Tony Ward previews Leinster's Heineken Cup semi-final against Toulouse, and believes that their run to the cup is far more difficult than in 2009 in The Irish Independent.
"If the route to Edinburgh and outright success in 2009 was tough for Leinster, well two years on, it's all of that and quite a bit again. It's a measure of the increasing level of intensity of the Heineken Cup that the '09 champions' path to today's semi-final showdown at the Aviva Stadium has been rugged in the extreme.
"Home and away against Racing Metro, Clermont Auvergne and Saracens, followed by do-or-die matches against Leicester and Toulouse in the knock-outs, there could not be a more difficult path to the final for Leo Cullen & Co should they make it -- with due respect to Northampton and Perpignan, who meet in the second semi-final tomorrow.
"For the record, two years ago it was Wasps, Edinburgh and Castres, followed by Harlequins (Bloodgate and the day Leinster Rugby came of age), Munster and Leicester in that order. Winning (6-5) in a slug fest at the Stoop, followed by the annihilation of Munster at Croke Park and the systematic dismantling of Leicester in the Murrayfield final, saw Leinster cross the Rubicon and join European rugby's elite."
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