There is no doubt that Leinster will still be licking their wounds this morning in light of their Champions Cup final loss to La Rochelle yesterday.
The Irish side started the game in a remarkable fashion, taking a 17 point lead inside the opening 12 minutes. However, despite a dream start at the Aviva Stadium, Ronan O'Gara's team would steadily impose themselves on the contest.
They would eventually take the lead inside the final ten minutes, defeating Leinster in the competition for the third consecutive campaign.
Questions will now rightly be asked about the mentality within Leo Cullen's group, who have repeatedly failed to perform on the big stage usually being the more fancied team.
A win for Leinster would have capped off a remarkable season for Irish rugby, with Munster still to play in the URC final next week. In saying that, some believe that this result could well impact the fortunes of Ireland later this year.
Mick Galwey wonders about impact of Leinster loss on Ireland
It is no secret that the bulk of Ireland's first choice players come from Leinster, and while they have not struggled on the big stage at test level in recent times, there may be worries that the scars they are accumulating at provincial level could impact them further down the line.
Writing in the Sunday World, Munster legend Mick Galwey said that Andy Farrell will be worried by what unfolded at the Aviva Stadium yesterday.
You have to say La Rochelle, though composed of Frenchmen, Kiwis, Aussies, Fijians and Samoans, are probably good enough to win the World Cup if they could get into the competition.
Certainly they beat most of the world’s No. 1 team yesterday with everything against them...
Maybe this loss will serve as a wake-up call to Irish rugby flying on a magic carpet of success of late.
Leinster provide the bulk of Andy Farrell’s Irish squad. You can be sure coaches of the teams who Ireland will vie with for the Webb Ellis Trophy next autumn were watching this game.
What will they take out of it? Simples, play your biggest men against Ireland, not necessarily your best men, and grind them down.
That’s twice it has happened now and opposition coaches and managers will pick up on it quickly.
So it falls to Munster next Saturday to win a trophy this season for Irish club rugby.
But they have to do what La Rochelle did yesterday and go to the home stadium of the opposition, the Stormers in Cape Town, and win.
The way in which the Leinster pack was dominated will certainly be of concern to Andy Farrell, with the bulk of those players set to play sizeable roles in the World Cup later this year.
Plenty of work will need to be done to ensure that this issue does not rear its ugly head against the likes of South Africa or France this autumn.
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