REACHING THREE CHAMPIONS Cup finals in a row is a rare feat of consistency, even if that won’t feel like any consolation for Leinster now.
As they wallow in misery, all that will matter to them is that they lost those three consecutive deciders. Throw in the 2019 defeat to Saracens and the painful reality is that Leinster have been beaten in their four most recent Champions Cup final appearances.
Still, this points to Leinster’s ability to be among the best teams in the competition on a regular basis.
On Saturday, they were part of a sensational final. The quality was akin to Test rugby. It reminded this writer of that stunning World Cup quarter-final weekend in Paris last year when New Zealand and South Africa beat Ireland and France, respectively.
Leinster and Toulouse are two excellent teams and it’s doubtful whether anyone else in this season’s Champions Cup would have matched their ability in the decider. La Rochelle have been at this level in the last few seasons but they will have been disappointed with their effort in this campaign.
This is the elevated standard that Leinster are capable of playing at. Despite their inability to convert repeated visits to the Toulouse 22 into points, Leo Cullen and Jacques Nienaber’s side nearly won this final in the last minute. Ciarán Frawley’s drop goal attempt was just wide.
Leinster have no divine right to win the Champions Cup. They have been very close in these three finals but have been pipped by impressive La Rochelle and Toulouse teams. Let’s not forget that both of those clubs also have big budgets and fanbases like Leinster.
There is a growing perception that Leinster have failed if they don’t win the Champions Cup but that’s arguably disrespectful to the teams who have beaten them.
They have lots to learn from their latest disappointment but it would be a surprise if Leinster aren’t firmly in Champions Cup contention again next season.
The age profile of their squad is fairly healthy, even if back-up loosehead Cian Healy will be 37 by the time next season’s competition kicks off. Second-choice tighthead prop Michael Ala’alatoa is leaving this summer and there has still been no confirmation of a new signing there, so the prop depth is presumably something Cullen and his coaches have been discussing plenty.
Otherwise, most of the pieces that got Leinster so close to the title will be back for more.
“We’re still an incredible squad, we have top-end players across every position,” said Will Connors on Saturday in London.
“That’s not going to break us. We’re going to come together, we still have the URC to bounce back with, we want a strong finish there. It’s a really tight group, this group will never fade away.
“We’re all mad to get that extra star on, to create a legacy that we’re all striving to do. We go again next year, we’ll bounce back.”
They will be supplemented by the arrival of two world-class players in Springboks lock RG Snyman and All Blacks centre/fullback Jordie Barrett. Even one of those players might be the difference if Leinster get to another final. That’s why they’re spending the money on them. There’s no one quite like Antoine Dupont but we saw again on Saturday how one special player can be the difference.
The problem for Leinster is that Toulouse and Dupont are going nowhere. They’ll be back looking for title number seven next season, while La Rochelle will surely be as motivated as ever to bounce back before a few of their older key players lose their powers.
Northampton showed up impressively this season and will expect to get stronger, even if the inspirational Courtney Lawes is on the way out, while Bordeaux look like a club on the rise and the Bulls have weapons that can hurt any team.
All of them will hope to be better by next season, but Leinster will feel the same. There are clearly some harsh lessons in last weekend’s final for this team, individual players, and the coaching staff. There will be major regrets.
But this season is far from done. Leinster are expected to rotate for this Friday’s final regular-season URC game against Connacht at the RDS, all the more so because the frontliners just played more than 100 minutes in an ultra-intense Champions Cup final.
It’s an important game on Friday because Leinster need to leave themselves in position to finish in the top two if the Bulls lose away to the Sharks or Munster are beaten in Limerick by Ulster on Saturday.
The big guns will all be in harness for the URC quarter-finals on the weekend of 7/8 June, with Leinster guaranteed a home draw. However, they could be on the road if they reach the semi-finals the following weekend and might also face an away final if they progress to that on 22 June.
It’s obvious that the Champions Cup will always be the main prize Leinster chase but it’s gone again for now. The URC is a big honour, all the more so because they haven’t won it since 2021.
If they’re to finish this season with a trophy, they’ll need to carry some of the lessons from a third consecutive Champions Cup final defeat with them.
“The difference between this year and last year is we fully believed, even up to the last few minutes, that we were going to go and win,” said centre Robbie Henshaw.
“There is full confidence in the group that we will win. Obviously not this year but we’ll keep building and keep building. We can’t look back, you have to keep going forward.
“We have a chance to go out next week and put our best shot into the URC and try and win a trophy this year.”
As bad as Carley was, Leinster had enough in the forwards to win despite him, and should be looking squarely at themselves.
I made the point all week JOB had to start – yes, Larmour had a decent improvement this year, but he’s miles behind JOB offensively and in terms of being an extra playmaker. Great tackle of Lebel but contributed zero offensively.
Ross Byrne – when of when will Cullen learn he’s a 6.5/10 player ? That’s fine, but it’s not going to win you European Cups. What’s worse is the bigger the occasion, the more he goes hiding – he was taking 10m off kicks to touch to remove the risk of missing touch, and every time he got the ball (far from the gain line), he just passed it on. The difference Frawley made was obvious straight away.
Yes, he missed the drop goals but he stood up and took them. Last year in the final minutes Byrne hid, literally hid, when Leinster cd have had a relatively easy drop goal to win it. Frawley challenges the line, is a far better passer, stronger in defense, kicks longer and has better ‘balls’ – what exactly does he have to do to get ahead of a player limiting Leinster ?
Whilst Henshaw had a good game, he’s not a 13. Playing two 12s was a mistake with a rusty full back and a right win who does nothing. If they selected Henshaw at 12 and JOB at 13, this wd have been better (though JOB at 14 wd have made a similar improvement to the backline).
Whilst he had a good game until then, the penalty Doris gave away at the start of the second half of ET was horrendous – big players and big moments ; this is his second huge error after dropping the ball v NZ with a few minutes to go – both mistakes lost all momentum and changed the course of the games.
Porter is a freak, a 10/10 performance, he looked like he would have gone and played another 80 minutes. Sheehan excellent, Baird shouldn’t have come off and VDF was phenomenal when he came on.
A huge, huge missed opportunity. Toulouse deserved their win, but Leinster should have won it, and they only have themselves (and their coaches) to blame…
@Andrew Hurley: How do you not start JVDF in a final / big game?!?!
@Stanley Marsh: That was a huge error. Think someone on either the 42 pod or the Left Wing correctly pointed out a couple of weeks ago that Toulouse are not LR and there was less value in starting Connors but that argument seemed to dwindle away as it became apparent that Connors was going to get the nod.
@Justin Robinson: it was an error but then maybe VDF wd not have had the effect he had had he started.
But… Byrne. Christ, if ever there was a player who was the opposite of a mentality monster… he hid in every way possible. If Cullen doesn’t see this in the remaining games, he needs to go, otherwise Leinster are doomed to repeat the same mistakes.
@Andrew Hurley: Carley was fine , was fair to both sides .Can’t blame the players or the ref , was a mammoth match that went down to the wire and could have went either way as many have mentioned , could have been a Leinster win with that drop kick at the end of game ..wasn’t to be ..time to move on…
@Stuart: what about Roumat’s deliberate knock on ?
Or after Sheehan’d break, Dupont didn’t support his weight for a millisecond … pen and poss yellow card, rather than penalty Toulouse..
Well that is a glass half full article. Leinster will be stronger next season but unless they sign a world class 10, they will struggle.
@Liam23: why? Frawley looks as good as many OH’s out there and Prendergadt is a serious prospect. They don’t need an outside signing just better use of existing resources
Frustrating match for this Leinster fan. Even though we had numerous opportunities to win the match we failed to execute a killer blow due to poor skill on the ball and also determined Toulouse defence. I thought both our halfbacks underperformed. JGP had trouble getting the ball out of the rucks and Toulouse seemed to get away with a lot with their players lying on the wrong side and in the way of JGP. However fair play to Toulouse, they had their homework done.
When the dust settles I can look back with pride at the truly magnificent performance of Andrew Porter who has raised the bar for a loose head to a new level.
Finally, Leinster have for the third year running given millions of rugby fans around the world massive pleasure in watching the game of rugby being played at a level that few can reach. For that alone all Leinster fans and indeed all Irish ones should be immensely proud.
@Tom Reilly: I thought Leinster’s attack has gone back almost as much as their defense has improved this season. The defense is a real strength now but as a team, they are not effective going forward unless they are bullying teams upfront. It’ll be interesting to see how the URC pans out because both the Bulls and Munster will fancy their chances at home against this Leinster side.
It’s clear Snyman and Barrett are serious additions to an already strong squad for next season and you’d back Leinster to be there or thereabouts because of that but it’s clearly a big failure for this management team not to be 0/4 in their last EC finals. They’ve also not won URC since the safies joined. Not a good return from the current squad. A lot of people on outside can’t understand why Frawley isn’t getting a chance to stake a claim at 10. In my opinion, in Andy Farrell’s mind, he’s no 2 to Crowley. We’ll see what happens in the summer injury permitting
@Michael Corkery: Possibly because Cullen is a spoofer who doesn’t know what he’s doing? Sending in a rusty squad to face a battle-hardened Toulouse is just one of this many managerial shortcomings that have been exposed. The first team should’ve played against Ulster to ensure they were all match ready. They were all over the place in three first half of the final, was like they hadn’t touched a ball in weeks. And that’s not their fault, players gave it their all. It’s completely down to Cullen
@J M: to be fair, Toulouse rested their main squad the weekend before the final too.
@Barry McGarry: Indeed and AD hadn’t played a single minute since the semi. He didn’t look particularly rusty. What I would question is the value of being so wedded to a 6-2 that true first choice players are being left on the bench or (frequently and) lads having a cracking game are getting hauled off prematurely. Still, I would like to thank Leinster for their generous eight point contribution to Ulster’s season.
@Barry McGarry: Yes, but that’s about the only break they’ll have had in weeks.
@Justin Robinson: I think Leinster main problem at the moment is they have a clearly defined 1st XV and the rest. We heard for years about competition for places driving on training session etc. That competition appears to be gone, they have a European team and the rest. Why would the remainder bother their hole in training getting a team up to standard that they don’t have a hope of getting on bar injury. Leadership is a massive issue too. From Co-captains at the start of the year to suddenly anointing Doris. If you think you have too many players with captain material, the reality is you have none
@Barry McGarry: I did not know that. Might’ve worked in our advantage had our first team played ulster
@Barry McGarry: but Toulouse played till then. Leinster lads didn’t play for two weeks before the semi. All those dropped balls in the first half and missed passes, were they down to rustinesss or were they struggling mentally? Unless there was another reason but both those are clear management failings. As a Munster supporter I don’t want Cullen to leave Leinster but at an Ireland supporter I’m very worried he’ll get that gig after Farrell.
@Barry McGarry: I suppose that’s inevitable when you’re fielding the international team but some excellent players from Leinster’s wider squad have moved on or retired over the last five years or so. I like your captaincy point. Fewer and fewer proper captains in rugby and sport generally these days though. Hendy is Ulster through and through but he could at best be described as a reluctant leader.
@Ciaran Kennedy: I don’t think Cullen will get the Ireland job. The prevailing trend in recent years is promoting internally. I’d have a wager Simon Easterby will follow after Farrell
@Barry McGarry: Easterby, O’Connell and O’Gara should be ahead of Cullen in terms of succeeding Farrell. Cullen is anyway more a hands off DOR type so needs to be combined with a senior head coach type. That’s a good model in club rugby where you are overseeing a lot of day to day with multiple teams. Cullen’s profile doesn’t match the Irish head coach role
@Michael Corkery: On the face of it, Frawley should indeed be playing 10. But then we forfeit the right to go 6-2 with a straight face. At the business end of the season, that’s a significant drawback.
@Michael Corkery: on the other hand you could say that Leinster have done incredibly well to be in 4 finals since 2019. What other team has done that? To always be in the mix either in the final or semi for the last number of years is a serious achievement. Granted, they have not won since 2018 but only Saracens, Exeter, Toulouse and La Rochelle have won since then so there’s a lot of teams out there that have not done nearly as well as Leinster and only Toulouse have won more. Choker’s they are most certainly not.
@Marcus: Exactly. We’ve become spoilt. Some of us remember the decade of playing champagne rugby and never reaching a European final. More of us remember the dark days of Matt O’Connor when we played unwatchable rugby and didn’t even qualify for Europe. Now we’ve reached 3 consecutive finals and lost by an aggregate 4 regular time points.
@J M: Cullen isn’t a spoofer. He’s captained Leinster to 3 Champions cups… as a coach Leinster have got to 5 Champions cups finals in 7 years. They have won one, drawn one and lost 3 by tiny margins. Law of averages says Leinster will win one in the next few years and it will be all the sweeter for the wait!
Just to note that I thought the RTE commentary team on Saturday (Donal Lenihan and I can’t remember who the commentator was) was a joke.
Normally you can rely on RTE to be reasonably down the middle when it comes to not being biased towards whatever Irish team is playing but I’ve never seen anything like Saturday.
The French are notoriously always biased towards all French teams and my daugher joked halfway through the 2nd half that we may as well switch over and watch them because at least they’re so bad it’s funny.
Really poor and very unexpected.
@Stanley Marsh: Lenihan was like a Leinster cheerleader on Saturday. Pathetic really. Hugh Cahill is a pathetic excuse for a commentator. Absolutely clueless
Feel sorry for Frawley, he came on and made a big impact , if he nails that drop goal everything is different for both Leinster and him.
Hope Leo sees sense to start him for rest of URC and see if he can steer us home
Commiserations to Leinster fans.
It’s hardly conceivable that after 2018 Leinster would lose 4 finals in 6 years as I really thought you’d go on the dominate Europe.
And amazingly Saturday was the first time that I thought Leinster looked like the occasion was getting to them.
Someone on the TV commentary even said they were dropping a lot of balls in the warmup.
It’s like with every final they lose an extra few tonnes of weight is added to their shoulders.
Good morning my Eastern friends
I think the reason they signed Barret is they want to move Frawley into the starting 10 position. Barret like Frawley is a utility back, so why would they need two of them? They probably realise that Frawley is a better option than Byrne but are nervous about using him in big games him due to his limited experience in that position. Byrne can still be used to close out games and as injury cover but they need to accelerate Prendergast as soon as possible.
@Neil “Montyman65” Montgomery: Maybe Frawley and Predergast should be starting and bench for a few games. Ulster is a must win game and with JOB back he can play anywhere in the back three or centre. Keenan at 15 and Lowe again at 11. Foley on the bench to cover at 9. 1-8 normal team and bench for a 5-3 split but with Molony in the 23. If Ringrose back put him at 13 and Henshaw 12.
Give the other half backs a rest to focus on their game and how to develop/evolve their game, which needs addressing. Finally, when a player is injured and you have options take him off the pitch ASAP.
@Con Cussed: Looks like Keenan is gone as was predicted last week to the Seven’s best of luck to him and the lads. They have done great this year.
JOB to 15 instead. Lowe/Russel at 14/bench.