Champions Cup
Combination of entitled fans and big-stadium fatigue sees Leinster’s appeal fall sharply
URC final attendance likely to fall short of last year’s decider, which featured the same two sides
‘We can’t be scared’: Leinster expect stern fight from raging Bulls in URC final
Injury-hit Blues face URC final against South African side with one of best scrums in the competition
Matt Williams: Why are Leinster being held to higher standards? Because they’re that good
Say what you like about that defeat in Bilbao – Leo Cullen’s men are still looking like a winning side
‘We’re incredibly lucky to have him. He’s a genius’: Leo Cullen backs Jacques Nienaber
After Cup loss, South African spoke on Monday of not feeling valued and feared Leinster future in doubt
James Ryan urges Leinster to move on from Champions Cup heartbreak ahead of Stormers clash
Lock marks 110th appearance for province with rare try against Lions as attention turns to URC semi-final
‘I was gutted’: Hugo Keenan using Champions Cup heartache to fuel Leinster’s URC bid
Province can secure final berth with victory against the Stormers, but fullback knows that is easier said than done
Player safety getting left behind in top-level rugby
No good can come from absence of the bunker system in European competitions
Leinster forced to consider reboot after mounting catalogue of near misses
Former players wonder if the coaching ticket is giving team the best chance of landing Holy Grail
What Irish rugby can learn from France
Ireland need to consider expansion and finding a way to tap into the cultural zeitgeist to increase funds and playing numbers
Conor Murray: All is not lost for Leinster
Leo Cullen’s side need to tap into the same emotions that won them the URC last season
‘We go there with confidence’: Connacht look to bring fight to Warriors
Family affair for head coach Stuart Lancaster as son Dan named as starting outhalf for Glasgow
‘There’s no benefit in hiding away from any of this’: Leo Cullen ready for Leinster review
Head coach committed to the job at hand ahead of URC quarter-final against Lions
‘There’s still a trophy there to be won’: Andrew Porter turns focus to URC crown
Leinster look to bounce back from Bordeaux heartache in Lions quarter-final
‘You’ve got to take the learnings, even when they’re tough’: Leinster moving on quickly from Champions Cup heartbreak
Leo Cullen’s side turn their focus to URC quarter-final against the Lions
Gordon D’Arcy: Can Leinster’s coaching group unlock what this squad is capable of achieving?
After a fifth Champions Cup final defeat, the conversation about what comes next will not go away
Ciarán Frawley explains why he’s leaving Leinster for Connacht
Frawley says consistent game time and reunion with Stuart Lancaster shaped decision to leave province
Gerry Thornley: A deflating and damaging weekend for Leinster, Ulster and Irish rugby
Irish provinces have never seemed farther away from a Champions Cup win
Owen Doyle: Referees get an armchair ride as Leinster and Ulster crash and burn
Discipline, defence and breakdown decisions shape European deciders for Leinster and Ulster
Why Leinster’s defence unravelled in Champions Cup final defeat to Bordeaux-Bègles
Fast ruck ball and dominant collisions prevented Jacques Nienaber’s system from taking hold
Denis Walsh: Paywalls in GAA coverage make sense, our sense of entitlement does not
Subscriptions have become part of everyday consumption, but the GAA is still being forced to explain itself
How Leinster respond to another Champions Cup final blow is now the defining question
Clare man Noel McNamara helps Bordeaux Bègles dismantle Leinster as familiar questions return after another final defeat
Gerry Thornley: Leinster beaten decisively by Bordeaux on bruising weekend for Irish rugby
Second-half resolve offered little consolation as a ruthless Bordeaux side dismantled Leinster’s Champions Cup dream in Bilbao
Joey Carbery set for Leinster return, Ulster had eyes on the wrong prize: What we learned from the European finals
Defeats for Leinster and Ulster in Bilbao leaves Irish rugby with some food for thought
‘The downward spiral continues’: French media reacts to Bordeaux rout of Leinster
‘The trauma will be difficult for this ageing Irish province to overcome’
‘We’ve got a lot of strength to keep coming back’: Leinster vow to go again after Bordeaux defeat
Leinster keep the faith despite fifth final defeat in eight seasons
Leinster face the frightful thought that Bordeaux’s best may be yet to come
Kerry and Donegal come to blows in Killarney while Irish netminders shine in London
Leinster well beaten by Bordeaux Bègles in Champions Cup final – as it happened
Leo Cullen’s side second best in Bilbao with Bielle-Biarrey and Lucu starring for Bordeaux
Leinster blitzed by Bordeaux Bègles as they suffer deflating Champions Cup final defeat
The gulf between the two sides will be concerning for Irish province as Bordeaux Bègles defended their title
Leinster abandoned by precision and fortune as Champions Cup hopes collapse
Half-time deficit left Leinster in need of a miracle that never look likely
Leinster ratings v Bordeaux: Joe McCarthy and Jamison Gibson-Park bring tempo in defeat
Error-strewn display stops Leinster from firing
Leinster need to find Champions Cup performance for the ages to dethrone Bordeaux Bègles
Irish province have happy memories of San Mamés Stadium, but they need to find a performance for the ages against defending European champions
Back in Bilbao - remembering Leinster’s last European triumph in 2018
A tit-for-tat dogfight, Donnacha Ryan in a beret and that last-gasp missed drop goal
Scar tissue or ravenous hunger? Leinster prepare for Champions Cup final with a lot of motivation
Five players in Leinster’s matchday squad have featured in all four of their losing European finals
Ian Madigan: ‘I’m not emotionally detached. Leinster is my boyhood club. I want them to win’
This is a busy weekend for the player turned pundit, with his former teams in both European finals
Leinster v Bordeaux Bègles: TV details, weather, kick-off times and team news for Champions Cup final
Everything you need to know as Ulster play Montpellier in the Challenge Cup final in Bilbao on Friday night
‘This is what you want’: Leo Cullen glad to be back in Bilbao chasing more European glory with Leinster
Head coach paid a pre-Christmas visit to northern Spain to visualise goal for the season
Leinster name unchanged starting side from Toulon win for Champions Cup final against Bordeaux
Tommy O’Brien passed fit to start on the wing
Conor Murray: Nienaber’s Springbok defence may not matter against all-out Bordeaux attack
Leinster’s opponents in Champions Cup final are a side packed with internationals who win games any which way
Jamison Gibson-Park: ‘The past is the past, we have to be rid of that’
Leinster scrumhalf relishing Bordeaux challenge and the chance to end final heartache
This Champions Cup final is a day like no other in Leinster’s history
Stats point to Bordeaux win but aggression can heap unexpected pressure on French foes
Ulster and Leinster finals to take place amid extreme heat warning in Spain
Temperatures could be 30 degrees for both games at the San Mamés Stadium while Friday afternoon could see the mercury tip 38 degrees
Garry Ringrose: Fine margins will decide Leinster’s fate in final against Bordeaux-Bègles
Ringrose believes province must embrace occasion as final against Bordeaux-Bègles offers another chance to end eight-year wait
Where the Champions Cup final between Leinster and Bordeaux will be won and lost
French club the favourites but opportunities remain for Leinster to overcome UBB counterattacking masterclass
‘We’re going to have to put in a big defensive effort’: Adam Coleman relishing Leinster test
Bordeaux-Bègles secondrow ready for tough challenge in a decider where ‘small moments matter’
Gordon D’Arcy: Leinster’s chances of Champions Cup success lie largely with two players
Leo Cullen’s team can gain more from past disappointments than they perhaps even realise
From soccer town to rugby country, the rise of Bordeaux Bègles is no ordinary success story
Two clubs’ willingness to put egos aside and agree to a merger led to the Champions Cup behemoth of today
‘Solid shoulders’ and ‘rib ticklers’: Leinster coach Robin McBryde on training for a final
McBryde dispelled any notions the players were wrapping themselves up in cotton wool ahead of Champions Cup showdown
Gerry Thornley: Leinster’s Champions Cup final selections will be judged against one metric
Opinions around the use of key players ahead of a season-defining clash have evolved significantly
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