Sheehan on righting wrongs of Marseille: ‘If we let it slip now and give up on the season it’s pointless’
Ireland international Dan Sheehan has admitted the past few days have been tough for the Leinster squad in the wake of their agonising defeat to La Rochelle in the Heineken Champions Cup decider in Marseille on Saturday.
Thrown into the Stade Velodrome cauldron as a 14th-minute replacement for starting hooker Ronan Kelleher, Sheehan looked set to come away with his first European crown as Leinster held the edge over the Top 14 outfit for the vast majority of the contest. Ronan O’Gara’s men refused to yield, however, and a last-gasp converted try from Arthur Retière denied their opponents at the death.
Sheehan and his team-mates have since returned to training in preparation for a United Rugby Championship quarter-final clash against Glasgow Warriors at the RDS on Saturday (kick-off 3.15pm), but emotions were initially raw as the Leinster camp attempted to process Saturday’s game.
“I’ve found it hard, the last few days. Being at home when you’re left with your own thoughts. Could you have influenced it or were you missing something? Then I think today [Tuesday], just being with the lads again and getting back out onto the pitch, we actually had a good session which cleared the head,” Sheehan explained in a virtual media call.
“There was great energy throughout the session, which allowed the focus to shift and gave us something to go over this evening when we review training. We can go review Glasgow, whereas yesterday [Monday] it was maybe about the [La Rochelle] review and it was hard enough to get over.
“We made sure to stay close to each other. Everyone was reflecting on their own parts of the game and what maybe they could have done that would have had the impact. Quite a hard one to get the head around.”
Given how impressively they have performed across both competitions for the bulk of the season, Leinster were hotly-tipped to secure a fifth European star before being crowned the inaugural winners of the United Rugby Championship in the coming weeks. Yet Saturday’s loss has ended hopes of a double success and there is now an added pressure on the shoulders of the Leinster players ahead of this weekend’s showdown with Glasgow.
Having claimed some form of silverware in each of the past four seasons, the prospect of a trophyless campaign is something Sheehan and his provincial colleagues will be desperate to avoid.
“I think we put the pressure on ourselves, always. Within the group our goal was to do the double. One of them is gone now. It was a pretty quick turnover to make sure we are ready for Glasgow. The last thing we need now is to get stuck on what happened on Saturday. I think the Glasgow game will now set the tone of the rest of the campaign,” Sheehan said.
“So far this season has been great for us and we don’t want to have nothing to show for it at the end. We got to a Champions Cup final, which was great. Obviously we didn’t win, but if we let it slip now and give up on the season it’s pointless. Because the whole season will be marked off as a dud.
“I think it’s incredibly important that we make sure we focus on the Glasgow game so that we can roll in three weeks in-a-row and hopefully win three weeks in-a-row.”
While Jonathan Sexton’s ankle injury (which forced him off just past the hour mark in Marseille) will require further assessment before a decision is made on his availability for the game, Kelleher’s shoulder problem has definitely ruled him out of Saturday’s last-eight meeting with Glasgow. Given James Tracy (neck) also remains on the treatment table, the soon-to-be-retired Limerick native Sean Cronin may well come into the match day reckoning as back-up to Sheehan.
Although he hinted there could be changes to the 23 aside from any ones that are enforced, Leinster scrum coach Robin McBryde insisted it won’t be a reaction to what unfolded against La Rochelle in Marseille.
“It was always going to be a big game anyway. Selection is always going to be difficult, whether we won or lost on the weekend. Some players will deserve an opportunity on merit, so we are just going through that process really. That’s all I can say. Because of the nature and the quality of the players in the squad, it’s not a straightforward decision in any position really,” McBryde acknowledged.
“Everyone has really performed when they have been given the opportunity, but everybody has got a role to play. Everybody should feel significant in the role they play to prepare the match day 23. The lucky 23 will represent Leinster on Saturday.”