: V Abdaladze, M Bent, E Byrne, S Cronin, B Daly, T Daly, P Dooley, C Doris, T Furlong, D Kearney, R Kearney, J Larmour, N McCarthy, F McFadden, R Molony, J Murphy, A Porter, G Ringrose, R Ruddock, J Tracy, J van der Flier