Following the heartbreak and mysery of consecutive Champions Cup final defeats for Leinster against La Rochelle the past two seasons, Leo Cullen's outfit knocked the Top 14 side out of the competition after an impressive performance at the Aviva Stadium.
The Irish province earned a home semi-final clash against Northampton Saints after the win, and with work being done at the Aviva ahead of the Europa League final, they will play their first game at Croke Park since 2009.
While Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle have proved to be a thorn in Leinster's side in recent times, the mental aspect of beating their recent rivals so comprehensively led to some celebrations from the team.
13 April 2024; Ross Byrne of Leinster, centre, and Leinster head of medical Professor John Ryan after his side's victory in the Investec Champions Cup quarter-final match between Leinster and La Rochelle at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Ferris on Leinster's celebrations
While this Leinster side is undoubtedly a better, more well rounded and experienced side than Ulster during their run to the Champions Cup final in 2012, former Ireland back-row Stephen Ferris spotted a slight similarity between the sides that could come back to bite them.
Speaking to us, Ferris believes his side's premature semifinal celebrations back in 2012 played a big role in their heavy defeat to Leinster in the final.
I think I can remember back to 2012 and we obviously reached the Heineken Cup final back then against Leinster and we got absolutely dominated like 43 points to 18 or something like that. In the semifinal, we beat Edinburgh in the Aviva Stadium. We were walking around with Ulster flags above our heads and singing and cheering with the Ulster fans. Giving them what they want. We were like 'We've done it, we've done it.'
We done nothing. We hadn't won anything and I remember chatting to some of the Leinster players. They watched us celebrate after that game and were like 'Look at those guys. They think they've already won this competition. They've won nothing, they're not in the right head space. Lets get stuck into them early and lets see what they're made of.'
Obviously, we folded, especially in that second half. I just look at some of them celebrations from the weekend from the Leinster players and I know it was a huge game. La Rochelle, after losing to them on a few occassions compared to Edinburgh who you are expected to beat in a semifinal every day of the week at home. It's hugely different, there'll be a lot of different emotions but I just hope they don't get carried away. They can't get carried away with that victory against the Champions Cup champions and that they keep moving on, keep moving forward and I think they will.
I don't think they are going to be anything like we were back then. They've a lot more leadership, a lot more quality, a lot more nous in the latter stages of the competition than Ulster ever had. But it was the first time I've seen a Leinster side really savour the moment, really enjoy it and maybe it was just to rub it in the noses of La Rochelle because they did it to them and quite possibly it was, but it's a really interesting narrative that I'll be keeping an eye on heading into the semifinal.
As Stephen Ferris said, the side likely won't get carried away by the victory, but it does highlight a different type of Leinster reaction than we've been accustomed to seeing in recent times.
Whether Northampton Saints take note of the celebrations and try to use that to their advantage is yet to be seen, but it was an interesting take from the quarterfinal.
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