Leinster head coach Leo Cullen will try and drum up enthusiasm on Thursday when he speaks to the media, and by proxy, to supporters ahead of Saturday’s United Rugby Championship (URC) semi-final against the Stormers at the Aviva Stadium (5.30pm). It’s not just the financial implications of selling the game that will be on his mind.The Champions Cup final defeat to Bordeaux Bègles in Bilbao had a monumentally deflating effect on Leinster’s season, the latest in a series of European disappointments dating back to 2018. There’s an argument to say that given the Irish province went into the final as seven-point underdogs against the reigning champions, it hardly constitutes a massive shock.But therein lies the rub – it’s not deflating because they lost, it’s the manner of the defeat and the fact that losing in Europe has been a recurring theme. Everyone gets a ticket to the ‘blame game’ and can cast their opinions or aspersions freely.The coaching group are firmly in the crosshairs, the players subjected to a marginally more benign focus, in a general sense, where system rather than pilot error is causing the greater concern under the microscope of opinion.During those eight seasons, a sense of expectation gave way to hope in setting out on the annual European pilgrimage, that with each passing misadventure left more scars. In the circumstances, it was impossible for those that cared deeply to emerge unscathed whether coach, player or supporter, and particularly when poked.No one is bandying the word “consolation” publicly when discussing the remnants of Leinster’s season. After all, they are the URC title holders and there are 12 other clubs who’d gladly trade places for a crack at some silverware.However, there is a sense of ennui in some quarters in the fanbase because wise and not-so-wise men and women are in thrall to a star that can be seen but once again not touched until the quest begins again next season. That frustration eclipses everything.There is an assertion that Leinster are not as rigorous in their pursuit of a URC title in the same way they covet a fifth European crown. In leveraging that argument, the favoured case study is the 2022-2023 season, in which Leinster changed virtually their entire team from losing a URC semi-final to Munster and then, a week later, collapsing to a 27-26 defeat to La Rochelle in a Champions Cup final at the Aviva Stadium.La Rochelle’s Reda Wardi and Pierre Bourgarit tackle Jack Conan of Leinster during the 2023 Champions Cup final at the Aviva Stadium. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Centre Robbie Henshaw and number eight Jack Conan were the only two players to start both matches. The seven-day turnaround was a massive factor in selection.In 2024, four players – Jimmy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, James Ryan and Josh van der Flier – returned to start in a URC semi-final defeat to the Bulls in Pretoria following defeat to Toulouse in the Champions Cup final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.Van der Flier and Ryan were on the bench in London, O’Brien replaced Keenan (injured that day), while Ringrose returned from injury. Leinster played two URC matches – the final league-phase game and quarter-final – between those matches.Last season there was almost a month between the province’s defeat to the Northampton Saints at the penultimate stage in Europe and a URC semi-final win over Glasgow Warriors, both at the Aviva Stadium. During that period Leinster played three matches: two rounds of the league and a quarter-final.Six players – Tommy O’Brien, James Lowe, Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park, Dan Sheehan and Joe McCarthy – started both matches as the province subsequently went on to win the title against the Bulls.Saturday’s line-up for the Stormers game will be revealed on Thursday ahead of Cullen’s press conference. It will be parsed, injuries notwithstanding, to discern whether form is a primary arbiter for inclusion.How close will the team be to the one that ran out at the San Mamés stadium a fortnight ago, or will it bear a closer resemblance to the one that bearded the Lions last weekend? The identity of the outhalf is the pointy end of the selection debate.Harry Byrne earned a chance, Prendergast took his chance, while at face value Ciarán Frawley was denied a chance to build on his second-half cameo in Bilbao. The upshot, like several deliberations, promises to be quite revealing.What seems inarguable, though, is that within the Leinster camp, no one is dismissing the importance of winning the URC title. No one is playing it down. That elevates the stakes. The only controllable in narrative terms is having a good attitude and mindset in pursuing that goal.It’s not all sweetness in-house. There are issues, including player contracts, as well as some discontent anecdotally from supporters over seat allocations in the refurbished RDS. In the area of communications, Louise McCleery has done a great job in difficult conditions on secondment in the season-long absence of a successor to Marcus Ó Buachalla. On Saturday evening, all distractions must be pushed to one side. There is no consolation or mitigation in defeat.2025 (Players common to both starting teams in bold)May 3rd – Leinster (v Northampton Saints, Champions Cup semi-final): Hugo Keenan; Tommy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Cian Healy, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; RG Snyman, Joe McCarthy; Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris (capt). Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Andrew Porter, Rabah Slimani, Ryan Baird, Jack Conan, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Jordie Barrett.June 7th – Leinster (v Glasgow URC semi-final): Jimmy O’Brien; Tommy O’Brien, Jamie Osborne, Jordie Barrett, James Lowe; Sam Prendergast, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Thomas Clarkson; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan; Ryan Baird, Scott Penny, Jack Conan (capt). Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Jack Boyle, Rabah Slimani, RG Snyman, Max Deegan, Luke McGrath, Ross Byrne, Ciarán Frawley.2024May 25th – Leinster (v Toulouse Champions Cup final): Hugo Keenan; Jordan Larmour, Robbie Henshaw, Jamie Osborne, James Lowe; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, Jason Jenkins; Ryan Baird, Will Connors, Caelan Doris (capt). Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Michael Ala’alatoa, James Ryan, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan, Luke McGrath, Ciarán Frawley. June 15th – Leinster (v Bulls URC semi-final): Jimmy O’Brien; Jordan Larmour, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Joe McCarthy, James Ryan (capt), Ryan Baird, Josh van der Flier, Caelan Doris. Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Michael Ala’alatoa, Ross Molony, Jack Conan, Luke McGrath, Ciarán Frawley, Jamie Osborne.2023May 13th – Leinster (v Munster URC semi-final): Jimmy O’Brien, Tommy O’Brien, Robbie Henshaw, Charlie Ngatai, Dave Kearney; Harry Byrne, Luke McGrath (capt); Michael Milne, Rónan Kelleher, Michael Ala’alatoa, Ryan Baird, Jason Jenkins, Max Deegan, Will Connors, Jack Conan. Replacements: John McKee, Cian Healy, Thomas Clarkson, Joe McCarthy, Josh van der Flier, Nick McCarthy, Ciarán Frawley, Liam Turner.May 20th – Leinster (v La Rochelle Champions Cup final): Hugo Keenan; Jimmy O’Brien, Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw, James Lowe; Ross Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong; Ross Molony, James Ryan (capt); Caelan Doris, Josh van der Flier, Jack Conan. Replacements: Rónan Kelleher, Cian Healy, Michael Ala’alatoa, Jason Jenkins, Ryan Baird, Luke McGrath, Ciaran Frawley, Charlie Ngatai.