MEMORIES OF GLORY IN BILBAO DRIVING ROB

Champions Cup countdown

ROBBIE HENSHAW insists Leinster are putting pressure on themselves to reach the Champions Cup summit again.

The Blues kick-off their latest attempt to win that fifth star on the jersey against Bath at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, followed by a tough encounter in Montpellier the following Friday.

When they returned to the top of European club rugby’s tree in 2018 (left, Henshaw with the trophy), another period of dominance looked a possibility.

But a lot has changed in the meantime. The emergence of Covid, for one. And Leinster are yet to replicate those joyous scenes from Bilbao when they beat Racing to win the competition for a fourth time.

“I know, it’s crazy when you look back and see the highlights of the game, how different things are now,” reflected Henshaw.

The Athlone man says that if he has kids down the line, when he tells them about these days he will advise them to “make the most out of your life because you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

He is certainly making the most of his playing days, having really come into his own over the past 12 months and delivered on his rich potential.

Having lost to Saracens twice and La Rochelle at the business end of the tournament over the last three years,

Leinster are eager to show they have adapted to what’s required.

“It’s probably at the top of our goals, to get back to that Heineken Champions Cup and win it, to get that fifth star is huge for us,” said Henshaw.

“The last few seasons we’ve learned a lot about coming up against the big, physical teams, so that’s what we’re going to have to come up against again.

“In Bilbao, beating Racing was an incredible feeling and I think we want to get back there. We’re doing our best to do it this year.”