1st Leinster Cap for Mangan

This article by Kevin Beirne first appeared on Leinsterrugby.ie on the 31st December 2025.

Ciarán Mangan made his senior debut in the win over Zebre Parma in October after being called into action on short notice.

Initially a reserve on the day, Mangan was added to the matchday 23 after Max Deegan pulled up during the warm up to open up a spot on the bench.

“It was actually one of the S&C (Strength and Conditioning) guys who originally said to stay ready because Max was limping,” Mangan says, as we sit down for a chat just before Christmas.

“Leo [Cullen] walked up to me as the lads were walking into the dressing room to say I was going to be on the bench, so I was just trying to get ready after that and take it all in.”

Having woken up that day not even expecting to play, Mangan had to update his expectations again when Andrew Osborne’s 20-minute red card meant the 20-year-old would have to play out the final 30 minutes of the game.

“Especially coming from being a reserve, I thought I’d get a few minutes at the end, maybe,” he admits. “But I got half an hour, so it was plenty of game time.“It was really enjoyable being out there. The crowd was class as well. It wasn’t a packed Aviva but there were still plenty of people there and it was the biggest crowd I played in front of, so that was very cool.”A 20-minute red card for Andrew Osborne meant Mangan was thrown into the action in the 49th minute. As he ran onto the pitch, he was greeted by a familiar face: his brother, Diarmuid.

 “It was their five-metre attacking lineout when I ran on and Diarmuid was the first one there. It was a pretty cool moment when I ran by him,” says the younger Mangan.

“The year before, we played in an ‘A’ game together. I only came on for about five minutes in that game against Connacht Eagles up in Creggs RFC. So, playing with him against Zebre was unreal.

“It was even more special the way it worked out because my mam, dad and brother were there, and then my granddad was actually there as well — he goes to all the games. I think my granddad was debating about going during the week, but then he went in the end.

“Even though it was just meant to be Diarmuid playing, everyone was there when I was playing as well. Catching up with them after the game was such a cool feeling.

 “It was class to have everyone there. We had a few pictures taken after the game and they were in the dressing room for all the post-match stuff as well.”