Tigers' coach Wigglesworth: 'The gulf is in what you have available to spend'

Leinster have may earned a home route to potential Heineken Champions Cup glory but Leicester head coach Richard Wigglesworth warned the tournament favourites they have "got to go and win it" after past disappointments.

And the former England scrum half suggested that the amount either team had "available to spend" accounted for the 31-point gulf between the sides.

Leinster's 2018 title win in Bilbao stands alone in recent years despite some eye-catching victories for Leinster in Europe, the latest of which saw them run in seven tries to beat quarter-final opponents Leicester 55-24 at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night.

Leo Cullen's side will host Toulouse or the Sharks in a Dublin semi-final, their reward for tagging on a penalty try and scores from Jamison Gibson-Park, Scott Penny, Jimmy O'Brien and John McKee to Garry Ringrose’s first-half brace against the Tigers.

While impressed with Leinster’s performance, Wigglesworth said of the 2019 and 2022 runners-up: "They have earned their home advantage and with the fans here it will take a special team to beat them, but they have only won it once in 11 years.

"So there has been teams that have popped up and beaten them. They’ve got to go and win it."

Wigglesworth won a 2020 quarter-final in Dublin with Saracens, but it was a step too far for Tigers this time.

Anthony Watson’s diving finish before half-time gave them hope at 17-10 down, but further tries from Olly Cracknell and Harry Potter were mere consolation.

Leading figures in the English game, including current England head coach Steve Borthwick when he was at Tigers last year, have spoken about how the salary cap hinders Premiership clubs when they come up against leading Irish and French sides in Europe.

Leinster played