Leo Cullen says that Leinster can’t afford to get “bogged down” by their chastening Pro12 loss to Ulster after the sides were paired again in the semi-finals.
The Blues topped the table after a routine win over Treviso at the RDS, while Ulster cemented fourth spot with an impressive away win against Ospreys.
That game will come on 20 May in Dublin, just three weeks after a 30-6 loss in Ravenhill, a margin that was not considered flattering to the home side.
“It’s important for us not to get too bogged down by that,” Cullen told RTÉ Sport after the 50-19 victory against the lowly Italians.
“It’s important for us to focus on the process.
“It sounds like Ulster had a pretty impressive win again. They’re a team in really good form so it’s going to be a tough challenge for us.”
Isa Nacewa, Johnny Sexton, Jack McGrath, Noel Reid, Richardt Strauss (2) Jordi Murphy and Garry Ringrose all scored tries in the win but the four-time league winners had to withdraw three players due to injury.
“Rob [Kearney] has done a little bit of damage to his ankle, he tried to run it off for a while but it didn’t get any better. We’ll see how he settles down, he’ll get a scan,” Cullen said.
“Johnny Sexton came off at the start of the second half but he had taken a bang to his quad early in the game, probably in the first five or ten minutes.
“So again, we are keen to monitor him, he took a late hit but again, he’s okay, [I] don’t see any major issue there."
Second row Mick Kearney has a shoulder issue but it was described as “nothing major” by the former Ireland international.
