Leinster centre Robbie Henshaw believes his Leinster side must “cherish” the support they will be receiving in Marseille on Saturday ahead of the Heineken Champions Cup final against La Rochelle.
The Irish player added that the players know it’ll be a “sea of blue” at the Stade Velodrome and respected the great support Irish fans give. Speaking to the media ahead of Saturday’s final, the Athlone man said:
“You have to really cherish the support we have here in Ireland, and I suppose the support that is going to be travelling over to Marseille, I know it is going to be a massive sea of blue there.”
“We have such a good support base and they will travel for us.”
Leinster overcame champions Toulouse at the Aviva in the semi-final to book their place in the final after a monumental performance. They ran out 40-17 winners to go one step closer to winning the competition a fifth time and go level with their French rivals.
Standing in their way from glory is another French side spearheaded by Irish legend Ronan O’Gara. La Rochelle defeated Racing 92 in the semi-final and can look forward to the Leinster game with confidence, having beaten the four time champions in the semi-finals last year.
Henshaw added that by Thursday there will be a cut-off between himself and contacting people through his phone to allow him to really get the head switched on.
“For me, I say thanks by Wednesday or Thursday, then I’ll focus on getting back to people after the game.”
Henshaw produced a gutsy performance in the win over Toulouse. He had been bed-bound up until the Thursday before the game with a flu. However, he got out of bed on Friday for the Captain’s Run and felt better, and Saturday was no different.
“It was a rough week. I was pretty grim. I got out of bed for the Captain’s Run and I felt somewhat better.
“I just kind of dug deep, just kept the head down and tried to get on with it the best I could.
“Once I got into the game, it was a bit easier but definitely at times where you want that extra kick recovering wise, catching your breath, it was a small bit off but again, it is amazing what adrenaline can do.”
Henshaw doesn’t believe the final will be a classic, but insists it is “win at all costs.” He believes it is going to be a tough game and praised the French side for their style of play and being hard to break down.
“It’s a final, we need to just do what we can to win and if it’s ugly, it’s ugly. Whatever way the game unfolds.”
