GETTING OVER THE final hurdle in Europe has eluded the province in more recent times, but Rónan Kelleher and Leinster remain hopeful past European experiences will stand to them at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao on Saturday week.
While he only lasted 14 minutes owing to a shoulder injury, Kelleher was a starter when Leinster lost out to La Rochelle in an Investec Champions Cup decider at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on 28 May 2022. He was subsequently introduced off the bench as the eastern province lost another showpiece to Ronan O’Gara’s Top 14 outfit 12 months later in the Aviva Stadium and Kelleher played a similar role when the Blues suffered a third consecutive Champions Cup final defeat to Toulouse (after extra time) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2024.
Having fallen short to Northampton Saints at the penultimate phase of last season’s tournament, Leinster are now back in another European decider against defending champions Bordeaux Bègles in nine days’ time. Yet despite coming from the same league as the aforementioned duo of La Rochelle and Toulouse, Kelleher views Les Girondins as an entirely different prospect.
“They were all equally gut-wrenching [the previous final defeats]. It was difficult to take at the time. Going back to the first year in Marseille, it was nip and tuck for the whole game. The second year at home, we got up a big lead and then lost it. They kind of reeled us back in,” Kelleher remarked at a Leinster media briefing in UCD on Monday.
“Toulouse was equally as to-and-fro as well and went to extra-time. Again, you can just hope those experiences will stand to us. Now, it’s a very different situation. A very different team that we are facing in Bordeaux than we faced in the past. The motivation is definitely there for us to try and do a job there next week.”
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Kelleher and the Leinster bench watch the 2022 final. Billy Stickland / INPHO
Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO
Although Kelleher is yet to taste victory in a European final, the former St Michael’s College student has had far better luck in league deciders with Leinster. After being the starting hooker for Pro14 showpiece wins over interprovincial rivals Ulster (2019-20) and Munster (2020-21), Kelleher played the closing 24 minutes of Leinster’s United Rugby Championship Grand Final success over the Bulls at Croke Park on 14 June of last year.
They have registered six defeats from 17 games thus far in the current regular season campaign, but Leo Cullen’s men still find themselves third in the URC standings – just behind Glasgow Warriors and the Stormers – heading into their final round clash with Ospreys at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Should either Glasgow or the Stormers slip up on Friday night in their respective visits to Ulster and Cardiff, Leinster will embark on their bout against Ospreys knowing a win could secure them a top-two finish in the regular season table.
“That’s the thing. We obviously have to hope Ulster do us a solid or something like that. We’ll see. From our perspective, we’re trying to get as many points on the board as possible. We’ll try and do that this weekend. Hopefully do a job on Ospreys,” Kelleher acknowledged.
“We’ll see how it goes and we’ll deal with whatever comes after that. From our perspective, we know we have to do a job this weekend. Otherwise, we could find ourselves in a tough spot in the URC play-offs if we don’t.”
In making his Leinster senior debut against Southern Kings in February 2019, Kelleher followed in the footsteps of his older brother Cian – who made seven appearances for the Blues before switching to Connacht in the summer of 2016.
Cian Kelleher (file photo). Inpho / Billy Stickland
Inpho / Billy Stickland / Billy Stickland
The elder Kelleher later moved back to his home province in advance of the 2019-20 club season and went on to enjoy another 21 outings with Leinster before joining forces with the London-based English Championship side Ealing Trailfinders in 2021.
He helped Trailfinders to a brace of second-tier league titles in advance of retiring from professional rugby a little under two years ago, but as his younger sibling explained, he is quite content with life at the moment.
“He has finished up now and he’s just living over in London, enjoying life. He has got a real job now [as a junior broker with TP ICAP], he keeps telling me. He was at Ealing there for three years. He enjoyed his time there,” Kelleher added of his brother.
“It was obviously a weird situation. When he went there initially, he was there under the illusion that they would go up if they won. Obviously, they won the first year. They didn’t go up [due to their ground not meeting the criteria for the English Premiership].
“The second year, they lost it near the end. The third year, they won it again with the promise of going up again. That just never happened.”
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'You can just hope those experiences will stand to us' - Leinster's Euro vision
GETTING OVER THE final hurdle in Europe has eluded the province in more recent times, but Rónan Kelleher and Leinster remain hopeful past European experiences will stand to them at San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao on Saturday week.
While he only lasted 14 minutes owing to a shoulder injury, Kelleher was a starter when Leinster lost out to La Rochelle in an Investec Champions Cup decider at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on 28 May 2022. He was subsequently introduced off the bench as the eastern province lost another showpiece to Ronan O’Gara’s Top 14 outfit 12 months later in the Aviva Stadium and Kelleher played a similar role when the Blues suffered a third consecutive Champions Cup final defeat to Toulouse (after extra time) at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2024.
Having fallen short to Northampton Saints at the penultimate phase of last season’s tournament, Leinster are now back in another European decider against defending champions Bordeaux Bègles in nine days’ time. Yet despite coming from the same league as the aforementioned duo of La Rochelle and Toulouse, Kelleher views Les Girondins as an entirely different prospect.
“They were all equally gut-wrenching [the previous final defeats]. It was difficult to take at the time. Going back to the first year in Marseille, it was nip and tuck for the whole game. The second year at home, we got up a big lead and then lost it. They kind of reeled us back in,” Kelleher remarked at a Leinster media briefing in UCD on Monday.
“Toulouse was equally as to-and-fro as well and went to extra-time. Again, you can just hope those experiences will stand to us. Now, it’s a very different situation. A very different team that we are facing in Bordeaux than we faced in the past. The motivation is definitely there for us to try and do a job there next week.”
Although Kelleher is yet to taste victory in a European final, the former St Michael’s College student has had far better luck in league deciders with Leinster. After being the starting hooker for Pro14 showpiece wins over interprovincial rivals Ulster (2019-20) and Munster (2020-21), Kelleher played the closing 24 minutes of Leinster’s United Rugby Championship Grand Final success over the Bulls at Croke Park on 14 June of last year.
They have registered six defeats from 17 games thus far in the current regular season campaign, but Leo Cullen’s men still find themselves third in the URC standings – just behind Glasgow Warriors and the Stormers – heading into their final round clash with Ospreys at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
Should either Glasgow or the Stormers slip up on Friday night in their respective visits to Ulster and Cardiff, Leinster will embark on their bout against Ospreys knowing a win could secure them a top-two finish in the regular season table.
“That’s the thing. We obviously have to hope Ulster do us a solid or something like that. We’ll see. From our perspective, we’re trying to get as many points on the board as possible. We’ll try and do that this weekend. Hopefully do a job on Ospreys,” Kelleher acknowledged.
“We’ll see how it goes and we’ll deal with whatever comes after that. From our perspective, we know we have to do a job this weekend. Otherwise, we could find ourselves in a tough spot in the URC play-offs if we don’t.”
In making his Leinster senior debut against Southern Kings in February 2019, Kelleher followed in the footsteps of his older brother Cian – who made seven appearances for the Blues before switching to Connacht in the summer of 2016.
The elder Kelleher later moved back to his home province in advance of the 2019-20 club season and went on to enjoy another 21 outings with Leinster before joining forces with the London-based English Championship side Ealing Trailfinders in 2021.
He helped Trailfinders to a brace of second-tier league titles in advance of retiring from professional rugby a little under two years ago, but as his younger sibling explained, he is quite content with life at the moment.
“He has finished up now and he’s just living over in London, enjoying life. He has got a real job now [as a junior broker with TP ICAP], he keeps telling me. He was at Ealing there for three years. He enjoyed his time there,” Kelleher added of his brother.
“It was obviously a weird situation. When he went there initially, he was there under the illusion that they would go up if they won. Obviously, they won the first year. They didn’t go up [due to their ground not meeting the criteria for the English Premiership].
“The second year, they lost it near the end. The third year, they won it again with the promise of going up again. That just never happened.”
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Champions Cup go again Leinster Rugby