Leinster are on a most unwanted break week as they kick their heels, bite their tongues and wonder what might have been.
The shock loss to Northampton Saints two weeks ago means it's the English side preparing to take on Bordeaux Begles in Saturday’s Investec Champions Cup final (kick-off 2.45pm, live on RTÉ2).
"I don't think we're over the disappointment of losing here a couple of weeks ago yet," Leinster head coach Leo Cullen told RTÉ Sport at the weekend.
Instead of preparing for a Cardiff clash, Cullen’s men - 12 of whom were over in London on Sunday as the 2025 British and Irish Lions met up for the first time - have to regroup and try to do something they haven’t done in four years – reach a URC final.
On Saturday Leinster never clicked against Glasgow, winning 13-5, with the victory coming just five weeks after they put 52 points on the URC champions.
The head coach was candid enough after the game to admit that victories like the Champions Cup knock-out wins over Warriors and Harlequins (62-0), and last weekend’s 76-5 demolition of Zebre are practically worthless in the bigger picture.
He said: "It’s sometimes better to have some of these tight games, isn’t it? I’m not sure some of these blowout games, I’m not sure what we have learned from a few of them."
The last eight is now set with the two Irish qualifiers on opposite sides of the draw.
Leinster’s miserable month started with a deserved defeat to Scarlets the week before their European exit and it’s the Welsh side that will provide their BKT URC quarter-final opposition on Saturday week at Aviva Stadium (3pm).
They went down 35-22 with a largely second-string outfit but it’s expected to be a much-changed line-up for the last-eight clash.
Scarlets finished eighth in the standings with their last-day defeat to Sharks their eighth loss of the campaign. They won nine times, including that victory over Leinster, and drew once.
Leinster, of course, have a home run to the final after finishing top with just two losses, to Bulls and Scarlets, and if they account for Dwayne Peel’s side, will meet the winners of Glasgow and Stormers.
Leinster beat Glasgow twice already this season and accounted for Stormers 36-12 in Dublin in round 10.
"If we didn't win the URC we would be very disappointed and it would be hard to classify the season as a success," lock James Ryan said.
"We want to go after it and win it. At the same time we don't want to be talking about winning trophies yet."
Munster, who beat Benetton in a play-off shoot-out on Friday night, ended up in sixth place, and will be on the road for the duration of their involvement.
They famously won the 2023 title with a stunning on-the-road run to victory.
With nine defeats across an inconsistent season to their name, it might be a step too far for the province, who are operating under interim head coach Ian Costello until the arrival of Clayton McMillan this summer.
They are away to the Sharks in two weeks’ time with a 5.30pm kick-off Irish time.
John Plumtree’s side finished third in the standings, a 41-24 victory over Munster in Durban in round six, one of 13 wins this season.
The winners of that tie play either Bulls, last season’s beaten finalists, or Edinburgh.
Both possible opponents beat Munster away, in Limerick and Cork, this season.
It’s a bit soon to start thinking about a Leinster-Munster Grand Final on 14 June but strange things happen in this game.
"Munster are 'knock-out’, as we know," said former Leinster number 8 Jamie Heaslip. "You just never know."
Connacht and Ulster, meanwhile, finished 13th and 14th, respectively, with just six and seven wins to their names.
Both will play Challenge Cup next season.
They’ll want to put this season behind them as quickly as possible.
Connacht, who parted company with Pete Wilkins in April, will have a new-look coaching ticket next season with Australian Rob Seib named as new ‘senior coach’, while Scarlets boss Dwayne Peel is among those linked with the vacant head coach role, according to the RTÉ Rugby panel at the weekend.
'Have we hit rock bottom yet?' - Former Ireland centre Darren Cave on concerns over Ulster's progress at the end of their #URC season #RTERugby #RTESport pic.twitter.com/j8vPINvMSA
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 19, 2025
As for Ulster, Richie Murphy will make changes to his backroom team for next season with Mark Sexton and Willie Faloon joining up.
Murphy had always maintained that his first full season in charge would be challenging on a number of fronts, most notably a young squad, and was given some grace, but he’ll know results must improve next year.
Watch the Champions Cup final, Northampton Saints v Bordeaux Begles, on Saturday from 2pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app
