Leinster ‘desperate’ for fifth title after 2019 defeat

After Leinster claimed a dominant 40-17 win over reigning champions Stade Toulousain in the semi-finals on Saturday, the fly-half claimed his team are better position for success than in the 2019 showpiece game, when they were beaten 20-10 by Saracens.

“We’ve been desperate to get back here and right that occasion, and we just feel like we didn’t get our best performance out there on the day,” he said. “Obviously, Saracens were an incredible team.

“But I think the guys have more experience over these last few years, the calibre of player that we have now. You look at our pack, how good they are, how dynamic they are.

“I think our squad depth is different now, we can rely on our second and third choice players much better than we could in 2019.”

Sexton, 36, who has helped Leinster to their four European stars, believes experiencing defeat in the 2019 final, which he had assumed would be his last, will help fuel Leinster this time around.

“It’s very small margins and that’s what you live with in these finals and semi-finals, and it’s something that you need to work hard on to make sure you’re on the right side of them,” he stated.

He's still got it 😍

How good was @JohnnySexton today as @leinsterrugby powered into the #HeinekenChampionsCup Final?pic.twitter.com/AHFk4xUrhv

— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) May 14, 2022

“A lot of it is preparation and know-how and I think we need to use positive experiences. We’ve been champions before.

“But also the Saracens final and what we could do better, because we’d love to go back but in sport you don’t get a chance.

“And now we’ve got another chance. I never thought that I’d get another chance. We’re so driven to put a fifth star on the jersey.

“Every single person in the dressing room, our staff, guys that were playing, guys that weren’t playing, everyone’s really driven so it’s a special environment to be proud of.

Sexton warned that Leinster will need to improve for the final despite their devastating display against Toulouse, who had arrived at the Aviva Stadium having seen their quarter-final against Munster Rugby, also in Dublin, go to extra time before returning to France for TOP 14 duties.

“We’ll need to be better again in the final, I think, because at the end of the day Toulouse played 100 minutes, had to travel home, had to travel here again,” he pointed out.

“So, we’ve got to take it with a pinch of salt. This isn’t where we wanted to get to, the final, we want to win it, so we’ve achieved nothing yet.”