Donal Lenihan: Leinster didn't know what hit them in Bilbao blitz

Overall it proved a thoroughly demoralising weekend of action from an Irish perspective.

COOKED: Leinster’s Tommy O'Brien, Jamison Gibson-Park, Harry Byrne during a water break. Pic: INPHO/Nick Elliott

Previewing the European decider between Leinster and Bordeaux on RTÉ radio with Des Cahill last Friday morning, I ventured that this final represented a defining moment for so many Leinster players. They had achieved so much with Ireland and the British and Irish Lions but, for the majority, the Champions Cup was clearly a case of unfinished business.

With so much baggage on board on the back of losing three finals over the last four years, one in their backyard at the Aviva Stadium, this was the game that would define the legacy of so many outstanding individuals as Leinster players.