‘This keeps the momentum going’ – Johnny Sexton
Johnny Sexton of Leinster celebrates during the Guinness PRO14 Final match between Glasgow Warriors and Leinster Rugby at Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom on May 25, 2019 (Photo by Andrew Surma/ Sipa USA).
Leinster fly-half Johnny Sexton is proud of the way they bounced back from “the lowest point of all our careers” to retain the PRO14 title.
The Irish province were defeated by Saracens in the Champions Cup showpiece event two weeks ago, but mentally recovered to defeat Munster and Glasgow Warriors.
It was not necessarily a vintage performance from the Dubliners on Saturday but they still had too much for the Scottish outfit.
They touched down twice via Garry Ringrose and Cian Healy, while Sexton added two penalties, as they built up an 18-10 advantage going into the final quarter.
Glasgow did hit back via Grant Stewart but Leo Cullen’s men deservedly held on to take the win, much to the delight of the 33-year-old.
“This keeps the Leinster momentum going,” he told reporters. “We can say we’ve been to four finals in two seasons and won three. That’s a really good return.
“If we’d come away from two out of four we’d be going into next season empty handed, so this changes our summer holidays.
“I’m very proud of the lads for the way we bounced back after what was probably the lowest point of all our careers really in terms of losing a European Cup final.”
🔙🏆🏆🔙 pic.twitter.com/8vWwyE32RG
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) May 26, 2019
Sexton’s boss Cullen echoed the fly-half, praising the attitude of his team and their response to the disappointing loss to Sarries.
“The guys have really applied themselves well over the last few weeks and got over the disappointment of losing to Saracens, where we put so much into that game,” he told RTE Sport.
“The group is really, really tight, so when you have a disappointment, it is a real test of a team, so for the lads to be able to turn it around and put in a performance is very pleasing.
“In our minds, there are lots of things that we would have loved to have managed better in that (Saracens) game but I thought they turned it around last week with a huge game against Munster. It wasn’t the prettiest at times but the fellas got the job done.”