Returning duo – James Ryan and Hugo Keenan – make selection conundrums trickier for Leo Cullen

The result didn’t go his way, but if Leo Cullen wanted solace on the team bus home it was there in the form of the 80 minutes his co-captain and Hugo Keenan put in at Ravenhill. Leinster can’t worry about the fact that their latest URC defeat is likely to deny them a return to Croke Park in the play-offs, the prize this Saturday is too big for that.

And, while there will be some thought given to the way they managed the endgame against Ulster and the fact that once again they were outscored in the final quarter, the page will turn and Cullen and his coaches will get stuck into the task of picking a 23-man squad to face Toulouse in what is the ultimate Champions Cup final between the competition’s most successful teams.

Keenan and Ryan will surely come into the team, while Jimmy O’Brien and Will Connors are pushing hard for inclusion and scrum-half Cormac Foley may have nudged himself in front of the more experienced Luke McGrath with an impressive 80 minutes that saw him do well at scrum-half and compete brilliantly on the wing after Charlie Ngatai (shoulder) and Tommy O’Brien (hamstring) were forced off.

Between the timing of those injuries and the fact they’ve just reviewed last year’s semi-final when Toulouse were forced into a major backline rejig due to injury, fitness will be factored into discussions about whether to go with a 6/2 or 5/3 bench split for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium too. It’s a tricky conundrum and getting the balance right is key if Leinster are to shed the bridesmaids tag that has dogged them since the 2019 final.

“The squad are working away, they’re driving each other on and that’s important,” Cullen said. “It’s not an enjoyable feeling when you lose a game at the end but it gives you that jolt. There’s going to be some tough decisions this week, we’ll see how everyone pulls through, make some calls and hopefully we’ll come up with a strong group of 23 that will represent the wider group, the club and the fans well.”

Having rested 14 of the starting XV from the semi-final win over Northampton, Cullen will hope there’s a freshness at training. The injection of quality from Ryan and Keenan will see things go up a level and the co-captain admits he isn’t quite sure where he stands after returning from 10 weeks out with a torn bicep.

“I have to see what happens,” he said. “The boys are going well and I’ve been out for quite a while. What I can control is my performance against Ulster and see what happens.

“I missed the lads and I missed nights like tonight. Just being able to play with the lads, it’s been a great week and we prepped pretty well. We just didn’t get the result we wanted in the end.

“It [sharpness on recovery] is thanks to the great work from the lads over the last 10 weeks. Einar [Einarsson, the IRFU’s rehab specialist] out in the HPC (High Performance Centre), he’s been brilliant for me. I’m happy to be back fit and it felt like I was pretty robust out there.”

Neither he nor Keenan was supposed to go 80 minutes, but the backline injuries meant the full-back went the distance and Brian Deeny got a bang on his shoulder which meant Ryan did likewise.

He looks like he put his time in rehab to good use in the gym by bulking up and he put himself about in defeat, while Keenan was outstanding on his return.

Their presence makes life uncomfortable for a couple of players.

Ryan will almost certainly partner Joe McCarthy, meaning Ross Molony and Jason Jenkins are battling for a bench spot, while Keenan will come in at full-back. Cullen didn’t rule out Garry Ringrose, but he seems a long shot at this stage.

Ciarán Frawley will likely be on the bench as part of a 6/2 split, although the form and fitness of Jimmy O’Brien adds to the conundrum as they weigh up whether to stick with Jordan Larmour on the right wing.

Will Connors was good at openside and they may revert back to him starting, with Josh van der Flier braced for impact off the bench, something that’s worked well against La Rochelle. And, while there was disappointment about the nature of John Cooney’s late winner that leaves them behind Munster and the Bulls going into the final round of URC action against Connacht on Saturday week, their focus will be on getting the blend right this week.

​Toulouse also rested their frontliners and won impressively against Montpellier and Cullen had no regrets about his own strategy. “They had a great win away, resting quite a lot of guys,” the coach said.

“I think everyone understands that, don’t they? In terms of the prep for some other guys, trying to get a step ahead, a bit of mental freshness even coming into the week. But we’ve some guys against Ulster that obviously will be featuring next week.

“There’s lots of things that go into it. It’s not exact but in knockout games you need to do everything you can to set up your team as best you can to give you the best chance of winning. Hopefully we’ll see a big performance next week.

“Everyone is just excited by the prospect. When you see where the game is going to be, the stadiums for next year, you get your mind into picturing the team that you’re involved in being there on the day. Spurs stadium, it’s a cool venue, it’s a little bit different. Rugby games have been played there and when you see them you think it would be a cool arena for the players to showcase what they can do.

“We’ve had amazing support all year and hopefully in London we’ll have a big Leinster following and make it a special day.

“We need to work hard this week and get excited by the challenge.”