Leinster ready to harness Champions Cup hurt for 'poignant' Croke Park showdown with Northampton - Andrew Porter

Andrew Porter says Leinster must harness the hurt of their recent European failures in a bid to break the cycle of falling agonisingly short in the Investec Champions Cup.

Leo Cullen's men are preparing to host Northampton in the semi-finals of the competition following successive final losses to Ronan O’Gara’s La Rochelle during the past two seasons.

Leinster gained a modicum of revenge over the French side thanks to last month’s resounding 40-13 quarter-final success, which set up Saturday evening’s showdown with Saints at Croke Park in Dublin.

Prop Porter, who was part of the last Leinster team to be crowned European champions, in 2018, hopes to channel a string of "disheartening" experiences in order to end his province’s wait for continental glory.

"It’s all part of sport: you win some, you lose some," said the 28-year-old.

"But it seems like we’re kind of in a cycle of getting so close yet so far the last couple of years.

"We’re definitely using those experiences, those losses to add to our armoury.

"You have to use those and leverage that hurt over the last few seasons.

"It’s great to say we’re a great team that’s been able to make it to a final but it’s quite disheartening at the same time that you get so far and have all the elements to win and you come up short on the day."

Leinster blew a 23-7 lead to lose 27-26 to La Rochelle on home soil 12 months ago on the back of conceding a last-gasp try to the same opponents in a 24-21 defeat in the 2022 final in Marseille.

The Dublin club were also beaten by La Rochelle in the 2021 semi-finals after finishing runners-up to Saracens in the 2019 final as defending champions.

Due to the Aviva Stadium hosting this year’s Europa League final, Croke Park is set to stage a first