LEINSTER BOSS LEO Cullen indicated that he will make changes to his starting XV for next weekend’s clash with the Sharks as the province target a Champions Cup and URC double.
Cullen’s side delivered a superb performance in their impressive 41-22 win over Toulouse in the Champions Cup semi-final at the Aviva Stadium today. They will meet either La Rochelle or Exeter in the decider in Dublin on 20 May.
The Leinster boss was keen to turn the attention swiftly towards the visit of the Sharks of South Africa to the same venue next Saturday in the URC quarter-finals.
Beat the Sharks and Leinster would have a home URC semi-final against either Glasgow or Munster the following weekend, then they’ll play the Champions Cup final, followed by a possible URC final.
Cullen is hoping to see and hear Leinster’s supporters row in behind them as they did today against Toulouse.
“It was a great response from the supporters as well, you see that connection,” said Cullen. “That’s the really special stuff. You see it at the drive into the ground coming down Serpentine [Aveneue] and turning past the hotel there, seeing the blue flags.
“Hopefully we see that next week as well because we might tweak the team a little bit next week because I think we just need to keep that freshness there and whoever’s there, let’s hope we get a big crowd again.
“So that’s the thing. There’s four weeks left in the season. The last game of our season is the URC final so we have a quarter-final here. Win the quarter-final and we advance to the semi-final but at least we know we have another final.”
Cullen was pleased with how Leinster managed without injured key players against Toulouse.
Captain Johnny Sexton won’t play again this season, while left wing James Lowe and inside centre Robbie Henshaw missed out on the five-try win in Dublin.
Out-half Ross Byrne was good again, while Charlie Ngatai shone in midfield as Jordan Larmour slotted into the back three.
“That goes from the coaches through to the backroom team,” said Cullen. “Robbie goes down and picks up nothing too major, hopefully, and then Charlie Nagtai steps in and is ready to go.
“I thought he was excellent for the 50-odd minutes that he played. Some really big moments. That 50:22, that poach turnover, some big defensive plays as well. He was really strong in contact. Huge credit to him and credit to the rehab team to get him back in good shape.
“You go through the season, there’s plenty we’ve had to deal with at different stages and different points. Relying on the group and working hard for each other. You saw plenty of that out there today.”
Cullen also had praise for number eight Jack Conan, who scored two first-half tries against the Top 14 side. The Leinster head coach had named Conan to start in the back row ahead of the fit-again Ryan Baird and was thoroughly rewarded.
Conan recently revealed that he had to battle through a hormone imbalance issue and Cullen is delighted to see him back to his best.
“He had his challenges at the tail end of last season so he has been great through the Six Nations and he has timed his run really well,” said Cullen.
“Big, physical carrying game from him. It’s great, I’m glad Jack has come through it. There’s always little things going on in the background that not everyone is privy to and how you navigate some of that during the course of the season.
“It was a really good game for Jack and he has been in great form in recent weeks. Hopefully, he kicks on now and has a big impact over the next few weeks.”
