LEO CULLEN HAS outlined the scale of ‘devastation’ in the Leinster dressing room in the aftermath of Ireland international, Dan Leavy’s, enforced retirement from the game through injury.
The 27-year-old delivered in a major way for Ireland and Leinster in 2018, winning a grand slam, European Cup and Pro14 title. He subsequently suffered a dreadful knee injury which plagued him for the remainder of his career.
“There was a realisation at that point that it was such a significant injury and he’s never been able to get back to where he was at,” said Cullen earlier this afternoon.
“He showed unbelievable character (trying to do so); he got back for a period if you remember, went for surgery again and battled his way back again.
“We’ve been keeping a very, very close eye on him; have been in regular communication with how he’s going and everyone has done everything they can from a medical point of view.
“Even still, knowing what we know and everything that he has gone through, it has been tough for Dan.
“We’re all devastated for him here. He’s such a great character, he really is. He only told guys here on Monday, the rest of the players. It’s a tough one when you hear the words being said out loud. It’s not easy; it’s not easy at all, just because he is so well respected in the group. He was such a special talent.”
One of the things that made him stand out was his ‘incredible self-belief’, Cullen says, the presence he brought onto a field.
“Like, what is presence? We talk to our players all the time around that presence, how it can be quite a hard thing to describe, but that confidence that Dan has, it is enormous.”
In 2018, it all added up to something special, the emotional confidence married with his physical gifts, his defensive strength, his carrying ability, his fight at the breakdown.
“Within the game of rugby, for all its complications and its different intricacies, there remains this contact point between the attacker and the defender and Dan had presence in that contact, plus the mindset to dominate his opposite as well.
“When he carried he was very, very strong; that is the big point of difference he had and you could see it in that 2018 season in particular, when he was part of a very, very successful Leinster period.
“You think about the European Cup final against Racing, that is when you need your big players to step up. Well, Dan did. He was a different level to everyone else in that period.”
And yet no sooner had tributes been paid to a fine career that had cruelly been cut short than Cullen, in the next breath, had to answer a question about Leinster’s upcoming game in the Champions Cup against Connacht tomorrow. The show really does move on.
“In terms of going down to Galway, we know from over the years, not just in that final, but from experiences in the Sportsground, that it is a tough place to go. It is about being respectful of the opposition, how hard they can make it for us, how they can disrupt our game and by extension impose their game. It is about making sure we are ready for all eventualities.”
