LEINSTER BOSS LEO Cullen lamented his side’s lack of discipline and accuracy as they suffered a hefty 38-17 defeat by URC leaders Glasgow at Scotstoun.
After taking the lead towards the end of an even first quarter via wing Joshua Kenny, the visitors unravelled when lock Brian Deeny was yellow-carded after 26 minutes for a deliberate knock-down, and then Ronan Kelleher followed him to the sin-bin for a high tackle after Macenzzie Duncan scored the first of Glasgow’s six tries.
“We were in the game for the first 20 minutes, but that was an important 10-minute period for us where we conceded three tries, with the two yellow cards and guys trying to solve things on the run a little bit,” Cullen said.
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“Credit to Glasgow, they were really clinical. Our guys showed a bit of composure to hit back before half-time and I thought we were very much still in the game. We had a lot of field position in the first 20 minutes of the second half, and had numerous chances on the edge but just didn’t quite capitalise, and we also got held up over the try-line.
But Glasgow hung in well, they were very dogged, and then obviously hit us with a couple of tries late in the game. It is really disappointing.
“These weeks are tricky for both teams, trying to bring players back in. They were just definitely a bit better than us on the night. It’s a tough place to come here at the best of times. You need to be incredibly accurate and incredibly disciplined and we just weren’t good enough in those areas, unfortunately.”
Glasgow's Ollie Smith celebrates with fans after scoring a try. Craig Watson / INPHO
Craig Watson / INPHO / INPHO
Cullen will reintegrate some more of his Ireland internationals for next Friday’s home URC game against Scarlets, with a home European Champions Cup last-16 tie against Edinburgh to come the following weekend.
He took encouragement from a solid return from Ireland full-back Hugo Keenan, who marked his first game for over seven months with a try.
“It’s pleasing to get him back in and with 80 minutes under his belt, it’s a start for him,” Cullen added. “Hopefully he will kick on from here. He gives us great security and I thought he looked pretty sharp over the course of the 80 minutes, which is pleasing.
“Some guys have had a bit of time off this week so they will come back in fresh on Monday. It’s a short turnaround and another tough game against a Scarlets side who had a big win [against Zebre] last night.
“The league is incredibly tight. We know we’ve got plenty of big games coming up so we’ve got to dust ourselves off really quickly and get back on the horse ready for the next challenge.”
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'He looked pretty sharp': Keenan's return the only silver lining in disappointing Leinster defeat
LEINSTER BOSS LEO Cullen lamented his side’s lack of discipline and accuracy as they suffered a hefty 38-17 defeat by URC leaders Glasgow at Scotstoun.
After taking the lead towards the end of an even first quarter via wing Joshua Kenny, the visitors unravelled when lock Brian Deeny was yellow-carded after 26 minutes for a deliberate knock-down, and then Ronan Kelleher followed him to the sin-bin for a high tackle after Macenzzie Duncan scored the first of Glasgow’s six tries.
“We were in the game for the first 20 minutes, but that was an important 10-minute period for us where we conceded three tries, with the two yellow cards and guys trying to solve things on the run a little bit,” Cullen said.
“Credit to Glasgow, they were really clinical. Our guys showed a bit of composure to hit back before half-time and I thought we were very much still in the game. We had a lot of field position in the first 20 minutes of the second half, and had numerous chances on the edge but just didn’t quite capitalise, and we also got held up over the try-line.
“These weeks are tricky for both teams, trying to bring players back in. They were just definitely a bit better than us on the night. It’s a tough place to come here at the best of times. You need to be incredibly accurate and incredibly disciplined and we just weren’t good enough in those areas, unfortunately.”
Cullen will reintegrate some more of his Ireland internationals for next Friday’s home URC game against Scarlets, with a home European Champions Cup last-16 tie against Edinburgh to come the following weekend.
He took encouragement from a solid return from Ireland full-back Hugo Keenan, who marked his first game for over seven months with a try.
“It’s pleasing to get him back in and with 80 minutes under his belt, it’s a start for him,” Cullen added. “Hopefully he will kick on from here. He gives us great security and I thought he looked pretty sharp over the course of the 80 minutes, which is pleasing.
“Some guys have had a bit of time off this week so they will come back in fresh on Monday. It’s a short turnaround and another tough game against a Scarlets side who had a big win [against Zebre] last night.
“The league is incredibly tight. We know we’ve got plenty of big games coming up so we’ve got to dust ourselves off really quickly and get back on the horse ready for the next challenge.”
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