Leinster ready for Le Crunch

NO prizes for guessing what the Leinster brains trust was up to on Sunday afternoon around about 4pm.

With the Tigers sent back to Leicester to lick their wounds, Joe Schmidt and his staff had the luxury of sitting down to watch their next European opponents duke it out in an all-French battle on the Spanish soil of San Sebastian.

They may be five points clear at the summit of the Top 14 and within 160 minutes of retaining their European crown after the extra-time defeat of Perpignan, but there is a theory out there that Toulouse are actually an ageing team, one with their peak behind them.