LEINSTER PLAYED 28 games last season and won 25 of them.
They earned silverware after a four-year wait as they claimed the URC title with an impressive victory against the Bulls at Croke Park.
And yet, Leo Cullen understands that one of those three defeats stands out in everyone’s minds.
Unsurprisingly, the 47-year-old Leinster boss has been thinking about the Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Northampton a lot since May. He was proud of how his team rebounded from that hugely disappointing day to win the URC, but he knows Leinster can’t afford a similar slip-up this season.
Losing to Northampton was a little different to Leinster’s defeats to La Rochelle and Toulouse in the three previous Champions Cup finals. Cullen’s men simply never got to the pitch they’re capable of against Saints, who were excellent in victory in Dublin.
Leinster had blown Harlequins and Glasgow away in their two knock-out games before facing Northampton. Cullen believes the sense of confidence built during those 62-0 and 52-0 wins could have been the cause of Leinster failing to deliver against Saints.
“In big games, it’s down to ‘on the day,’ isn’t it? That’s the bit you need to understand – getting it right on the day,” said Cullen yesterday after Leinster held an open training session in the sun at Greystones RFC in Wicklow.
“The problem is when you have a big win, you can get seduced into thinking you’re very good, and you try to guard always against complacency.
“So, you know, I would ask the question of ourselves, did we get seduced into thinking we’re a little bit better than we were on the day?
Jamison Gibson-Park with supporters. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
“Unfortunately, it’s just one of those days.
Advertisement
“You get a very bad kick in the hole, you know, or however you want to phrase it – punch in the nose – and that’s sport, it’s cruel.
“It’s a cruel day and you’ve just got to deal with the consequences afterwards, unfortunately, but you’ve asked the question about reflecting on the season. I reflect on that specific game a lot.”
After that Champions Cup heartbreak came the high point of Leinster’s season and Cullen takes pride in their URC success.
All the more so because the likes of Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong, and Jamison Gibson-Park were missing through injury.
“It’s magic at the end to be in Croke Park with the guts of 50,000 people and it’s a really special day for us,” said Cullen. “I thought it was a response from the team.
“You pull back the curtains on that morning and it’s absolutely pissing down. You’re up against the Bulls, set-piece, that kind of power-based team that has been talked about in the past and how the group dealt with that power-based team in a big final, I thought they stood up unbelievably well. I thought it was a great performance from the group.”
To have that trophy-winning feeling in this Leinster group may be a powerful thing, but Cullen knows the challenges won’t get any easier.
Leinster training in Greystones. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
He said he takes his hat off to the Top 14 with its massive TV revenue, big attendance figures, and colourful support from the French clubs’ cities and towns.
Cullen said Northampton’s win against Leinster underlined that the English clubs could never be discounted, and he believes the Premiership sides will only continue to improve in the next few years.
He extended his analysis of Leinster’s opponents into the URC too, highlighting how many Springboks are now in the Bulls’ squad, as well as reiterating that the South African sides have made things more competitive than ever.
So Leinster need to keep getting better. This season brings the challenge of having had 12 players on the full Lions tour, as well as two more who joined at a later stage. Hugo Keenan and Joe McCarthy went for surgery after the Lions tour, while it will be a few weeks into the season until the rest are seen for Leinster.
As ever, Leinster will have a big contingent of their players heavily involved in Ireland’s November and Six Nations campaigns, so the balancing act continues.
RG Snyman is still on Rugby Championship duty with the Springboks, while 35-year-old tighthead Rabah Slimani made an unexpected return to the France fold last season, reviving his Test career with two appearances against New Zealand in July.
New signing Rieko Ioane won’t join until after New Zealand’s autumn Tests.
But while there are challenges in making all the pieces fit together, Cullen knows there is always an expectation that Leinster will be ferociously competing for two trophies. They wouldn’t have it any other way.
He believes their cause will be helped by the coaching team having a settled feel to it. Senior coach Jacques Nienaber, attack coach Tyler Bleyendaal, and forwards coach Robin McBryde have all extended their contracts until the summer of 2027, bringing them in line with Cullen, who also has two more seasons on his deal as head coach.
There are a huge number of South Africans who have been hoping to see Nienaber return home but he is committed to another two seasons with Leinster at least.
Jacques Nienaber with Cullen yesterday. Nick Elliott / INPHO
Nick Elliott / INPHO / INPHO
“Quality coaching,” said Cullen when asked what Nienaber has brought to the province since joining after the 2023 World Cup.
“I think he’s the best defensive coach in the world and that’s what he brings. I don’t think there’s anyone better out there in terms of his pedigree on the biggest stage.
“We want to kick on, Tyler on the other side, first season on attack and working in a slightly different way to Andrew Goodman… we’ve had quite a bit of change over the last number of years. We’ve had a bit of stability with Robin.
“Coaches always talk about the third year, it’s vital, isn’t it? Two years building in and then you get success, it’s about evolving and how do you stay…. Whether you win titles, the trick is to be there in finals and there’s a narrative about losing finals, but listen we won our last one… is that narrative gone?
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
22 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
Leinster chase more trophies after 'very bad kick in the h*le'
LEINSTER PLAYED 28 games last season and won 25 of them.
They earned silverware after a four-year wait as they claimed the URC title with an impressive victory against the Bulls at Croke Park.
And yet, Leo Cullen understands that one of those three defeats stands out in everyone’s minds.
Unsurprisingly, the 47-year-old Leinster boss has been thinking about the Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Northampton a lot since May. He was proud of how his team rebounded from that hugely disappointing day to win the URC, but he knows Leinster can’t afford a similar slip-up this season.
Losing to Northampton was a little different to Leinster’s defeats to La Rochelle and Toulouse in the three previous Champions Cup finals. Cullen’s men simply never got to the pitch they’re capable of against Saints, who were excellent in victory in Dublin.
Leinster had blown Harlequins and Glasgow away in their two knock-out games before facing Northampton. Cullen believes the sense of confidence built during those 62-0 and 52-0 wins could have been the cause of Leinster failing to deliver against Saints.
“In big games, it’s down to ‘on the day,’ isn’t it? That’s the bit you need to understand – getting it right on the day,” said Cullen yesterday after Leinster held an open training session in the sun at Greystones RFC in Wicklow.
“The problem is when you have a big win, you can get seduced into thinking you’re very good, and you try to guard always against complacency.
“So, you know, I would ask the question of ourselves, did we get seduced into thinking we’re a little bit better than we were on the day?
“Unfortunately, it’s just one of those days.
“You get a very bad kick in the hole, you know, or however you want to phrase it – punch in the nose – and that’s sport, it’s cruel.
“It’s a cruel day and you’ve just got to deal with the consequences afterwards, unfortunately, but you’ve asked the question about reflecting on the season. I reflect on that specific game a lot.”
After that Champions Cup heartbreak came the high point of Leinster’s season and Cullen takes pride in their URC success.
All the more so because the likes of Caelan Doris, Tadhg Furlong, and Jamison Gibson-Park were missing through injury.
“It’s magic at the end to be in Croke Park with the guts of 50,000 people and it’s a really special day for us,” said Cullen. “I thought it was a response from the team.
“You pull back the curtains on that morning and it’s absolutely pissing down. You’re up against the Bulls, set-piece, that kind of power-based team that has been talked about in the past and how the group dealt with that power-based team in a big final, I thought they stood up unbelievably well. I thought it was a great performance from the group.”
To have that trophy-winning feeling in this Leinster group may be a powerful thing, but Cullen knows the challenges won’t get any easier.
He said he takes his hat off to the Top 14 with its massive TV revenue, big attendance figures, and colourful support from the French clubs’ cities and towns.
Cullen said Northampton’s win against Leinster underlined that the English clubs could never be discounted, and he believes the Premiership sides will only continue to improve in the next few years.
He extended his analysis of Leinster’s opponents into the URC too, highlighting how many Springboks are now in the Bulls’ squad, as well as reiterating that the South African sides have made things more competitive than ever.
So Leinster need to keep getting better. This season brings the challenge of having had 12 players on the full Lions tour, as well as two more who joined at a later stage. Hugo Keenan and Joe McCarthy went for surgery after the Lions tour, while it will be a few weeks into the season until the rest are seen for Leinster.
As ever, Leinster will have a big contingent of their players heavily involved in Ireland’s November and Six Nations campaigns, so the balancing act continues.
RG Snyman is still on Rugby Championship duty with the Springboks, while 35-year-old tighthead Rabah Slimani made an unexpected return to the France fold last season, reviving his Test career with two appearances against New Zealand in July.
New signing Rieko Ioane won’t join until after New Zealand’s autumn Tests.
But while there are challenges in making all the pieces fit together, Cullen knows there is always an expectation that Leinster will be ferociously competing for two trophies. They wouldn’t have it any other way.
He believes their cause will be helped by the coaching team having a settled feel to it. Senior coach Jacques Nienaber, attack coach Tyler Bleyendaal, and forwards coach Robin McBryde have all extended their contracts until the summer of 2027, bringing them in line with Cullen, who also has two more seasons on his deal as head coach.
There are a huge number of South Africans who have been hoping to see Nienaber return home but he is committed to another two seasons with Leinster at least.
“Quality coaching,” said Cullen when asked what Nienaber has brought to the province since joining after the 2023 World Cup.
“I think he’s the best defensive coach in the world and that’s what he brings. I don’t think there’s anyone better out there in terms of his pedigree on the biggest stage.
“We want to kick on, Tyler on the other side, first season on attack and working in a slightly different way to Andrew Goodman… we’ve had quite a bit of change over the last number of years. We’ve had a bit of stability with Robin.
“Coaches always talk about the third year, it’s vital, isn’t it? Two years building in and then you get success, it’s about evolving and how do you stay…. Whether you win titles, the trick is to be there in finals and there’s a narrative about losing finals, but listen we won our last one… is that narrative gone?
“It’s only narrative, the past is the past.”
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Leinster Leo Cullen narrative Season Trophies