Rare McCarthy/ Ryan partnership a major plus for Leinster in London

James Ryan and Joe McCarthy have started just 12 times together in the second row between club and country.

MAJOR PLUS: Joe McCarthy and James Ryan were the starting combination away to La Rochelle on the opening day of the pool stages last December and again when the four-time winners accounted for Leicester Tigers in Welford Road the following month. Pic: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

There is no escaping the sense of bated breath around Leinster as Saturday’s Champions Cup final approaches. Toulouse remain the acid test in European club rugby and the province land in London with questions over their mental strength after their last two final traumas, an iffy attack and a defence only recently switched to blitz mode.

Lose and the spotlight on Leo Cullen and his management team will be intense and yet there is, alternatively, the argument that next year should still see them at their most dangerous regardless of this result given the arrivals of RG Snyman from Munster and Jordie Barrett for his short-term sabbatical from even further down south.