Heineken Heroes: Denis Hickie

While Denis Hickie retired the year before Leinster finally won their first ever Heineken Cup success, few had contributed more to Leinster rugby than the speedy winger.

By Declan Whooley

With 62 caps for Ireland, and featuring on the 2005 Lions Tour to New Zealand, Denis Hickie's place in Irish rugby history is assured, but it was on the European stage for his Province that Hickie saved many of his best and most memorable performances.

He made his debut in the Heineken Cup in just the competition’s second year of existence in the 1996/97 campaign. Leinster were ousted at the Pool stages by Leicester and Llanelli, a familiar story at that time for the Province, though he did manage to get his first try in Europe. He would go on to score 18 more and become one of the deadliest finishers in the game.

His fleet-footed approach to evading defenders – Disco Denis was one nickname coined – was devastating and Hickie was becoming a household name for both club and country, with the left wing position becoming his own.

His most prolific season in the Heineken Cup came in the 2002/03 campaign where he bagged five tries before Leinster were disappointingly beaten at the penultimate stage at Lansdowne Road by Perpignan, with rivals Munster also losing the other semi-final.

While he had many good days in Leinster colours, few were better than the first of April 2006. Leinster travelled to take on Toulouse away, a daunting fixture against a side that had conceded just 11 tries in the group stages. Leinster scored four that day to claim a famous win, with Hickie’s five-pointer the pick of the bunch in a pulsating contest.

Unfortunately from a Leinster point of view, they were unable to back up that scalp, losing to Munster at Lansdowne Road in the semi-final again, and the following season was Hickie’s final as a professional.

While he was exceptional on the field, his efforts off it were a little more questionable. Few will ever forget the Wavin pipe advertisements, and here is a trip down memory lane. Comedy gold.

He may have finished just before the long-awaited European success, but he more than most was instrumental in getting Leinster challenging for top honours, something Brian O’Driscoll was quick to point out in the aftermath of their victory.