Leinster in recovery mode as they attempt to salvage their season
For the first time in four years, Leinster will watch the Champions Cup final from afar, still coming to terms with the pain of missing out on European club rugby’s biggest day.
The scars of the semi-final defeat to Northampton Saints still linger, indeed they will linger for a while yet, as Leinster were left to rue a disappointing performance that ultimately cost them a place in what would have been a record fourth consecutive Champions Cup final.
As a result, ‘the drive for five’ will stretch into its eighth year, as that fifth star continues to prove elusive for Leinster, who have not lifted the trophy since 2018.
The season is not yet over, however, and for all that Leinster have never made any secret of the fact that they judge themselves on the Champions Cup, the reality is, Leo Cullen’s men have not won the URC since South Africa’s big teams joined the league in 2021.
Taking all of that into consideration, it is vital that Leinster make the most of having finished top of the regular season URC table by going on to be crowned champions next month, and thus avoiding a fourth trophyless year on the bounce.
Such a scenario would have been inconceivable a few months ago, as Leinster looked imperious by keeping Harlequins and Glasgow scoreless in their Champions Cup round of 16 and quarter-final victories before Saints ruthlessly picked apart their defence to bring them crashing back down to earth.
A few weeks on, it’s difficult to shake the sense that Leinster slipped up in a year when the stars appeared to be aligning, especially considering their nemesis Toulouse, shorn of several injured key players including Antoine Dupont, were out of the equation having also been knocked out in the last four by an exciting Bordeaux team who will take on Northampton in Cardiff next Saturday.
For all the doom and gloom surrounding the province over the last fortnight, it’s worth remembering that the age profile and quality of this Leinster squad is pretty good in that they will almost certainly be back competing at the top table next season and beyond.
That said, in order to prove it to themselves as much as the critics, Leinster are now under major pressure to win the URC. Getting over that final hurdle, which has eluded them in recent years, is a mental battle more than anything, yet if Leinster do claim the URC, it would help salvage their season, all the while setting them up well to bounce back next year.
By the time the 2025/26 campaign begins, the Leinster squad will have a somewhat fresh look to it. As Jordie Barrett prepares to play his final few games in blue before being replaced by his All Blacks centre partner Rieko Ioane, Leinster are also losing the likes of veteran duo Cian Healy and Ross Byrne, as well as important squad players like Lee Barron, Michael Milne, Rob Russell and Liam Turner.
Leinster will be determined to send-off their departing players with a URC winners medal in their pocket, especially Healy, who is set to bring the curtain down on his illustrious 18-year professional career.
In seasons gone by, Leinster have been accused of taking their eye off the ball when it comes to the URC, not least two years ago when a much-changed team were beaten by Munster and Jack Crowley’s late drop goal in the semi-final, but with their Champions Cup dream dead for another season, there are no excuses this time around.
Leinster have been impressively consistent across the course of the campaign, but they must learn from past mistakes by not undoing all of their hard work. Their cause will be helped by the fact that, as top seeds, Leinster will have home advantage throughout the knockout stages of the URC, including the final if they were to get there on June 14.
A hapless Zebre side felt the full wrath of Leinster’s anger when Cullen’s men put 76 points and 12 tries on the Italians, and while that facile win did not make amends for falling short in the Champions Cup, it did at least help begin the healing process.
That was also aided when Andy Farrell selected 12 Leinster players as part of this summer’s Lions tour to Australia. Forwards Jack Conan, Tadhg Furlong, Rónan Kelleher, Joe McCarthy, Andrew Porter, James Ryan, Dan Sheehan and Josh van der Flier are joined in the Lions squad by backs Jamison Gibson-Park, Hugo Keenan, James Lowe and Garry Ringrose.
There was disappointment for the likes of Robbie Henshaw and Sam Prendergast, but they are both good enough to bounce back and perhaps force their way into the equation should an injury arise – just as it did for the luckless Leinster and Ireland captain Caelan Doris.
Doris looked like a certainty to be the Lions starting No 8 while there is a growing feeling that Farrell would also likely have selected the Mayo native as captain but for the serious shoulder injury that he suffered in the costly loss to Saints. Losing Doris for up to six months compounded a tough day at the office for Leinster, but they must now turn the page by making sure they have something to show for all of their efforts this season.
Although they will enjoy home comforts for as long as they remain in the URC, the path to glory remains laced with danger.
Unlike Leinster, the Bulls, Sharks and Stormers prioritise the URC over the Champions Cup, which means the South Africans are primed to peak over the coming weeks, while defending champions Glasgow Warriors will not give up their title without a fight.
It’s shaping up to be an exciting finish to the league season, and for Leinster, that means using the hurt of the last few weeks as fuel for winning the URC.