Gerry Thornley

It didn't come down to one Henry Pollock moment.

They were, they started that game very poorly.

And I think they were slightly authors of their own defeat that day.

Well, yeah, certainly not tiny little Leinster against the juggernauts that is Northampton.

That doesn't stack up.

I think that, yeah, they've missed chances in finals, I suppose.

The one against La Rochelle with a 17-0 up at home, that's got to be one that haunts them.

But I do think that Leo's comments, and not just Leo, I was there in New City a few Mondays ago and Robin McBride said,

brought up the Northampton game and said there were a few things said afterwards that are motivation is this season I think that it does give a real indication and last Friday

I twice asked Caelan Durris about last season's semi-final, in that did it leave any scars and had it heightened the pressure on the team to win a home semi-final 12 months on.

Both times, Leo kind of scoffed at my question when I asked, is it because I'd brought up the semi-final?

But I went back through the transcript of the entire press conference and he'd brought up the Northampton game on Friday, twice, involuntarily.

So, like, it's just extraordinary how much it still haunts them.

And I think it was the most traumatic... I think it was the most traumatic defeat.

And they know...

that they weren't right at the kick-off.

They just weren't right that day.

They weren't prepared for what Northampton were going to throw at them in counter-attacks, in transitions.

They were a little loose.

They weren't as emotionally charged as you would expect Leinster to be for home in the semi-final.