GARRY RINGROSE RETAINS fond memories of his last appearance at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao.

A little over eight years have passed since he played the full 80 minutes at outside centre as Leinster claimed their fourth European top-tier title with a 15-12 victory over Racing 92 in the Champions Cup decider

Heavy rain and highstakes in front of 52,282 fans on 12 May, 2018 meant a contest packed with attacking flair turned into an attritional affair.

This wasn’t something Leinster were overly concerned with as they added to the previous crowns garnered in 2009, 2011 and 2012 during the Heineken Cup era. Their search for a fifth star is ongoing, and their latest quest for European glory brings them back to Bilbao on Saturday for another final showdown – this time against reigning champions Bordeaux Bègles.

“I don’t think I left the hotel too much. I remember the stadium and the tunnel and the atmosphere. It’s a really cool stadium and the crowd is right on top of you. In terms of those specifics, even seeing a few videos of it, it triggers a few memories,” Ringrose said.

“When we heard at the start of that year that the final was going to be in Bilbao, we thought the sun might be out. Then on the day it is lashing rain.

“There’s a bit of everything over there this week weather-wise, but finals can be like that and our experiences of finals is that they can fall on fine margins. They can be high-scoring or low-scoring, so we’ll have to deal with whatever comes.”

For those three aforementioned Heineken Cup successes in the space of four seasons, Isa Nacewa was a pivotal figure in the Leinster back-three.

The New Zealander (who picked up a single cap for Fiji at the 2003 Rugby World Cup) subsequently retired as a player in 2013, only to make a comeback for Leinster two years later following a stint as a mental skills coach with the Blues in his native Auckland.

He eventually brought a permanent end to his playing days in the summer of 2018, but not before helping Leinster to secure a Champions Cup/Pro14 double as club captain in his final season with the province.

Ringrose remembers there was a huge motivation to give Nacewa an ideal send-off ahead of their European final against Racing 92 and it was fitting that his late brace of penalties squeezed Leinster over the line in the end.

“Unbelievably lucky as a young player to get the chance to play with him coming into Leinster, because he was coming out of retirement just as I came in. I remember thinking ‘what’s this about, coming out of retirement?’

“It makes sense when you get to rub shoulders with him and how influential he was on the whole group and on me personally. It was a big day for him and we wanted to finish on a high for him. That was definitely part of the motivation in 2018.”

Since that victory in 2018, the eastern province have lost four Champions Cup finals – including three on the bounce from 2022 to 2024. Although he was missing with a shoulder injury when Leinster lost to Toulouse at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium two years ago, Ringrose was a starter for their 2019 defeat to Saracens as well as their back-to-back reversals against La Rochelle in 2022 and 2023.

Their opponents this weekend are seeking to become the sixth club to defend their crown in Europe’s top-tier, having claimed a breakthrough triumph at the expense of Northampton Saints in last season’s decider.

While he is unsure if they have improved as a side in the past 12 months, Ringrose is as impressed with the work-rate of Bordeaux as he is by their much-vaunted attacking flair.

“I feel like they are growing their game constantly, but I admire how hard they work for each other. There is obviously some of the tries they score that are incredible. Very few players and teams in world rugby can do that. That gets a lot of attention, but seeing how hard they work for each other,” Ringrose said.

“It’s a team that won last year and doesn’t have an ounce of complacency in how they play. I don’t know if it’s improvement because they have always done it, but what is impressive about them is how hard they work for each other and the opportunities they create from unseen work.”