Leinster machine is well calibrated for Toulouse test in Champions Cup final

After a late loss to Ulster on Saturday evening, Leinster will aim to put their URC disappointment behind them ahead of a pivotal European week.

The psychology around Leinster being unstoppable has certainly changed. The province have been at the top of the URC table for a large part of the season, they now find themselves third heading into their Champions Cup final week.

Without getting too hysterical about their league position, and it must irk them that they've given away home advantage, none of that will matter if they bring home the top prize by beating Toulouse this weekend in London.

Being fair to Leinster, there were probably only three players in the 23 last weekend that could start this week. Hugo Keenan and James Ryan’s return came just in time to get high quality game time before taking on Toulouse.

Will Connors was also back in the squad and might be used in the same role as their game against La Rochelle. He had a few jackal penalties in Belfast to get back in the groove and is a leader in chop tackling, which could be important against the massive Toulouse pack.

There were others, like Ronan Kelleher, Jack Conan, Michael Ala’alatoa and Harry Byrne that should feature from the bench against Toulouse and who won’t like how the Ulster game played out. They’re supposed to be pushing for starting spots, and losing to Ulster won’t help their cause.

Ulster may also have exposed some areas that Toulouse will be interested in. When you factor in the impact that a change in personnel will have, there are still patterns of play that will interest the French rugby giants.

Leinster leave space on the edge if you can manage their internal defensive pressure. Ulster missed a couple of wide spaces early on, once on the short