Leinster vs Toulouse

offical leinster supporters club
Welcome to what we hope come the
final whistle around 5/ 5:15pm, will
indeed have been a Super Saturday
for Leinster as we welcome Toulouse
for the first of the weekend’s
semi-final fixtures in the 2021/22
Heineken Champions Cup.
We last took to the field here
around a month ago, when on
Good Friday we secured victory
over our interprovincial rivals
Connacht (56-20) which saw us
take our place in the last eight.
Last weekend in that game played in
Mattioli Woods Welford Road, we
overcame Leicester Tigers 23-14 to
secure our place here today. Our visitors
for today are no stranger to the Aviva
and they’ve even managed to take to the
field here more recently than we last did,
just last week (Saturday) to be exact!
For them, and only the second time in the
history of the competition, the result was
secured after a place kicking competition
and our other interprovincial rivals
Munster fell at that hurdle in what was a
cauldron of red.
Our aim today is to make sure that the
cauldron atmosphere is replicated,
however in the colour of blue! For
those of you who were in Leicester last
weekend, there was something very
special and heart-warming about seeing
Leo getting off the coach in the car park
and the smile that spread across his face
when he saw the #SeaOfBlue that was
there to greet him and the team.
Covid restrictions have had on away
fixtures.
That welcome last week no doubt brought
a tear to a few eyes and we hope that
today will be no different. A number of
the OLSC Committee travelled over to
the game last weekend and at numerous
times over the course of the day, both
before and after the game, there was
nothing but praise for you the fans who
were in attendance and we thank you
for this.
We work to ensure we can assist as many
fans as we can to get to games, and last
week certainly showed that when the
blue travels, it travels in large numbers
and is loud. Very Loud! It’s been said
before numerous times and especially by
Leo in his pre-match notes that the team
acknowledge and appreciate how much
this means to them and what a boost it
gives them.
Back to this afternoon though and there’s
not much point dwelling on the past
history and results between ourselves
and Toulouse as they could be debated
and rehashed over for hours. Last week
we made a fast start, even leading 20-0
at half-time before running out winners
23-14.
finished 24-all with Munster missing a last
gasp penalty to secure victory. The rest
we all know about and the final score-line
brings Toulouse back to the Aviva.
The lessons for us to take from their
victory is that they are resilient (well, you
don’t secure five stars on sheer luck and
chance) and if you don’t shake them, they
will continue to sniff and wait for their
opportunity to pounce and this is exactly
what they did last week.
The ‘home’ crowd last week did their
utmost to roar their team to victory
however it wasn’t to be but for us, this is
our home away from home and we know
that a big performance is needed, from
us and the team!
Last week was a tight affair and we
expect no different this week but what
we do know as evidenced in the past is
that we can come away with the victory
when we need it most when the crowd
is behind the team and let’s make sure
today is no different.
This is where we want to stamp our mark
on the competition and lay out our stall
and announce to the remaining teams
that we mean business and want to
become the second European, and first
Irish, team to secure an illustrious fifth star.
We’d love for the road to Marseille to be
paved blue, and wouldn’t you ….
As always we’re thankful for the support
we as a committee get from Leinster
Rugby, Bank of Ireland and all the
Corporate Sponsors, and as always we
encourage you to show your support
through our social media channels.
Be loud, be true, be blue
It was a special moment for all involved
given the last two years and the impact
Toulouse on the other hand went into the
break all square (14-apiece) before it
Yours in Rugby,
Your OLSC Committee
54 | www.leinsterrugby.ie