WHILE THE NEXT fortnight will see the province primarily focusing on their duties in the United Rugby Championship, upcoming league bouts against the Lions and Ospreys are seen by many as a precursor to a much bigger affair for Leinster.

Following their respective victories over Toulon and Bath on the weekend just gone, Leinster and defending champions Bordeaux Bègles will face each other in the final of this season’s Investec Champions Cup at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao on Saturday, 23 May. Defeated at the penultimate phase by Northampton Saints 12 months ago, the Blues are set to compete in their fourth European top-tier decider in five years – and their fifth in total since last lifting the trophy in 2017-18.

Although he and the Leinster set-up are giving their full attention to the arrival of the Lions to the Aviva Stadium this Saturday for a round 17 URC clash, the province’s assistant coach Tyler Bleyendaal believes there are a number of similarities between the South Africans and Bordeaux that will aid their preparation for the latter side.

“We had that on in the background [Bordeaux’s victory against Bath] when we were doing our planning. They’re an awesome team. They’re big, they’re powerful, they’re fast. Pretty exciting to watch actually. They’re going to be a huge challenge,” Bleyendaal remarked at a Leinster media briefing in UCD yesterday.

“It’s always weird when you’re watching a game and you’re like ‘we’re going to play one of these teams’. You’re kind of working out how they’re playing each other. I think Bordeaux, they did well to get the win in the end. We turn the page to the Lions, but I think they’re great preparation as we go ahead.

“The Lions are awesome in transition. They offload, they attack. Got good size to them. The Bordeaux challenge is there, we understand it is there. We need to prepare our squad and get fresh and get cohesive. It’s an exciting time for the club.”

Courtesy of finishing at the summit of the regular season table, Leinster remained on home soil for the duration of the URC knockout rounds in 2024-25 – victories against Scarlets (quarter-final) and Glasgow Warriors (semi-final) at the Aviva being supplemented by a Grand Final success over the Bulls at Croke Park on 14 June of last year. 

In order to forge the same kind of route to league glory in the current term, fourth-place Leinster will possibly need to get the better of both the Lions and Ospreys in the next two weeks and hope some other results go their way.

Despite coming away with silverware in the form of the URC, Leinster – as mentioned above – fell short in their quest for another Champions Cup final spot last season. 

Yet even though challenging on two fronts can be tricky, Bleyendaal insisted this has been the province’s ambition from the very beginning of the present campaign. 

“That was our attitude from the start. It hasn’t been a straight road there, but we want to give ourselves the best chance to win both. We’ve made the final of Europe, which is great.

“We understand that having home advantage for as long as possible in the URC is a big advantage. That helped us last year, even though we didn’t get past the [Champions Cup] semi-final, but to have the Bulls at home was huge.”

While Robbie Henshaw will be absent as he enters the graduated return to play protocols following his early withdrawal against Toulon, there are a number of Leinster players who will be assessed before a final decision is made on their availability for Saturday’s game.

Tommy O’Brien, Jack Conan and Josh van der Flier all picked up knocks at the weekend and considering what lies in wait, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen might be tempted to rest this triumvirate regardless of whether they’re available for selection.

Tadhg Furlong is also reintegrating into training after missing out on the Toulon game and Leinster’s back-three options could be bolstered by the return of James Lowe and Jordan Larmour.

Both players have had extended spells on the treatment table, but are potentially in line for comeback appearances against the Lions if they come through this week’s training unscathed.

“Jordan has been out for a long while now, but he’s back and looking great. He’s full of energy and running around. It’s the same with James Lowe. It’s just about giving them enough to build up their loads and then expose them. Jordan is running around at full speed and looking good. James was out for less time, but it’s great to have them back,” Bleyendaal added.

“They are available, but we have to decide who is up and running. We have guys who need game time or are returning to fitness, but also others who need more cohesion. They are available, but it’s a competitive bunch so we won’t decide yet.”