Leo Cullen understands ‘the frustrations’ as Leinster aim to banish Champions Cup final memories

Leinster boss Leo Cullen said he “understands the frustrations” of the supporters after they endured more Investec Champions Cup heartbreak.

The Irish province fell to yet another defeat in the final of the Champions Cup, succumbing to Toulouse 31-22 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last weekend.

It was their third loss in a row in the showpiece event, going down to La Rochelle in 2022 and 2023 before their most recent reversal at the hands of Les Rouge et Noir.

They now head back into URC action against Connacht, looking to give themselves a chance of finishing in the top two of the competition.

Victory imperative against Connacht

Leinster have already secured a home quarter-final but, if they remain in third position, it could make their path to the title much harder.

“We’re the first to acknowledge that that’s the way,” he told RTÉ Sport. “When you lose a game and there’s a team you support, and particularly if you’ve gone to great expense to support a team, you will have frustrations with the way things unfolded.

“That’s the pointy end, and we’re at the pointiest end of club rugby in the world. That’s the level we’re operating off.

“For us, we’ve primarily guys who’ve come through a homegrown system and we want to help them on their journey and be able to deliver big performances, because they’ve such a vested interest in the team. I can see the work they put in on a day-to-day basis, on and off the field.

“I think they’re a great group, they live the values of the team and want to make people proud of their performances.

“When they don’t achieve that, listen, trust me, they’re hurting more than anybody.

“I understand the frustrations that are out there. For the people who are angry or frustrated, everyone is working their best to make people proud. It matters a huge amount to them.”

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Cullen has decided to rotate the squad after their physically exhausting 100-minute effort against Toulouse, as well as the short turnaround to their clash with Connacht.

“It’s a tricky mix, it’s a short week, we’ve tried to make some calls to freshen up the group because a lot of guys have played 100 minutes of rugby at the weekend, and it’s a six-day turnaround,” he said.

“There’s a human side to it, and everyone processes disappointment slightly differently. The group were gutted, you could see that in the ground.

“There was the players on the field, the 23 guys that are out there, you’ve the playing group on the sidelines, all the backroom team, all the supporters in the stadium, all the supporters and friends and families that watched the game somewhere else.

“Everyone feels some level of disappointment and hurt.

“People get angry about things, as you go through this grieving cycle, you just have to go back and try turn the page somehow, as quickly as you can.”

Trio set to depart

It will be an emotional day for Leinster, who will be waving goodbye to a number of their stalwarts on Friday.

“We’ve an obligation, a responsibility, to put out performance against Connacht, and Connacht will have had good preparation coming into the game, we’ve had pretty disjointed preparation coming into this game,” Cullen added.

“On the flip side both teams will have players that probably won’t represent the clubs again, so there’s always that bit of emotion at this time of year as well.

“The week has been a challenge, I won’t lie to you, because of the disappointment, but everyone is pushing forward because they know there’s something very tangible still at stake in terms of the next three and a bit weeks.”

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