Dan Sheehan: 'Important week' for trophy-hungry Leinster

Dan Sheehan admits talk of trophies is always part of the conversation at Leinster but says the team won't look past Ulster on Saturday.

The club has won the Champions Cup four times, the Challenge Cup and have eight times been crowned United Rugby Championship winners in the various iterations.

Defeat to Toulouse in the European Cup final two weeks ago meant that negotiating a tricky play-off run is their only chance of ending a three-year drought.

Their longest spell without silverware in the professional era came between the 2001 Celtic League title and the Magners League win in 2008.

Now a regular starter and two-time Six Nations winner with Ireland, Sheehan is part of a cohort that came through the ranks after their last title win, the Pro14 final in 2021.

"Since I’ve come into the group in the last few years, I haven’t won a trophy with this group," the 25-year-old hooker told RTÉ Sport ahead of their BKT URC quarter-final against Ulster at the Aviva Stadium (5pm).

"It’s definitely something we talk about at the start of each year and it’s a major part of this club.

"The history of this club is winning trophies, so we talk about it all the time.

"But it’s important too we don't get ahead of ourselves.

"We have to win on Saturday to put ourselves in a position to go into a semi and win that and then we move on from there.

"It is an important week for the club."

Leo Cullen’s side look likely to be without Ireland full-back Hugo Keenan for the rest of the season.

The 27-year-old has thrown his lot in with the Sevens team ahead of the Olympic Games and suggested that he will "fully commit" to that squad.

Asked about the absence of one of, if not, the best full-backs in the game, Sheehan said Keenan has their blessing.

"It’s