Despite an academy that is the envy of the other provinces, Donal Lenihan says Leinster's home-grown approach should not be to the detriment of attracting world class players from abroad.
The bid for a fifth Heineken Champions Cup fell at the penultimate stage as La Rochelle set up an all-French final with Toulouse after powering past Leo Cullen’s side 32-23.
The conveyor belt of talent that has come through the province has helped the men in blue land three Champions Cup and six Pro 14 titles in the last decade, not to mention a Challenge Cup in 2013.
While imports played significant roles in many of those successes, the strength of Irish talent pool at Leinster’s disposal was evident in the fact that 15 Ireland internationals began the defeat at the weekend.
Speaking on the RTÉ Rugby podcast, Lenihan says that imports such as Brad Thorn, Nathan Hines, Rocky Elsom and Isa Nacewa were points of difference in the past for Leinster and it might be time to dip into the transfer market again to bolster their playing personnel with such fine margins at the top end.
"You’ve got to get the mix right, that little bit of x-factor outside if you need it to close the gap with the others, but maybe when everyone is telling you that you are doing a brilliant job producing these players, you just take your eye off the ball a bit," he said.
"There’s no question in my mind that Leinster will sit down after this and reassess where they are. The model is there. Munster and Ulster have been able to bring in high-profile overseas players, players like Damien de Allende, Marcel Coetzee, RG Synman.
Leinster shouldn't be penalised just because their production line is good
"Why not Leinster?
"They shouldn’t be penalised just because their production line is good.
"I think what we are seeing now is it’s not broad enough [production line] to generate key type of players that are the missing ingredient in getting over the last hurdle."
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