Leinster not dwelling on back-to-back Finals failures
SPOTLIGHT: Leinster flyhalf Ross Byrne has labelled the Champions Cup ‘an incredibly special competition’ as the Irish province bid for a record-equalling fifth EPCR elite crown at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
Having grown up watching their 2009, 2011 and 2012 triumphs, before being a member of the squad that landed the 2018 title without playing in the final, the 29-year-old Irish international knows how much a victory over Stade Toulousain would mean.
“It means a hell of a lot,” he said.
“It’s an incredibly special competition and as a kid growing up and wanting to watch it every year, I was fortunate enough to go to a few finals and watch Leinster win it.
“So, I think for so many of us, as we’ve grown up supporting this team, watching them win European Cups, it does make it extra special and quite unique.”
“I can’t fault our lads efforts.” 💬
Leo Cullen spoke after tonight’s interpro in Belfast.
#ULSvLEI #FromTheGroundUp pic.twitter.com/2SRTuQam89
ADVERTISEMENT— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) May 18, 2024
Leinster have come so close to equalling Stade Toulousain’s record of five titles the last two seasons, only to fall short against Stade Rochelais in both finals.
However, Byrne insisted they have not been going through the 21-24 and 26-27 losses in fine detail, trying to find out why they were beaten.
“We’ve kind of delved into them over the past few weeks, just little learnings here and there, but no, we haven’t been dwelling on them at all,” he said.
“Look, we’ve got great experience as a group being in this, going into the final and obviously over the last couple of weeks with the knockout games.
“So, it’s nothing too different in terms of our preparation. We will prepare very similarly to how we’ve done over the last few weeks. It’s just trying to get our prep right and get ourselves in the best possible shape.
“For us, it’s just making sure that we’re on top of all our details so that when it comes to Saturday, each player kind of focuses on their own individual performance and they’re not distracted by other things. Then hopefully we can deliver on Saturday.”
#⃣ICYMI An important #injury update ahead of the @ChampionsCup #Final face-off between @leinsterrugby & @StadeToulousain 🏆#Rugby🏉#RugbyUnion🌍
🔗https://t.co/CsA1Wfxw5V pic.twitter.com/Ebhbk4lTWw— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) May 21, 2024
Source: @ChampionsCup
