Ireland's Hugo Keenan has claimed that he doesn't believe Leinster's sour end to the season will have a lasting effect on Ireland ahead of the World Cup this year.
Leinster lost to Munster in the United Rugby Championship semi-final, and this was followed by another Champions Cup defeat to La Rochelle in May.
The French side won their second successive Champions Cup trophy with a dramatic win over Leinster in Dublin. After being 17-0 down in the first half, the French team battled back to beat Leo Cullen's side 26-27.
Ireland's player's are in the second week of the pre-season training camp ahead of the World Cup games, and a number of Leinster players will once again be key for Andy Farrell.
Keenan, one of the mainstays for Leinster and Ireland, played in both defeats. He believes that Leinster's poor end to the season won't become a long-term detriment for Ireland. Keenan believes that it will become fuel ahead of the tournament.
Wellington , New Zealand - 14 July 2022; Hugo Keenan, left, with defence coach Simon Easterby. (Photo By Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)"It's tough because three weeks or four weeks of holidays isn't going to wipe the slate clean for you," Keenan said. "It's obviously a lot less of a touchy subject than it was a couple of minutes after the final whistle, but we're still hugely disappointed.
"It was gutting, and something I won't get over for a while, but it's something you have to use as a positive to motivate yourself more, to make yourself better and the teammates around you better, and take from losing a final to push on."
"You just have to embrace it and take the learnings from it. People aren't dwelling on it; you can't come in moody still and disappointed about that. The Munster lads are on a high. Everybody has to have a pep in their step; people aren't short on motivation," he added.
Ireland has arranged three summer warm-up matches as part of their preparations for Rugby World Cup 2023. Ireland will face Italy at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday August 5, followed by England two weeks later. The third warm-up match will be against Samoa in Bayonne on Saturday August 26.
