‘THEY ARE A TOP QUALITY SIDE WHO KNOW HOW TO GET WINS IN IRELAND’

From Back Page we can keep pushing our attack. ‘I suppose that’s probably the main difference I can see at the minute.’ Kelleher (right) was part of a Leinster team which sealed an impressive victory against Leicester at their Welford Road fortress in the last eight. Toulouse, meanwhile, emerged from a penalty shootout thriller against Munster after 100 minutes of pulsating action in the capital. The French giants travel to Ireland HQ again this weekend but Kelleher is not convinced that their opponents would be emotionally and physically drained after their exploits against Munster. ‘I suppose there’s two ways of looking at it, really. You could say that they’ll be fatigued after travelling back and forth to Ireland between last week and this week but then again, I suppose they had the earlier kickoff and would have been home at a similar time to us when we came back from Leicester. ‘So it’s kind of an even keel. Obviously we do have home advantage and we’re able to train here all week but I don’t think that will play too much into it, really. ‘They’re a quality side, they’ve shown that they can win in Ireland. I think they’ve won all five of their last five games in Ireland, so they’ve shown they’re well able to travel. ‘So yeah, for us it’s just about making sure we’re nailed on with our detail and ready to go on Saturday.’ Toulouse will be without the injured trio of Maxime Medard, Dimitri Delibes and Baptiste Germain this weekend, but head coach Ugo Mola has Zack Holmes and Juan Cruz Manilla back for this semi-final clash. The visitors have nine France internationals in their ranks, including

hookers Julien Marchand and Peato Mauvaka. And Kelleher, who has his own international understudy in Dan Sheehan, is relishing the battle with the French frontrowers. ‘We have been looking at them and they’re a class outfit,’ he added ‘They showed it last year when they won the double, but also a lot of their boys were in the Grand Slam winning team for France. ‘We need to be switched on this weekend.’ The 24-year-old, who has made 18 appearances for his country and toured with the Lions in South Africa, is set to be one of 13 internationals in Leinster’s starting line-up tomorrow. He is now part of an ambitious squad who are seeking to land a fifth title in the weeks ahead. ‘Growing up, looking at the teams from 2009, ‘11, 2012, and only being in the academy when they won in Bilbao (in 2018), that’s obviously a massive driver for me and a driver for a lot of the other younger lads in the squad who know we haven’t reached the mountain top, we haven’t done that yet, so it’s just about making sure we’re putting our best foot forward.’