Former Leinster and Ireland star Rob Kearney has made a bold claim about his ex-province’s inability to get over the line in big games over recent years.
Leo Cullen’s men have suffered defeats in the past three Investec Champions Cup finals, going down twice to La Rochelle before succumbing to Toulouse last year.
In fact, Leinster have not won a trophy of any kind since 2021 which means that the pressure is very much on for the Dublin-based outfit’s galaxy of superstars to finally lift some silverware in 2025.
Tight losses in Champions Cup finals
All of those losses in the Champions Cup have been by narrow margins, however, and Kearney simply believes that Cullen’s side have been ‘unlucky’ in being on the wrong end of those matches.
“Leinster you could argue have been one of the unluckiest teams in team sport over the last few years – those three Champions Cup finals,” he told Premier Sports.
“I’m just talking about the last three finals in terms of how close they were and how small those margins were.
“This year they knew that they needed to have a bit of bang, a bit of impact coming off the bench. When you’ve got [RG] Snyman, [Jordie] Barrett and [Rabah] Slimani there…”
His fellow panellists, former England and Wales greats, Chris Robshaw and Tom Shanklin, were not convinced, with the latter stating that it is time for Leinster to finally produce when it matters.
“The pressure’s on because Leinster haven’t really [delivered]. When was the last time they won silverware, whether it be the league or Champions Cup?
“It’s been a while hasn’t it, so the pressure is on. With the squad they’ve got, the budget they’ve got, you would think that there would be some more silverware in that cabinet.”
Overseas help
Leinster remain stacked with Ireland internationals but, as Kearney stated, they have enlisted some help from abroad in an attempt to win the coveted Champions Cup.
RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett are two global superstars that have significantly bolstered their squad, while France prop Rabah Slimani has also proved to be an astute addition.
On the coaching front, double Rugby World Cup winner Jacques Nienaber joined following the 2023 global tournament and has brought in a Springboks-style blitz defence.
“It’s not an argument but Jacques Nienaber has come in and changed the DNA of Leinster a little bit,” Kearney added.
“Leinster have always been known for flamboyant, great attack and scoring tries from anywhere, whereas now they’re just associated with out-and-out defence, really aggressive line speed, suffocating the opposition and putting them under enormous amounts of pressure.
“If that’s what finally gets them over the line this year, Jacques Nienaber can sit back and say: ‘Well, my way of coaching is the way.’”
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Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/rob-kearney-makes-startling-claim-about-unluckiest-team-in-sport-leinster
