DESPITE THE CONDITIONS, Leo Cullen admitted that Saturday night’s game against Ulster was “there for the taking” but ultimately his side couldn’t execute in slipping to an 18-13 defeat to their inter-provincial rivals at Kingspan Stadium.
Tries from Sam Carter and Mike Lowry had Ulster ahead 18-10 at the break, with Max Deegan’s try and the boot of Ross Byrne keeping Leinster in touch, and Byrne drew them closer with a penalty inside the first two minutes of the second-half before the visitors had their chances to claim the win.
Just after the hour mark they had their best opportunity as they put together a long passage of play inside the Ulster 22 as the driving rain and howling wind only worsened in Belfast, only for an untimely knock-on and then an accidental obstruction to be their undoing.
In the end, Leinster would have to settle for a losing bonus-point from the loss, their first in five games, which at least sees them maintain their lead at the top of the United Rugby Championship, although it has now been cut to one point by Ulster.
But Cullen was left to rue what could have been if they had managed to get one more score in a second-half they dominated territorially and if their indiscipline hadn’t let them down at times in the first-half.
“I thought the guys worked really hard. Conditions were a huge factor, they made it hard to play,” pointed out Cullen.
“We were a bit indisciplined in the first-half, gave away a few penalties which gave Ulster access to field position and they had that eight-point lead which we couldn’t claw back in the second-half.
“We had some chances, we had that one very good moment midway through the second-half where we were camped on their line and we got done for that obstruction, then we started to let them off the hook. Because the conditions were what they were, it was always hard to get back down. We had some chances but we just couldn’t take them.
“Frustrating, but it was pleasing to get some young guys the game-time. It’s never an easy place to come here but I thought our guys stood up well overall. It was one of those games where it was there for the taking but we just couldn’t quite execute.”
Taking a longer-term view, though, Cullen was happier with what he saw from his side over the last few games as they ended a run of five games in five weeks with four wins despite having to dip considerably deep into his depth chart due to international call-ups.
Wins over Edinburgh, the Ospreys and the Emirates Lions at home was followed by a 61-17 thrashing of Benetton in Italy, and taking a losing bonus-point from a relatively strong Ulster side at Kingspan Stadium is never a result to be ashamed of, especially during the Six Nations.
With no game next week before a string of inter-provincials both in the URC and in Europe – with Connacht the opponents in the last-16 of the Heineken Champions Cup – Cullen is looking forward to having more names to select from as the season reaches its boiling point.
“It’s energised the group, they’ve worked hard whenever we’ve had such a thin squad. In fact, it was a bit funny arriving at the stadium and watching so many of our boys playing (for Ireland against England) on the big screen!” he laughed.
“That’s the unusual part of the season, obviously made tougher by all these games being rescheduled because of what happened around Christmas. It is what it is, we knew whatever happened we’d have to battle away through this period and they’ve done a really good job. It’s about dusting ourselves off and keeping it going into the league run-in and the play-off games we’ve got coming up.
“It brings to an end this block of five games and it’s been a great experience for a number of these players, so we’ll take the positives out of the run overall and look forward to having no game day next week, then getting all the international guys back and we can have a strong finish to the season.
“That’s what it’s all about, trying to gear yourself up for the challenges ahead. The guys have battled for every point they can over the last five weekends and they’ve done a good job. Just onto the next challenge.”
The head coach also reserved some special praise for Academy loosehead Temi Lasisi, who stepped onto the bench at the 11th hour due to an injury to Ed Byrne and got on for his debut in the dying stages as the latest off the Leinster production line.
“It’s brilliant for him as an Academy player. It’s a fantastic story for him and I’m sure everyone is really proud down Enniscorthy way. He’s a brilliant young lad, is Temi. It was a huge step-up for him today but it was great to see him get that experience and it’s another step in his journey and development,” added Cullen.
“There’s been other examples of guys getting their debuts the last few weeks as well, so it’s just another layer of experience and helping our depth. Hopefully it stands to those guys in the future.”
