ROBBIE HENSHAW tied the know three weeks ago and is determined Leinster will not be bridesmaids against La Rochelle.
Henshaw wed long-time partner Sophie Marren three weeks ago but with his nuptials coming mid-season there was no time for a honeymoon.
He was back in action for Leinster, against Bulls, eight days after exchanging vows.
He said: “It was pretty hectic, but it was good, good to have the week off and then turn the page and go back to work. I was happy enough to be able to come back in and play away.”
Last week, he helped the province set up a fifth Champions Cup meeting with La Rochelle in the space of three years.
Ronan O’Gara’s side beat them in a semi-final in 2021 and both the 2022 and 2023 finals with a pool game last December Leinster’s sole triumph.
And whilst Henshaw draws confidence from that he knows the Top 14 side are a different proposition in a knockout game.
The centre said: “It is very important, I think it was great for us to win that dog fight but I think we are under no illusions that that was the pool stages, seeing how they lost two games at the pool stage, and have still come through.
“I think they are a great team and under their coach they are unbelievable at finding a way to grind out a win or to get through.
“So I think that will be in our heads as well that they play to the final whistle and they have always found a way over the last few years.
“I think it is down to experience as well in the group, who they have playing with them and when the pressure does come on you in those scenarios how you deal with it.
“They are pretty good at dealing with the big periods of sustained pressure and then being able to come back with big periods of their own pressure and grind it out.”
Leinster, in contrast, have tended to be a flat-track bully, swatting aside all-comers before coming a cropper at the business end of the season.
MENTALITY NEEDED
And the 30-year-old admitted that the province have to rediscover the ability to navigate their way through tight games when it matters most.
He said: “I think for us it is probably being able to manage the period before half-time, the period just after half-time, and then the last 10 minutes.
“I suppose the last 10 minutes for us is probably the area where most importantly in the last two years in those finals we didn’t probably manage as well as we could have. So those last few minutes probably are huge.
“And then last year, looking back we got a great start against them and let them back in and then probably sat back a little and didn’t keep attacking them.
“That’s in our minds, that we probably have to stay attacking for the 80 minutes and not sit back and not try and contain them.
“Mentally it is huge, you need to be mentally fully in the moment and what you are doing, nail your role every time. I think physically we did match them last year.”
And, with no silverware since 2021 and no European title since their fourth in 2024, Henshaw admitted it was high time Leinster delivered the goods again.
TROPHY TIME
He said: “I wouldn’t say it’s been ‘a failure’. I’d say probably a really good learning curve and probably opens our eyes as to how competitive teams are, how much teams are growing and getting better.
“I remember Stuart Lancaster saying when you are sitting at the top you are always being hunted.
“You can see that teams have caught up and teams are getting better and better. We need to take those lessons now and we need to apply them and make sure we will do it this year.
“Within this club it is an obsession. It is huge. We are not shy about saying what we want to achieve and that definitely is the fifth star. So yeah, it is an obsession for everyone.
“When you experience winning this competition it is all you really think about.”