IT WASN’T SOMETHING he had fully grasped before arriving on these shores, but Robin McBryde has come to realise how important the European Champions Cup is to Leinster and Irish rugby as a whole.
Following the completion of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, McBryde brought the curtain down on a 13-year spell as part of the backroom team with his native Wales to become an assistant coach at Leinster.
Taking over from current Ireland men’s scrum coach John Fogarty within Leo Cullen’s set-up, the former Grand Slam-winning hooker arrived at the eastern province just a few months on from their defeat to Saracens in a Champions Cup decider at St James’ Park in Newcastle on 11 May, 2019.
Despite featuring in the Heineken Cup as a player, it is only when he joined Leinster that he truly got a sense of what Europe’s top-tier means to their supporters. He has experienced the lows of three consecutive Champions Cup showpiece losses (2022-2024) during his time with the Blues, but McBryde is hopeful they can finally go a step further against defending champions Bordeaux Bègles at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao this Saturday.
“There’s a history and there’s a bit of a legacy with regards to the Champions Cup and Leinster. You’re right, I didn’t realise how much it meant to Leinster as a province, but I fully understand now. There’s a different feel about it, so it’s a bit bittersweet at the moment when you look back,” McBryde remarked at a Leinster media briefing in UCD yesterday.
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“As great as those journeys were, we didn’t win at the end of the day. The fact that we’ve given ourselves another opportunity, another crack at it, it’s not something that you take lightly. It’s a competition littered with quality teams and we’ve given ourselves the opportunity to turn up on Saturday and have a go against the reigning champions.”
While the likes of Ryan Baird, RG Snyman, Jack Boyle and the Connacht-bound Will Connors are all currently sidelined, Leinster are set to have a strong hand to pick from for the latest bid to add a fifth star to their jersey.
Although Hugh Cooney – who is yet to make his European debut – is ruled out for the rest of the season after picking up an injury in last Saturday’s United Rugby Championship encounter with Ospreys at the Aviva Stadium, Tommy O’Brien, Brian Deeny, Joshua Kenny and Paddy McCarthy are all due to be assessed further this week before a decision is made on their availability.
O’Brien is possibly the only one of this quartet who has a realistic shot at being involved in Bilbao this weekend, but there will be some intriguing selection calls for the Leinster coaching team to consider. McBryde revealed yesterday the team for Saturday’s game is yet to be finalised and with 38 players seeing game time at some point across URC fixtures against Ospreys and the Lions in the past fortnight, there are a number of options for Leinster to explore.
“A couple of games before a final, do you play certain so-and-so, do you not? Do you hold them back? If you do give them the opportunity, are they going to come off second? I think we’ve got it pretty right on this occasion. We’ve sort of spread the majority of the squad across the last two games and so everybody’s had a bit of rugby under their belt.
“You want to give people an opportunity to prove themselves. Some players took the opportunity, others maybe didn’t make the most of it or whatever. It’s great to have come through those games pretty much unscathed. I know Hugh Cooney picked up an injury on the weekend, but in the main I think everybody’s got a full bill of health.”
Leinster will certainly need all available hands on deck in Bilbao as they look to topple a Bordeaux side that claimed their maiden Champions Cup crown with a final victory at the expense of Northampton Saints in Cardiff on 24 May of last year. Like Leinster, the Top 14 outfit have enjoyed an unbeaten march towards this season’s decider and McBryde has unsurprisingly been impressed with what Yannick Bru’s charges have brought to the competition.
“I don’t know where to start really. They’ve got some great individuals, but they play collectively very well. They’ve got a great understanding. I think they’ve obviously linked up the line-ups with the backs particularly well,” McBryde added.
Cameron Woki after Bordeaux's semi-final win. Gary Carr / INPHO
Gary Carr / INPHO / INPHO
“I think Cameron Woki [back-row] is outstanding as an individual, but the way that he plays with the 9 and 10, they’re obviously all on the same page. They’ve got quality throughout the team, they’ve got quality on the bench as well. I could go on really, but they’re a pretty all-round good team.”
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'I didn't realise how much it meant to Leinster as a province, but I fully understand now'
IT WASN’T SOMETHING he had fully grasped before arriving on these shores, but Robin McBryde has come to realise how important the European Champions Cup is to Leinster and Irish rugby as a whole.
Following the completion of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, McBryde brought the curtain down on a 13-year spell as part of the backroom team with his native Wales to become an assistant coach at Leinster.
Taking over from current Ireland men’s scrum coach John Fogarty within Leo Cullen’s set-up, the former Grand Slam-winning hooker arrived at the eastern province just a few months on from their defeat to Saracens in a Champions Cup decider at St James’ Park in Newcastle on 11 May, 2019.
Despite featuring in the Heineken Cup as a player, it is only when he joined Leinster that he truly got a sense of what Europe’s top-tier means to their supporters. He has experienced the lows of three consecutive Champions Cup showpiece losses (2022-2024) during his time with the Blues, but McBryde is hopeful they can finally go a step further against defending champions Bordeaux Bègles at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao this Saturday.
“There’s a history and there’s a bit of a legacy with regards to the Champions Cup and Leinster. You’re right, I didn’t realise how much it meant to Leinster as a province, but I fully understand now. There’s a different feel about it, so it’s a bit bittersweet at the moment when you look back,” McBryde remarked at a Leinster media briefing in UCD yesterday.
“As great as those journeys were, we didn’t win at the end of the day. The fact that we’ve given ourselves another opportunity, another crack at it, it’s not something that you take lightly. It’s a competition littered with quality teams and we’ve given ourselves the opportunity to turn up on Saturday and have a go against the reigning champions.”
While the likes of Ryan Baird, RG Snyman, Jack Boyle and the Connacht-bound Will Connors are all currently sidelined, Leinster are set to have a strong hand to pick from for the latest bid to add a fifth star to their jersey.
Although Hugh Cooney – who is yet to make his European debut – is ruled out for the rest of the season after picking up an injury in last Saturday’s United Rugby Championship encounter with Ospreys at the Aviva Stadium, Tommy O’Brien, Brian Deeny, Joshua Kenny and Paddy McCarthy are all due to be assessed further this week before a decision is made on their availability.
O’Brien is possibly the only one of this quartet who has a realistic shot at being involved in Bilbao this weekend, but there will be some intriguing selection calls for the Leinster coaching team to consider. McBryde revealed yesterday the team for Saturday’s game is yet to be finalised and with 38 players seeing game time at some point across URC fixtures against Ospreys and the Lions in the past fortnight, there are a number of options for Leinster to explore.
“A couple of games before a final, do you play certain so-and-so, do you not? Do you hold them back? If you do give them the opportunity, are they going to come off second? I think we’ve got it pretty right on this occasion. We’ve sort of spread the majority of the squad across the last two games and so everybody’s had a bit of rugby under their belt.
“You want to give people an opportunity to prove themselves. Some players took the opportunity, others maybe didn’t make the most of it or whatever. It’s great to have come through those games pretty much unscathed. I know Hugh Cooney picked up an injury on the weekend, but in the main I think everybody’s got a full bill of health.”
Leinster will certainly need all available hands on deck in Bilbao as they look to topple a Bordeaux side that claimed their maiden Champions Cup crown with a final victory at the expense of Northampton Saints in Cardiff on 24 May of last year. Like Leinster, the Top 14 outfit have enjoyed an unbeaten march towards this season’s decider and McBryde has unsurprisingly been impressed with what Yannick Bru’s charges have brought to the competition.
“I don’t know where to start really. They’ve got some great individuals, but they play collectively very well. They’ve got a great understanding. I think they’ve obviously linked up the line-ups with the backs particularly well,” McBryde added.
“I think Cameron Woki [back-row] is outstanding as an individual, but the way that he plays with the 9 and 10, they’re obviously all on the same page. They’ve got quality throughout the team, they’ve got quality on the bench as well. I could go on really, but they’re a pretty all-round good team.”
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Champions Cup Leinster Robin McBryde Rugby