Leinster will be fuelled by previous final defeats – Ian Madigan

Former Leinster and Ireland fly-half Ian Madigan has said stopping Toulouse and France scrum-half Antoine Dupont will be crucial to Leinster chances of winning the Champions Cup.

Leinster once again are in European club rugby's showpiece final, as they take on fellow four-time winners Toulouse in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.

After two final defeats in a row to Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle, Leo Cullen's men will take on a Toulouse side who last won the competition in 2021.

Leading their side is Dupont, with the former world player of the year crucial to the French side's chances of victory.

For Leinster, Jamison Gibson Park has been crucial in their European run, and has become a crucial player for both Leinster and Ireland.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's game, Madigan believes if Leinster can stop Dupont, they will win.

"I think the battle at scrum-half is a really interesting one. You have got in my opinion, the two best scrum half in the world going head-to-head in the final.

"Dupont in my opinion is the best player in the world. He has got the best skills, whether it is his passing game, kicking off both feet, his ability to sidestep and to wriggle out of tackles. He is actually incredible as a defender as well.

"It is not unthinkable that Dupont can get the better of Gibson Park on Saturday, and Leinster can still win, but if Gibson Park was to get the better of Dupont, I would be certain they would win."

There is also a battle at 10, where Romain Ntamack will be outside of Dupont, and Ross Byrne likely to be at fly-half for Leinster.

While Byrne missed Ireland's successful Six Nations campaign due to injury, he was crucial to Leinster's win over La Rochelle in the quarter-final and Madigan is backing him