'Not a million miles away' - Cullen's Leinster lament an all-too familiar post-Final verdict

HERE AGAIN:Leinster's Joe McCarthy, Dan Sheehan and Andrew Porter dejected after the match

A 22-point defeat. That’s a chasm as these things go. Leinster were 29-points adrift of Bordeaux-Begles at the tail end of Saturday’s Champions Cup. Record defeat territory when it comes to European Cup deciders.

Five times in a row Leinster have banged their heads against the glass ceiling on these final days and this was the most sobering of them all. You can 'if' and 'but' all you want but that scoreline trumps all argument.

Leo Cullen dug into the entrails for a bit. He voiced regrets at how Leinster couldn’t match UBB’s clinical nature: they had plenty of territory, plenty of possession, but just couldn’t make it happen often enough.

Caelan Doris explained the domino effect of losing one collision and then another.

Step away from all the minutiae and it’s hard not to suspect that Leinster are further away from a fifth star now than they have at any point since their fourth was won here in Bilbao in 2018.

Cullen won’t go there. Can’t go there.

There was an edge to his laugh when one reporter started to ask Doris about this litany of final losses. “We won a final last year,” he interjected. “Were you at the URC final last year?” 

The bottom line is that they just can’t get it done in the competition that means the most to them and to their supporters, but the head coach is adamant that the gap between them and the crème de la crème of the French game is not unbridgeable.

“It’s not like we’re a million miles away. I know there is a decent gap in the scoreline today but if you reflect upon what’s gone on in the game, the stats in the game, my main reflection would just be how clinical Bordeaux were," Cullen insisted. 

“The way they do things is very impressive and that’s the bit we have to get after. The speed of the game the way it is, you see the quality of the Top 14 teams as well. It’s a competition I personally watch a lot.

“There is great intrigue. They play in full stadiums every week and it is something that we need to reflect on and take stock and say, ‘okay, how do we move forward as a group? And what do we want to chase down.

“Listen, we weren’t good enough today and we put our hands up. Every year we will always ask what are the things we can try and go after. I have lots of reflections already but this is probably not the time to implement them.” Those thoughts invite the obvious follow-up.

The Top 14 has now delivered the last half-dozen Champions Cup winners. The longest dominance run of any nation prior to this was half that. So, is this something we are likely to see continue for the foreseeable?

“Well, I hope not! It’s a good question but in terms of the competition it is the speed in how they are playing that is the biggest thing. Remember Toulouse put 60-odd points on La Rochelle at the start of the season?

“I remember La Rochelle coming away from that game and talking about the speed that Toulouse were playing with at that time. Toulouse are top of the Top 14 and a team we have had many great battles with.

“We were reflecting on the speed of that game quite a bit and you see the way Bordeaux play as well with things done at speed. That’s probably the bit we are noting. That’s a mindset that we need to adopt in our league as well.” 

For the winners, there was joy unconfined and there was an interesting take on the success from out-half Matthieu Jalibert on the back of Cullen’s words given Bordeaux have come up short in two Top 14 finals but got the job done in successive Champions Cup deciders.

“Back to back is magnificent. It will take three days to really absorb it. A superb campaign. The more difficult one to win is the second title. Our style is suited to this tournament. I adore this competition as it is set up for attacking rugby.” 

If nothing beats the first time then this follow-up is clearly something UBB will cherish unreservedly. Not just a back-to-back but such a comprehensive win over one of the game’s consistent heavyweights.

And for Maxime Lucu, one of five Basque players in the squad that claimed honours here in Bilbao, the venue made it all the sweeter again.

“For me as a Basque to win this trophy here in the Basque country is very special. This is top. It is our day, we believed in ourselves. We continue to write our own history and follow Toulon, Toulouse and La Rochelle.”