'Everyone loves to hate Leinster': Lion fires back at media criticism

Leinster lock Joe McCarthy has said that his side “don’t really care about the outside noise” after a resounding 37-19 victory over Glasgow Warriors in the United Rugby Championship semi-final on Saturday at the Aviva Stadium.

A month on from their Investec Champions Cup semi-final home defeat against Northampton Saints, and a week after a patchy performance against the Scarlets in the quarter-finals, Leinster were met with accusations from fans and pundits that they had lost their confidence as they headed into the encounter with the reigning champions Glasgow.

Leo Cullen and Jacque Nienaber’s side went a long way to answering those critiques with a dominant display against the Warriors, putting the game to bed by half time with a 25-5 lead.

Following the victory, the Ireland and soon-to-be British and Irish Lions second-row said that the attitude that is shown towards Leinster is what drives the side on.

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Bulls

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“Well, we know everyone loves to hate Leinster, so that definitely drives us on,” he said, speaking to RTÉ.

“It’s a great fanbase and we don’t really care about the outside noise, what you guys say or what the other fans or people say. We’re going to rip into next week, it’s going to be tough, so there’s no shortage of motivation.”

Former Leinster hooker Bernard Jackman, who was a pundit for RTÉ on the day, was one of those that queried whether Leinster had lost their spark heading into the match.

“Their defence is starting to show creaks and attack-wise they are struggling to execute,” Jackman told the BBC Scotland rugby podcast last week. “The players don’t seem to be playing with any real anger. In actual fact, it looks like their confidence is gone. It’s amazing what a defeat can do to you.”

After three successive home defeats in the first three instalments of the competition, Leinster will take part in their first URC final against the Bulls at Croke Park. McCarthy added that previous failures only added to the pressure heading into the contest against the Scottish outfit.

“There’s always pressure,” he said. “Obviously we’ve never reached a URC final. Disappointed this year already. So, we want to finish strong and we want the fans back on our side and I think the fans were great today and stayed after the game. We’ll need more of that next week.”

Leinster’s win silenced their critics for now, but only a win over the Bulls will banish the reputation that they have built over the past few seasons.