David Kelly plots the developments that have created the Leinster that we know today in The Irish Independent.
"It has taken only a decade but Leinster have constructed an empire. Two Heineken Cup wins in three years -- it could easily have been a hat-trick but for injury last season -- frank their status as the kings of Europe.
"Good teams win Europe's premier competition once. Great teams win it twice -- and more. When Toulouse lifted their second crown on Irish soil in 2003, many within Irish rugby were already meekly accepting that theirs would be a supporting act for the so-called giants of European rugby.
"Instead, Munster forged a path that Ireland and Leinster have followed. Seemingly insurmountable obstacles, whether French budgets that soar beyond €20m, or the vastly superior playing numbers boasted by England, have been spectacularly vaulted."
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