Leo Cullen says his side rose to the occasion, as they ended La Rochelle's reign as European Champions at the Aviva Stadium.
A dominant second-half performance in which they scored 17 unanswered points saw them power past Ronan O'Gara's side at a sold-out Aviva Stadium, setting up an Investec Champions Cup semi-final meeting with the Northampton Saints at Croke Park next month.
The province led by 17 points approaching half time, the same lead that they had let slip against La Rochelle in the final last May. And when the French side got in for a try just before half-time through Louis Penverne, it looked like they were bracing themselves for another incredible comeback.
This time however, Leinster stemmed the flow within four minutes of the restart, Ryan Baird scampering down the touchline to restore the 17-point lead, from which the hosts only kicked on further.
Cullen believes that score was the turning point of the game.
"Whatever about giving away the try before half-time, getting the try just after half-time was massively important, to get the 17-point buffer," he told RTÉ Sport.
"Two good teams going hard at it... going to Croke Park will be an amazing experience for the guys."
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) April 13, 2024
Our panel caught up with victorious Leinster boss, Leo Cullen.#RTErugby #LEIvSR pic.twitter.com/bvRIgqICXs
"We know La Rochelle have had to travel, and how much of that journey is still in the legs for them. You have to put them into a position where they're a bit uncomfortable.
"The two finals we’ve lost, as painful as they’ve been, there’s rich learning for us always, and making sure you never sit back on that lead is the big thing. You come unstuck, and we’ve lost, giving up tries in the last minute of the game over in Marseille, and last seven or eight minutes this time last year.
"Much better intent at the start of the second half, to keep playing, score, and then score another couple of tries.
"There’s other parts of the performance we can definitely get better on as well. That’s what we need to try focus on."
La Rochelle coach Ronan O'Gara gave the same assessment of his side's defeat, as he looked back with frustration on their slow second-half start.
"Being 10 points down at half-time was fantastic, we were obviously very happy with that," O'Gara said
"After the first try, a soft try four minutes into the second half, I think it was [the turning point]. Seventeen points against a quality outfit is too much, against a quality outfit with 36 minutes left."
And the La Rochelle boss said Leinster were worthy winners, to hand them a first knockout defeat in this competition since the 2021 final.
"Bitterly disappointed, but probably easier to move on because the better team won. They were more accurate, more decisive, smarter, and took their chances well.
"It's disappointing but we've had wonderful times in this competition. You can’t just throw everything out, even though a good review is necessary. You have to compliment the hungrier, better team who won today.
"Fair play to Leinster, it’s been an unbelievable battle over the last number of years and I hope we can get back to a level where we can compete with them," he added.
Before today, the largest winning margin between these sides was nine points, a third of the 27-point victory Leinster eased to at the Aviva.
While Cullen tried to play down the significance of it, he says he was impressed with the composure shown by his players.
"I don't know about a statement [win], but it was just making sure we put in a good performance, because it was a big occasion," he added, before turning attention to next week's BKT United Rugby Championship tour to South Africa.
"We’re pleased, I thought the occasion was fantastic.
"We’ve a couple of outings away in South Africa in between which my mind is turning to, so we have a couple of moving parts this week.
"For now, we’ll enjoy the occasion, the moment, and will make a plan for our South African trip on Tuesday."
