Johnny Sexton James Lowe Ross Byrne Robbie Henshaw France Dublin Toulouse Sport Rugby Johnny Sexton James Lowe Ross Byrne Robbie Henshaw France Dublin

Gibson-Park: Leinster better placed for final challenge

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No tries, no try assists: sometime stats can be misleading. Jamison Gibson-Park the man of the match by a mile.The scrum-half is the heartbeat of a Leinster side that is just one game away from glory.

This is surely their time.They did very little wrong last year and would be reigning champions but for a try at the death in the final against La Rochelle.Yesterday, in truth, they made short work of Toulouse and did so minus the services of Johnny Sexton, James Lowe and Robbie Henshaw.Gibson-Park's innate feel for the game can't be learned.

The right pass, the right kick, the right run, the right decision at the right time. In Sexton's absence, Ross Byrne kicks the goals and pulls strings out the back but it's the Kiwi, who made his 124th club appearance in the Aviva Stadium yesterday, who has the team purring.Something he politely declines to agree with when asked if he has more responsibility with Sexton sidelined."Kind of, not massively," said the 31-year-old."Ross is great with the detail and he drives a lot of that during the week.

It's not just him, it’s right across the board."We have got an incredible group of leadership guys. They do an awesome job in terms of putting our plan together with the coaches."I’m not involved in that group so much, but for sure, I do my part in meetings and that kind of thing.

Related News
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen admits the pressure is on his side to deliver in tomorrow's Heineken Champions Cup final against La Rochelle (live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player), but says it's a challenge they're more that willing to accept.
Jamison Gibson-Park admits the lingering pain of last year’s agonising Heineken Champions Cup final defeat to La Rochelle has fuelled Leinster’s desire for a shot at redemption.
Former New Zealand and La Rochelle loose forward Victor Vito said the French club have the "blueprint" to defend the Champions Cup when they play Leinster in the final on Saturday.
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