The evolution of the European Cup: ‘They were jumping and lifting - we didn’t know what they were doing!’

A near-empty Lansdowne Road seems unthinkable for a Leinster European Cup clash, but it wasn’t such a strange concept when the tournament started, writes Ciarán Ó Raghallaigh

Gary Longwell, part of an Ulster side that found the going tough initially in Europe.

Rugby's European Cup is almost unrecognisable from its inaugural season as the silver anniversary approaches its climax, but this weekend’s quarter-finals will throw up a surprising similarity.

Admittedly, it’s taken a pandemic to create such a scenario, but for former Leinster staff and players, today’s nearly empty Aviva Stadium will conjure memories of their first game in the competition.