There is little time for Garry Ringrose and James Ryan to reflect on their successful season to date.
The pair have enjoyed an incredible 2018, and it isn’t beyond the realms of possibility they will add more silverware to the Six Nations title claimed last month. With home advantage in the Champions Cup semi-final secured, firmly on course for a similar outcome in the Pro14, with the final of that tournament to be held in Dublin, they will certainly be there or thereabouts.
Incredibly, Ryan could add both titles and continue his remarkable unbeaten record as a professional player.
In a select band of men capped for country before club, the towering lock only made his first Leinster appearance seven months ago, coming off the bench against the Dragons in the Pro14.
He featured in all of the Champions Cup pool games to play his way into Joe Schmidt’s starting XV in Paris, and only sat out the win over Italy as Ireland enjoyed a clean sweep; 19 games of professional rugby and yet to taste defeat.
"I haven’t been thinking about that," he told RTÉ Sport at the launch of the Bank of Ireland Leinster Rugby Summer Camps.
"It’s a bit jammy. It’s been mentioned a few times, but I’m just lucky to be part of such a great club. There is a great buzz in Leinster at the moment."
The season has gone a little differently for Ringrose, though he has ended up at the same point. Injuries had curtailed his early involvement, but with Robbie Henshaw and Chris Farrell struck down in the 13 jersey, an opportunity arose for the 23-year-old with two rounds remaining of the Six Nations.
Superb against Scotland, his early try against England at Twickenham laid the foundations for a memorable day in London.
"I haven’t forgotten how lucky I was to be involved in those games. It was pretty special coming home seeing friends and family, congratulating us. You probably don’t appreciate it when you are in the bubble as much. It was a bit of a shock the amount of support we got.
"It was pretty nice after the game to see my parents and my girlfriend, and a couple of my close mates had flown over and managed to get tickets outside the stadium. I met them in the team hotel afterwards. They were the moments that stick out the most."
When he isn’t devising schemes of breaking down opposition strategies and working on defensive duties, the centre has his Law and Business degree to focus the mind. Certainly little time to reflect on Six Nations glory.
"I haven’t looked back on it too much. It’s been a rollercoaster couple of weeks. I was lucky to be part of such a great group."
Victory over Saracens at the weekend has really set the current crop of Leinster players for arguably their best tilt at Europe since their last success in the competition six years ago.
Following the 30-19 success, head coach Leo Cullen singled out 21-year-old Ryan for his contribution to the win.
With Sarries building pressure and looking to edge ahead before the interval, the 21-year-old pinched a lineout on the five-metre line, ensuring the home side left the field with a narrow 13-12 lead.
Did it feel like a significant psychological blow at the time?
"It did, definitely. It was very important that we kept them out. To get a turnover at that moment... jogging into the changing room it did feel like it was an important moment."
The professional schedule of the modern day player doesn’t allow for major celebrations in the season. The victorious Irish players returned to the provincial set-up the following Tuesday and training was significantly ramped up for the European test as the coaching team drilled into them what was required for what Ringrose says was one of the toughest games he has ever played.
"They [coaching team] pulled us apart a couple of times but we were able to fix it. Inevitably we didn’t make the same mistakes on Sunday. It was a tough week’s training, but it proved crucial in the end."
What also proved crucial was his early try, though he credits James Lowe and Isa Nacewa with all the hard work: "I was just lucky enough to walk it in."
Scarlets are the familiar foes standing in the way of silverware. Last season the Welsh side travelled to Dublin for the Pro14 semi-final and left with the spoils, and will be confident of doing likewise in Europe later this month. They could well meet again in the Pro14 before the season is out and Ringrose knows what to expect from Wayne Pivac’s side.
"They tore us apart in the RDS. There’s not many teams that have done that to Leinster. We really feel like we let down our supporters in that game, but credit to Scarlets for their performance."
"My goals were just like everybody else’s, you want to be winning the Pro14 and Champions Cup"
Not surprisingly, both are reluctant to dwell on the possibility of an all-Irish European decider with Munster facing Racing 92 on the other side of the draw. Ringrose was pleased to see Andrew Conway score an "amazing" try at the weekend, but there are other hurdles to overcome before that.
Ryan’s personal goals have changed as the season has transpired, but the collective remains the same.
"My goals were just like everybody else’s, you want to be winning the Pro14 and Champions Cup."
