Conan says Leinster better placed in Euro bid

Jack Conan believes Leinster are better equipped for their latest tilt at the Heineken Champions Cup than in previous seasons.

Last champions in in 2018, Leo Cullen's side have fallen short in the knockout stages since, losing to Saracens in 2019 and 2020 and to La Rochelle in 2021.

Leinster take on Connacht in the first leg of the Champions Cup round of 16 on Friday night in Galway.

Asked about what the team has learned over the past number of seasons, the Ireland and Lions No 8 told RTÉ Sport: "Firstly it’s about taking the lessons of why we weren’t successful in those games.

"You can’t play the same brand of rugby against every team and we were probably guilty of that in the past.

"Saracens and La Rochelle were similar in some ways, they were such big packs and we leaned that you have to keep teams like that at arm’s length.

"You have to exit better and keep them away from your 22 because once they get in there they are such big men, physical and it’s hard to stop them when they get a rumble.

"We’ve taken the learnings every time but it’s not as easy as going out there and implementing them.

"These are the best teams in Europe and they are always a massive challenge.

"We’re better for it all but it’s all a learning curve."

The first obstacle to overcome in the search for a fifth title is the challenge of Andy Friend's side, against whom they have already recorded two wins this season.

Connacht have added extra capacity to the Sportsground for the match and Conan is looking forward to the challenge.

"It can offer up a multitude of different environments, atmosphere-wise," he said of the Galway ground. "We’ll be expecting a bit of everything really, whatever they can throw at us.

"We know how difficult it is to go down there and