LEINSTER HEAD COACH Leo Cullen said the saga involving Tadhg Furlong being cleared of foul play is now “closed” as he expressed his desire for everyone to move on.
Munster’s Gavin Coombes accused Furlong of grabbing him in the groin area during their URC clash last weekend, but the Ireland tighthead prop was cleared of any wrongdoing at an independent disciplinary hearing on Thursday.
The lengthy hearing started at 10.15am on Thursday morning, with confirmation of Furlong being cleared landing at 9.35pm that evening.
Furlong is free to play a full part in Ireland’s upcoming Nations Championship game, and Leinster boss Cullen said it’s time to leave the episode behind.
“It’s a difficult week, I think everyone needs to be respectful of that for all parties involved,” said Cullen after Leinster’s impressive 50-5 win over Connacht in Galway.
“Listen, it’s done with now. We just need to move forward.
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“We’ve had a different group getting ready for a game this week, and we’ve just tried to make the game the main thing and making sure it stays the main thing.
“For us, it’s moving on. We don’t have a game for a little while now, but it’s closed from our point of view.”
Cullen was happy to get into the details involved in Leinster’s seven-try win at Dexcom Stadium.
It was an accurate, cohesive performance from Leinster in the rain despite Cullen making 14 changes to his starting XV after 17 of his players headed into Ireland camp following the win against Munster last weekend.
Cullen with Scott Penny. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“The performance is what you look at first, and I thought there was great commitment in a pretty short week,” said Cullen.
“So huge credit to everyone. The coaches were all excellent in terms of preparing the lads, because we knew there were a lot of changes coming, you get a little bit of a head start last week as well.
“So I applaud the players in terms of the mindset they had all week, in terms of what they brought to the game.
“They’ve been itching to get an opportunity again, obviously some guys playing for the first time for Leinster in Connor Fahy and Alex Mullan. You have a few guys playing for Leinster for the first time this season who’ve just, for different reasons, missed out on selection, injuries or whatever else
“And then off the back of a lot of these guys being involved in two games in South Africa where they’ve lost games narrowly, which were there for the winning. So yeah, it was good prep leading into the game, and it was great to see they got lots of rewards out there today as well.”
Joey Carbery was named player of the match after landing a 20-point haul for Leinster, with the 30-year-old showing all of his experience in the number 10 shirt.
Carbery mixed some classy kicking from hand with his dangerous running game, while he was excellent off the tee.
“I thought he was great, in terms of game management, kicking, everything,” said Cullen of Carbery.
“And just that relationship with Fintan [Gunne] is positive because they’ve trained a bit together over the course of pre-season since Joey’s been back in the mix, and it’s lovely to see him go well.”
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'It's closed' - Cullen and Leinster happy to move on from Furlong saga
LEINSTER HEAD COACH Leo Cullen said the saga involving Tadhg Furlong being cleared of foul play is now “closed” as he expressed his desire for everyone to move on.
Munster’s Gavin Coombes accused Furlong of grabbing him in the groin area during their URC clash last weekend, but the Ireland tighthead prop was cleared of any wrongdoing at an independent disciplinary hearing on Thursday.
The lengthy hearing started at 10.15am on Thursday morning, with confirmation of Furlong being cleared landing at 9.35pm that evening.
Furlong is free to play a full part in Ireland’s upcoming Nations Championship game, and Leinster boss Cullen said it’s time to leave the episode behind.
“It’s a difficult week, I think everyone needs to be respectful of that for all parties involved,” said Cullen after Leinster’s impressive 50-5 win over Connacht in Galway.
“Listen, it’s done with now. We just need to move forward.
“We’ve had a different group getting ready for a game this week, and we’ve just tried to make the game the main thing and making sure it stays the main thing.
“For us, it’s moving on. We don’t have a game for a little while now, but it’s closed from our point of view.”
Cullen was happy to get into the details involved in Leinster’s seven-try win at Dexcom Stadium.
It was an accurate, cohesive performance from Leinster in the rain despite Cullen making 14 changes to his starting XV after 17 of his players headed into Ireland camp following the win against Munster last weekend.
“The performance is what you look at first, and I thought there was great commitment in a pretty short week,” said Cullen.
“So huge credit to everyone. The coaches were all excellent in terms of preparing the lads, because we knew there were a lot of changes coming, you get a little bit of a head start last week as well.
“So I applaud the players in terms of the mindset they had all week, in terms of what they brought to the game.
“They’ve been itching to get an opportunity again, obviously some guys playing for the first time for Leinster in Connor Fahy and Alex Mullan. You have a few guys playing for Leinster for the first time this season who’ve just, for different reasons, missed out on selection, injuries or whatever else
“And then off the back of a lot of these guys being involved in two games in South Africa where they’ve lost games narrowly, which were there for the winning. So yeah, it was good prep leading into the game, and it was great to see they got lots of rewards out there today as well.”
Joey Carbery was named player of the match after landing a 20-point haul for Leinster, with the 30-year-old showing all of his experience in the number 10 shirt.
Carbery mixed some classy kicking from hand with his dangerous running game, while he was excellent off the tee.
“I thought he was great, in terms of game management, kicking, everything,” said Cullen of Carbery.
“And just that relationship with Fintan [Gunne] is positive because they’ve trained a bit together over the course of pre-season since Joey’s been back in the mix, and it’s lovely to see him go well.”
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cleared Gavin Coombes Leinster Leo Cullen Tadhg Furlong