Kieran Frawley of Leinster (left), Jimmy O'Brien and Jack Conan prepare for Saturday's final against La Rochelle. Photo: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile via Getty Images.
A triumphant smile appears on Brian O'Driscoll's face, hiding the ferocious warlike spirit that defined him as one of the best in the world. the greatest centres.
O'Driscoll has won three Heineken Cup titles in his 15-year career at Leinster and has no doubt that his former province will beat the champions' Cup final against their recent enemy La Rochelle.
"They need to win this match" says the former captain of Ireland. "They do. I don't want to put more pressure on them, but they know it themselves. They know they have to win this tournament"
The Leinsters themselves know this. It's been five years since Leo Cullen's team won the last of their four titles, and despite being dubbed season after season as one of Europe's all-star teams, there is a growing sense that they, too, are guilty of stumbling. often at the last hurdle.
Leinster may have provided the lion's share of Ireland's Grand Slam winners, but when it comes to the holy grail of the European Cup, what's missing is in the moments before the white-hot big events, in particular against heavyweights.
In addition to what is effectively the home advantage of the final at Aviva Stadium, there is an additional emotional attachment to the final game of Stuart Lancaster's seven-year tenure as head coach. The former England manager was a defining influence in making Leinster into arguably the most cohesive side in the game.
Brian O'Driscoll captained Leinster, the 2009 Heineken Cup winners. Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images. about your semi-finals and finals" O'Driscoll added.
"People only talk about winning teams. I don't know who the Chicago Bulls beat in the NBA Finals in the 1990s when they won three NBA horse racing titles. Nobody cares. They only care about the standard and quality of the winning team.
"Ultimately, it will be a disappointing outcome for the last match of the Stuart Lancaster era with Leo if they didn't win this one because they were in the other two finals and were in the other semi-finals.
«They were the best team in Europe, most of the time, all the way to the semi-final and the final stage, but you have to show it in the big one and I think they will.» time around."
Leinster's 16-15 URC semi-final loss to Munster last weekend, with Cullen fielding a second team — partly to reward those who made many regular season appearances when international matches were unavailable, but also wrapping their star names in cotton before Saturday's final only increased the pressure on the Irish province. Cullen's choice was the subject of discussion in Dublin all week.
"I praised Leo for the way he rotated his squad against the Sharks [in the URC quarter-finals after the Champions Cup semi-final win over Toulouse ], saying that it was brilliant, how he made the team happy and they showed the result.” added O'Driscoll.
Leo Cullen's decision to switch places in the URC semi-finals in which they were defeated by The Master can only be said to backfire if they don't beat La Rochelle on Saturday. Photo: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images
“But the reality is that the closer you get to the final, the better the opposition gets, and perhaps in retrospect, they got what they deserved against a team from Munster that should have won soon. So I think it's a deflator on their team, no doubt about it. I'm not going to say it's going to have a negative impact, but definitely the Monday video session after losing the semi-finals when you ran away with the regular season is something that can blow the wind out of your sails and it's something you don't need. week of champions' Cup Final.
“One lucky aspect is that there won’t be many players in the starting XV from this XV, maybe only two or three. In this way, the side that is about to enter can quickly park and end up saying that although we are one squad, we were not a part of this game at full speed.
" ;In a way I mean, it's nice to feel that pain again, as Leinster fans, it keeps you alive and takes away any complacency, and maybe people will say there was complacency in that choice. But I think my eyes are on Saturday's prize. They didn't win it last year, but before that they had won four URC titles in a row. This is the one that was elusive. Two finals since 2018 and fewer semi-finals and finals in Europe in the last five years, that's the reality.
"Their season wasn't going to be a success if they won the URC, their season would be a success if they win the Champions Cup. And that is not all.
BT Sport is home to the Heineken Champions Cup. Watch this year's final between Leinster and La Rochelle at 4pm on Saturday 20 May live and exclusively on BT Sport 2. Visit btsport.com/rugby
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