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7th May 2022
01:54pm BST

"Look at the size of their squad, the number of internationals and the nature of their league. It is very different. "Compare that to where we are - the Premiership is a fierce competition and we operate under a salary cap, and that leaves you with a limited squad size. Sending one squad to South Africa and leaving one in Ireland is a different situation. It is one of the challenges we need to overcome. I'm not complaining about it, it's just a fact.'These guys have been at the top of European rugby for a long time and had a lot of success. They've got 30-odd internationals in their squad - the vast majority of the Ireland team that finished second in the Six Nations. It is quite an incredible team they have."
"What a great competition this is... the places we've been and the teams we've played," he said. "And we're growing from it. "A couple of weeks ago, we were out at Clermont and I said to the guys, 'Right, who has played at Stade Michelin before?' There were next to no hands. Right, okay. "A lot of this stuff is new. I asked, 'Who has played Leinster before?' And there's not many hands in the air! This is a new adventure we're on, and we're learning a lot from it."Back to welcoming Leinster to what should be a hopping Welford Road, Borthwick said, "We get to see where we're at against the best team in Europe, if not the best club team in the world. It's everything we want. "We've come on loads this season but let's see how far we have come."
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