Pool placing

It was a flawless pool stage campaign for the 2018 winners and 2019 runners-up as they swept aside Pool 1 rivals in Northampton Saints, Lyon and Benetton Rugby, securing the No.1 seed in the process. A stunning double demolition of the English side in the crucial back-to-back matches meant the Irish province finished with 28 points.

Lockdown news

Leinster have secured two of their old guard for the rest of the season with both full-back Rob Kearney and centre Fergus McFadden signing new contracts until the end of the current campaign. They are both expected to be involved in the Irish province’s quarter-final against Saracens next month but will be without lock James Ryan who is undergoing shoulder surgery and wing Adam Byrne who faces hamstring surgery.

Quarter-final record

This will be Leinster’s 15th European Cup quarter-final and the Irish province boast a decent record at the last eight stage. Of the previous 14, they have landed the spoils in 10 of them including a 30-19 win over Saracens in the 2018 quarter-finals who they clash with at the Aviva Stadium this time around.

European history

Leinster have arguably the greatest European pedigree of all as four-time winners of Heineken Cup as well as a sole Challenge Cup victory in 2013. The first success in the Heineken Cup came in 2009 before further wins in 2011 and 2012. The fourth and most recent Heineken Champions Cup win came in 2018 when beating Racing 92 15-12 in Bilbao.

With the Heineken Champions Cup quarter-finals just around the corner, we are taking an in-depth look at all eight sides who will be competing for a spot in the showpiece final in October and today it is Leinster’s turn to come under the microscope.