When Leinster saw off Leicester Tigers in Edinburgh to claim a first Heineken Cup, back in 2009, most of the players had little enough to distract them aside from the celebrations on their return to Dublin.

TONY McGAHAN is taking his players away for a seven-day training camp to sunny Vilamoura in Portugal next Wednesday but yesterday the Australian had to equip himself with the worst elements of the Irish ‘summer’ at rain-lashed Clonakilty Rugby Club.

JERRY FLANNERY and Ronan O’Gara will be cheering on their biggest rivals in the Heineken Cup final, claiming that a Leinster victory would put the seal on a season when Irish rugby ranked alongside the best in the world.

FRIDAY sees one of the most formidable collection of legends in one room since Homer sat down to write the Odyssey.