WITH ONE TROPHY gone, Leinster now turn their focus to Saturday’s United Rugby Championship quarter-final meeting with Glasgow Warriors.
Usually the prospect of knockout rugby would be enough to send players bouncing into training, but things feel a little different around Leinster HQ this week.
Saturday saw the province narrowly miss out on a fifth European star as La Rochelle came from behind to snatch a dramatic victory in the Champions Cup final.
Having led from the fourth minute until the 79th in Marseille, Leinster travelled back to Dublin empty-handed, the hot favourites beaten by a superbly organised, well-drilled La Rochelle side.
“It was sad the last two days,” says hooker Dan Sheehan.
“Quite nice being back in the building with the lads. We made sure to stay close to each other. Everyone was reflecting on their own parts of the game and what maybe they could have done that would have had the impact. Yeah, quite a hard one to get the head around. Nice to be back training today anyway.
“I’ve found it hard. The last few days, being at home when you’re left with your own thoughts, like could you have influenced it or were you missing something, you know what I mean?
We came in yesterday (Monday) and the (matchday) 23 had a meeting. We went through the game. Had open discussions, what do we think of different areas. We went through every aspect of the game. Breakdown, attack, defence. Scrum, line-out. All of that. Check the box, did we execute our plan? Was it a system error? Was it an individual error?
“It wasn’t really digging in at anyone, it was just making sure things were addressed. I think that was more important so that maybe things that were on people’s minds were checked off and they had an answer.
“Once people have answers I think it’s a lot easier. Because if things weren’t addressed, it plays in your head for the summer basically. It wasn’t a case of completely forgetting it. We had to make sure we addressed it, but then we talked about completely turning the page. Shut up and move on after the review. Then it’s about going on to Glasgow.”
Having lit up the Champions Cup en route to the final, Leinster fell oddly flat just when it mattered most. While their defensive work was largely superb against La Rochelle their attack never really found its rhythm, while their execution and setpiece also let them down.
Sheehan admits the Monday review was an uncomfortable experience.
The way the game unfolded, the way it came down to the last sort of play, then going through maybe some big moments in the game which shifted momentum which was tough to look back on… But I think there are maybe a few lessons in there for us and hopefully (we can) bring it into this week.
“We’re quite lucky it is not the last game of the season and it won’t be hanging out over our heads. At least we have a chance to end our season on a high.”
Sheehan came in early for starting hooker Rónan Kelleher in Marseille, the latter making way with a shoulder injury just 14 minutes into the game.
And with Kelleher ruled out of the Glasgow fixture, the 23-year-old will likely need to deliver another big shift this weekend.
A win over Glasgow would set Leinster up for a home semi-final against either the Bulls or the Sharks the following week for a place in the 18 June URC final.
Like, so far this season has been great for us and we don’t want to have nothing to show for it at the end. We got to a Champions Cup final, which was great, obviously we didn’t win, but if we let it slip now and give up on the season it’s pointless, because the whole season will be marked off as a dud.
“So I think it’s incredibly important that we make sure we focus on the Glasgow game so that we can roll in three weeks in a row and hopefully win three weeks in a row.
“Within the group our goal was to do the double. One of them is gone now. It was a pretty quick turnover to make sure we are ready for Glasgow. The last thing we need now is to get stuck on what happened on Saturday and rock up to the RDS on Saturday and have Glasgow – who have had the last two weeks to prep for us – and they know what’s coming.”
Meanwhile Leinster scrum coach Robin McBryde says last weekend’s defeat in France won’t have a major influence on selection for the Glasgow game.
“It was always going to be a big game anyway,” McBryde explains.
“Selection is always going to be difficult, whether we won or lost on the weekend.
“Some players will deserve an opportunity on merit, so we are just going through that process really. That’s all I can say, because of the nature and the quality of the players in the squad, it’s not a straightforward decision in any position really.
“Everyone has really performed when they have been given the opportunity, but everybody has got a role to play. Everybody should feel significant in the role they play to prepare the match-day 23.”
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