Leinster not lacking in motivation for URC, but Champions Cup regrets remain

With the greatest respect in the world to the Glasgow Warriors, it's hard to sit in a room with Leo Cullen this week without the conversion not eventually weaving its way back to Marseille and La Rochelle.

The Leinster head coach was doing his best to steer the chat back to the matter at hand; the United Rugby Championship quarter-finals and the Glasgow Warriors this afternoon, but understandably the questions keep coming about last Saturday's Champions Cup final defeat.

Does this one hurt even more than the others? Are the coaches feeling the pressure? Can they set things right this week?

Regardless of what happens against the Warriors this afternoon, those questions won't be answered for several months until they're back in the white-hot Champions Cup environment, and chasing down a spot in next year's Dublin final.

To Cullen's credit, he doesn't hide the fact that getting back on the horse for a URC quarter-final has its challenges after the physical and mental toll of the last week, and he admits the regrets of last week will be "in the back of our minds" for some time yet.

You don't need a magnifying glass to read between the lines and see there's a frustration over one moment in particular from that game, with Cullen mentioning the penalty Michael Ala'alatoa conceded under his own posts on 72 minutes, Leinster penalised when it looked like the tighthead was about to win his side a massive turnover.

The Leinster head coach referenced the Ala'alatoa penalty yesterday, veering off on a tangent when asked about his own decision making in recent weeks with team selections.

"It didn't quite get us there [the selection policy] but…it’s one decision away probably isn’t it? That's how close it is. Mike Ala’alatoa gets a poach