Though acutely disappointed to be part of another league final that got away, Jamie Heaslip could hardly have been more magnanimous in defeat. While he may not have shared the huge goodwill which came with Connacht's march to the final, he signed off virtually every answer at his post-match briefing by admitting Leinster had been beaten by the better team.
This has not been the first time Leinster have been fairly soundly beaten by a good side in this campaign. “It’s tough playing to this stage and not winning. It’s a tough pill to swallow,” said Heaslip. Reflecting on a curiously undistinguished season which, despite reaching the Pro 12 final, Heaslip strove to accentuate some positives.
“We’ve had a rollercoaster year, it’s been a long year for some players. We’ve used 56 players (including) 10 of the academy, and three of the academy guys started today, and guys out there will get a lot of learning lesson, a lot of experience. I’ve said it before, you probably learn a lot more from your losses than your wins, because you are kind of slammed into that harsh reality.”
“We do have a young group and they will learn. When I look back at the start of my career, we lost a good bit before we got any sort of success and I think this group will learn a lot from the way the season has gone. When you go up against a really good side like Connacht, and what it takes to try and get a score, it’s not easy to win any competition. The better side won today.”
Connacht’s moment
Heaslip had not had a chance to personally congratulate his counterpart
John Muldoon
. “I didn’t, no. You let them enjoy it. It’s their moment. All their fans invaded the pitch so we stepped aside and let them enjoy it. I think I just saw a couple of guys like Quinn (Roux) and that. I didn’t get to see John but all credit to him and his group of players.”
Heaslip gave an inkling into what it is like when facing Connacht in this mood and in this form. “Tough. They test you. They play a very wide game which you all know. If you give them any sort of quick ball or let them play that wide-wide game without putting pressure on them, they will test you, and they’re very good at holding on to the ball and playing with that that width, which is tough, and I think in that first-half especially, we compounded that by turning over quite a lot of ball and they’re very happy to keep it in hand and really test you. They stretched us and they took their scores really well.”
Leo Cullen admitted his first season as head coach provided him with "a lot of learnings," adding: "My first year in the job so I've learned a lot about the players. I take a lot of comfort in the fact we've used a lot of good young players. They've had that level of experience. Even in Europe, a lot of them made their European debuts. We'll be better going in next season."
“There are a few changes with personnel in the squad but that’s the same with every team we play. I think the experience those younger guys have got will keep us in a good position going forward. When we come back in, we’ll have a better build into the season because we have our players more readily available during pre season and we can get some proper building blocks in place. There’s a certain level of frustration with the performance. After last season, you could see there was real signs of progress, it’s almost a bit of a step back today but hopefully it will allow to us to be stronger going forward.”
