Leinster's fourth-quarter fade against Northampton highlighted the bench problems for head coach Leo Cullen, according to Bernard Jackman.
The four-time Investec Champions Cup winners held off a late surge from the English Premiership leaders to win 20-17 and reach the final against Toulouse on 25 May in London.
They looked to be in total control, leading 20-3 against a misfiring Saints outfit with 22 minutes to play at Croke Park on Saturday.
However, the visitors worked their way back into the contest and the combined efforts of back rows Caelan Doris and Jack Conan were needed to win a jackal penalty with Saints threatening on the 22.
Leinster made three substitutions on the 53rd minute: forwards Rónan Kelleher, Jason Jenkins and Conan replaced Dan Sheehan, Ross Molony and Josh van der Flier.
Michael Ala’alatoa came on for Tadhg Furlong in the 61st minute; Cian Healy, making a record 111th appearance in the competition, switched on for Andrew Porter with eight minutes to go, while fit-again Jimmy O’Brien came on for Jordan Larmour a minute later.
Harry Byrne came on for the injured Ciarán Frawley in the last minute, while scrum-half Luke McGrath was an unused substitute, with man of the match Jamison Gibson-Park going the full 80.
Injured Ireland players Garry Ringrose (shoulder) and Hugo Keenan (hip) will be further assessed this week before a decision is made on their availability to face the Ospreys (Saturday, 7.35pm) but priority will be placed on ensuring the influential duo are fully fit.
"This may sound really harsh and if you look at it before the game there are only two players on it at the moment [that] are international standard, that’s Kelleher and Conan.
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"Healy coming of the bench, he’s got loads of experience but it’s a big ask to come on and give impact at his age (36), he did really well.
"The others? Jimmy O’Brien is coming back from injury; Jason Jenkins, Michael Ala’alatoa. That’s the scary thing for Leinster when you look the Toulouse squad.
"Now, Garry Ringrose, James Ryan, Hugo Keenan, they can come back in, maybe you go 6:2 and bring in Will Connors.
"For Leo, he’s got three weeks to get some of those players back fit so you have a 23-man squad, who can help you get over the line."
Meanwhile, Antoine Dupont (above), who scored two tries in Toulouse's 38-26 win over Harlequins, says he realises that Leinster will be as hungry as his team to lift the trophy for the fifth time.
"We are one match away from lifting a trophy," said the 27-year-old scrum-half.
"We know that it is extremely hard to get there and the last step is certainly the most difficult.
"It will be against an opponent that we know very well and who wants to win as much as we do. It’s twice that Leinster have lost in the final.
"We know them very well, they know us very well. It's up to us to understand it as best we can to emerge victorious.
"We obviously suspected, when we know the qualities of this team and its appetite for this competition, that Leinster would find themselves in this place. But, for our part, we had to focus on ourselves.
"The Leinster players have beaten us twice in the semis in the last two years but they have reached the final twice without winning it.
"So I don't know who is more unhappy in the story."
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