'Everyone loves to hate Leinster. It drives us on'

Joe McCarthy says "everyone loves to hate Leinster" and admitted the team are using the perceived ill will as fuel in their quest for silverware after they hammered Glasgow to reach the United Rugby Championship final.

Leinster beat last year's champions 37-19 at Aviva Stadium on Saturday to set up a decider against South African side Bulls at Croke Park next week.

The Irish province have had a point to prove after being stunned at home by Northampton Saints in the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals as they aim to avoid a fourth consecutive season without a trophy.

"We know everyone loves to hate Leinster. That definitely drives us on," lock McCarthy told RTE after the Glasgow game.

"We've a great fanbase. We don't really care about the outside noise, what you guys [the media] or other people say.

"We're going to rip into next week. It'll be a tough team we're playing so there's no shortage of motivation."

McCarthy, 24, and several of his Leinster team-mates will hope to finish the season with a trophy against the Bulls on Saturday (17:00 BST) before linking up with the British and Irish Lions squad.

"We definitely needed that, it's our first URC final [in the competition's current iteration],"added McCarthy, who started all 11 of Ireland's Test matches in 2024.

"It's massive for us. We need the fans behind us now, we're into Croke Park.

"It's exactly where we want to be, it's a great buzz. There's always pressure, we've never reached a URC final.

"We've disappointment this year already so we want to finish strong and get the fans back on our side."