Leinster and Ireland legend Brian O’Driscoll expressed immense sympathy for his former club’s defeat in the Champions Cup Final, and feels a second-straight showpiece defeat to La Rochelle could “leave a mark”.
O’Driscoll was part of the Leinster side that won three European titles between 2009 and 2012 and the Challenge Cup in 2013.
Having never lost in the four finals he contested he admitted he missed the experience of playing in European finals, but he did not envy the heartbreak they must have had to endure at full-time.
“Before the game I thought ‘Wow’. It was a big atmosphere, and it’s the biggest games make me miss it nine or ten years after I’ve retired. By the final whistle I thought ‘thanks be to god I’m not a rugby player anymore,’ with the emotions they must’ve been feeling.”
“I was sad, as an ex-player and supporter of Leinster, but to be involved in that squad must’ve been a body blow.”
Though O’Driscoll never lost a European final – as Leinster have in three of the last five seasons – he understands the disappointment of finishing as a runner-up.
He experienced this three times in consecutive Celtic League, now URC, finals of from 2010-2012, and also finished second in the Six Nations four times from its inception in 2000 before finally winning for the first time in 2009.
The teams he played in were eventually galvanised by those disappointments and went onto win multiple titles in both, but he is fearful of the damage that might happen to the players’ psychology given the circumstances of Leinster’s latest loss.
“I think it can go both ways. It can stunt some teams and for others it adds to your resilience and your resolve, and you can only know what happens with that particular side the following season.
“But for it to happen to the same team, three years in a row in the same competition and to the same opposition, with one semi-finals and two finals, that has to leave a mark of some sort on you.
“It’s hard to get away from that. It’s their last game of the season and then they’re embarking on a World Cup campaign, and those players won’t come back together until late October or early November.”
O’Driscoll had encouraging words for the playing and coaching staff of his former side following the defeat, but also noted how Leinster’s struggles in important games in recent years shone a spotlight on just how hard it is to get over the line in winning silverware.
“It’s a challenge that the coaches are going to have to look at, it can be a heart-breaking game at times. I texted one or two pals and the coaches on the night after the game saying: ‘Listen, you’ve got to stay at it.’
“You’re guaranteed nothing getting to semi-finals and finals, you still have to deliver on the biggest stage, and unfortunately Leinster haven’t managed to that in the last couple of seasons.”
Written by Nick Powell
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