IT WAS LEO Cullen who brought up Leinster’s “tricky” start to the season before pausing to suggest that there was no need to rehash the well-documented struggles his province had in the opening rounds of the URC campaign.
Defeats to the Stormers and the Bulls in South Africa were followed fairly swiftly by a chastening bonus-point loss to Munster at Croke Park.
There were big concerns about Leinster at that stage but while they haven’t silenced the doubters, their form has had a gradual uptick.
Last night’s 13-8 win over Munster at Thomond Park made it six victories in a row in the URC and Champions Cup.
Of course, Leinster were fancied to beat Zebre, the Dragons, Harlequins, Leicester, Ulster, and Munster but they’re still pleased to have got wins on the board in some tricky circumstances over the last few weeks.
Last night at Thomond Park was a case in point. Leinster didn’t attack very well but their defence and set-piece were good as they edged a tight battle with Munster.
Leo Cullen has been mixing up his team selections each week, as is the norm at this stage of the campaign, so he’s happy just to be getting good results now, even if performances aren’t quite what he would hope for.
“This time of year, it’s about picking up wins, isn’t it?” said Cullen at Thomond Park.
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“That’s the most pleasing part, four points. But listen, there’s lots of great effort. I thought it was an amazing occasion in terms of the atmosphere.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen. Andrew Conan / INPHO
Andrew Conan / INPHO / INPHO
“It’s full on. It’s a proper cauldron out there, I presume, to play in. It was a cauldron even for the coaches where we were sitting. But it’s special, isn’t it? It’s a special occasion. It’s great to be part of.
“But listen, what’s the most important bit is to win and just get out of here and get on with the road, recovering and turn to the next challenge which is obviously Connacht now on Saturday.
“Hopefully we’ll have a similar sort of cauldron atmosphere in the Aviva next week because the games are coming and taking fast at the moment.
“We had some good parts in the game and Munster had some good parts in the game. But overall, the defensive effort I thought was outstanding, which probably is what won us the game.”
The reality is that Leinster will make another raft of changes for next weekend’s clash with Connacht, who have a familiar face in charge in Stuart Lancaster.
Leinster have a big contingent of Ireland internationals, whose minutes have to be managed at this stage of the season.
“That’s important for us that everyone understands,” said Cullen. “Our hand is forced a little bit because we have to rotate guys out of the group, which just means we’re chopping and changing the team a lot.
“It’s not easy for the players to get their heads around that sometimes. They’re in, they’re out, and then they’re back in again or whatever way that works.”
Leinster's Rieko Ioane in Limerick. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
Whatever about that next inter-pro challenge for Leinster, there was satisfaction in getting the win at Thomond Park last night.
It wasn’t full revenge for the loss to Munster in Croke Park in October, but it was a pleasing result at the end of a physical, confrontational derby.
“We’ve eked out two wins the last couple of weeks in two very different ways,” said Cullen.
“We started poorly against Ulster. We coughed up some easy points. We turn over possession and they’re in for a couple of tries off some of our mistakes.
“We don’t give Munster some of those opportunities but we still had a chance to probably kick on in the game today, where again it’s scrappy out there.
“The breakdown is messy and there’s probably a couple of things that we’ll look back on and go, yeah, we need to improve here. But overall, you’re coming away from home this time of year, there’s lots of challenges in terms of managing the group and everyone has the challenge of time of year.
“But it’s pleasing to get a win and move on to the next challenge.”
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'We're chopping and changing a lot' - Leinster happy with winning run
IT WAS LEO Cullen who brought up Leinster’s “tricky” start to the season before pausing to suggest that there was no need to rehash the well-documented struggles his province had in the opening rounds of the URC campaign.
Defeats to the Stormers and the Bulls in South Africa were followed fairly swiftly by a chastening bonus-point loss to Munster at Croke Park.
There were big concerns about Leinster at that stage but while they haven’t silenced the doubters, their form has had a gradual uptick.
Last night’s 13-8 win over Munster at Thomond Park made it six victories in a row in the URC and Champions Cup.
Of course, Leinster were fancied to beat Zebre, the Dragons, Harlequins, Leicester, Ulster, and Munster but they’re still pleased to have got wins on the board in some tricky circumstances over the last few weeks.
Last night at Thomond Park was a case in point. Leinster didn’t attack very well but their defence and set-piece were good as they edged a tight battle with Munster.
Leo Cullen has been mixing up his team selections each week, as is the norm at this stage of the campaign, so he’s happy just to be getting good results now, even if performances aren’t quite what he would hope for.
“This time of year, it’s about picking up wins, isn’t it?” said Cullen at Thomond Park.
“That’s the most pleasing part, four points. But listen, there’s lots of great effort. I thought it was an amazing occasion in terms of the atmosphere.
“It’s full on. It’s a proper cauldron out there, I presume, to play in. It was a cauldron even for the coaches where we were sitting. But it’s special, isn’t it? It’s a special occasion. It’s great to be part of.
“But listen, what’s the most important bit is to win and just get out of here and get on with the road, recovering and turn to the next challenge which is obviously Connacht now on Saturday.
“Hopefully we’ll have a similar sort of cauldron atmosphere in the Aviva next week because the games are coming and taking fast at the moment.
“We had some good parts in the game and Munster had some good parts in the game. But overall, the defensive effort I thought was outstanding, which probably is what won us the game.”
The reality is that Leinster will make another raft of changes for next weekend’s clash with Connacht, who have a familiar face in charge in Stuart Lancaster.
Leinster have a big contingent of Ireland internationals, whose minutes have to be managed at this stage of the season.
“That’s important for us that everyone understands,” said Cullen. “Our hand is forced a little bit because we have to rotate guys out of the group, which just means we’re chopping and changing the team a lot.
“It’s not easy for the players to get their heads around that sometimes. They’re in, they’re out, and then they’re back in again or whatever way that works.”
Whatever about that next inter-pro challenge for Leinster, there was satisfaction in getting the win at Thomond Park last night.
It wasn’t full revenge for the loss to Munster in Croke Park in October, but it was a pleasing result at the end of a physical, confrontational derby.
“We’ve eked out two wins the last couple of weeks in two very different ways,” said Cullen.
“We started poorly against Ulster. We coughed up some easy points. We turn over possession and they’re in for a couple of tries off some of our mistakes.
“We don’t give Munster some of those opportunities but we still had a chance to probably kick on in the game today, where again it’s scrappy out there.
“The breakdown is messy and there’s probably a couple of things that we’ll look back on and go, yeah, we need to improve here. But overall, you’re coming away from home this time of year, there’s lots of challenges in terms of managing the group and everyone has the challenge of time of year.
“But it’s pleasing to get a win and move on to the next challenge.”
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