Leo Cullen praised Leinsterâs application after the defending champions swept aside Toulouse in a 30-12 Heineken Champions Cup semi-final win at the Aviva Stadium.
James Lowe, Luke McGrath and Scott Fardy all touched down and fit-again captain Jonathan Sexton kicked 12 points as the Irish province advanced to face 2017 winners Saracens in a mouth-watering May 11 decider at St Jamesâ Park in Newcastle.
âProbably what pleased me most is the attitude of the players over the course of the last couple of weeks and how they applied themselves in training,â said head coach Cullen.
âWhen they prepare well, theyâve a much better chance of performing well in these big games. There was great fight for each other. You could see the players, how much it means to them.
âI think the fight to stay in the battle is really important from our guys. I think they showed a lot of resilience, particularly as they (Toulouse) got close to our tryline. Theyâre good qualities to have in these big games.â
While the returning fly-half Sexton was the official man of the match, the title holders had a number of star performers as they restricted Toulouse to just three penalty goals from Thomas Ramos and one from replacement Romain Ntamack.
Chief among them was London Irish-bound flanker Sean OâBrien, whose return to fitness in recent months has coincided with long-term injuries to Josh Van Der Flier and Dan Leavy.
âSeanie is an unbelievable competitor. Heâs worked incredibly hard to get back from his injury. You can see what it means to Seanie the way he plays,â said Cullen.
âI thought he was really exceptional today. Itâs not just his performance, itâs how he leads the group.
âIn the week, the way he talks. How he understands the threats the opposition pose, both sides of the ball. In terms of dominating that contact area, heâs one of the best players to have ever played the game, certainly Irish guys.
âI think heâs showing again what heâs capable of. It was good to have Seanie back out there.â
Meanwhile, despite the obvious frustration at losing to Leinster in such comprehensive fashion, Toulouse skipper Jerome Kaino was doing his best to remain upbeat.
With a place in the Top 14 Championshipâs knock-out stages already assured, the former New Zealand international believes they need to take the positives from their European adventure, which showed they are a resurgent force.
âI think our young group can take a lot of experience from that game,â he said. âItâs disappointing we couldnât get the result, but I think we still have another challenge ahead of us in the Top 14.
âWeâll take a lot of experience, a lot of positives, from our European Cup campaign.
âI think they (Leinster) were able to build on their momentum. We defended well at times, but we werenât able to build on our momentum when we did get forward.â
Provided by Press Association Sport