Star-stuck Leinster must dig deeper than ever to conquer Europe again

Scene 5, take 5. Action.

After Leinster bridged a six-year gap in lifting the Champions Cup in Bilbao in 2018, no one thought that the sequel would take almost that long again to shoot.

The team was filled with Irish Grand Slam winners from that spring campaign and even though the performance itself in the 15-12 win over Racing 92 was far from vintage, the work done up to that point and the profile of the team suggested they would sooner rather than later add to their tally.

But capturing that fifth star has proved incredibly difficult for Leo Cullen, whose involvement today marks his eighth European Cup final.

Saracens accounted for Leinster in the decider in Newcastle in 2019 and in the quarter-final in 2020 in an empty Aviva Stadium.

And it was today's opponents who have been on hand to prolong Leinster’s quest for the last two years running.

Leinster, as they do today also, entered both the semi-final two years ago and last season’s final in Marseille as solid favourites; both times they left empty handed and heartbroken, losing 32-23 and 24-21, respectively.

La Rochelle only led for 10 minutes before the late try that won the final and Ronan O’Gara, who joined the club in 2019, says he still finds it difficult to get his head around it.

"There has to be disbelief at the final whistle last year," he said yesterday.

"In my head, there was days driving home going, 'where are we going with this?'

"Coaching is lonely, it's tough, you question a lot and then you get a return like that in Marseille.

"The first 60 minutes are, 'did this happen?'

"When you try to piece it together, there's disbelief. These guys, their wish list had a Bouclier [French title] first but now that they've captured Europe, they've got a taste for it and they