‘There’s not a lack of belief’ says Leo Cullen after Leinster lose third successive Champions Cup final
Leinster scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park launches an attack against Toulouse and the Irish province's head coach Leo Cullen.
Leinster boss Leo Cullen said his players would have to show character if they want to put the disappointment of losing a third consecutive Investec Champions Cup final behind them.
Toulouse secured the Champions Cup for an unprecedented sixth time courtesy of a 31-22 triumph over the Irish province at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the end result determined in extra time as the sides were level at 15-15 after 80 minutes.
The French heavyweights’ captain Antoine Dupont was named Player of the Match after delivering an outstanding all-round performance in which he won four turnovers, kicked two 50:22s and gained 54 metres on attack from 16 runs.
Toulouse reduced to 14 players
Toulouse also had to play with 14 men during in extra-time after Richie Arnold was red carded for a high tackle on Cian Healy in the 90th minute.
With the United Rugby Championship resuming next week, Leinster will have to recover quickly and look to bounce back in that competition after losing their third successive Champions Cup final after defeats to La Rochelle in 2022 and 2023.
“Everyone is devastated. We’ve been on the losing side on a few occasions now,” said Cullen. “We need to see what we’re all made of now, as hard as that will be. We’ll process it and move on to the next challenge against Connacht at the RDS on Friday night. They won’t make life easy for us.
“The lads have been immense in the character they have shown and they probably need to show a bit of character now because you get the sense of what’s coming when you lose another final. We have to be able to deal with that ourselves.
“There’s not a lack of belief that we can do this, it’s just making sure that we stick at it because we will get across the line.”
Leinster replacement back Ciaran Frawley slotted a 78th-minute penalty, which took the game into extra-time, but came desperately close to being the match-winner when a drop goal attempt sailed narrowly wide of the posts shortly after his place-kick.
Toulouse win extra-time thriller against Leinster to claim SIXTH Champions Cup title
“It comes down to the finest thing. There was a drop goal at the end and if that goes a metre to the right then we’re having a very different conversation here. That’s the nature of sport at the top end,” added Cullen.
“I’m not sure the game got away from us. It was a very tight contest. We had some really positive passages of play.
“Toulouse scrambled well and came up with big moments defensively and that was the difference.
“The lads were immense out there and kept firing shots throughout but didn’t get the rewards for lots of difference reasons. We poured a lot into it.
“We just felt we’re so close to breaking them and most people in the stadium would have that sense.”
Dupont was delighted with the way his team stepped up during the extra-time period, which clinched the result for the Top 14 champions.
‘Hard to put into words’
“The feeling is a great joy. There are feelings and emotions that are hard to put into words,” he said.
“We’ve worked so hard. We know how difficult it is to lift this trophy. It wasn’t a simple game, let’s be honest, but it’s brought us great joy.
“Extra time is crunch time, money time, and you shouldn’t ask questions, just get your head down and do what you need to do. You win the game mentally.”
