REGARDLESS OF HOW the rest of the season plays out, there are big changes coming at Leinster.
The province have said goodbye to many influential figures in recent years but few have been as impactful as Stuart Lancaster and Johnny Sexton.
Senior coach Lancaster will join French giants Racing 92 in the summer while Sexton is expected to retire once his IRFU contract – which runs to the end of the 2023 World Cup – expires. Big boots to fill.
With their impending departures looming large, Monday’s announcement that Leo Cullen has signed a new two-year contract will ensure some welcome stability as the province look to keep any sense of disruption to a minimum.
It also offers Cullen an opportunity to step out of Lancaster’s shadow, with the former England head coach taking much of the praise for Leinster’s recent successes – the province winning four league titles and one Champions Cup since Lancaster joined in 2016.
Cullen’s role tends to be downplayed in comparison but delivering success without Lancaster by his side would underline his credentials as an elite coach in his own right – no bad thing for when the former second row looks to pursue his ambitions of coaching at Test level.
Leinster are now in a very different place compared to when Cullen first took charge back in 2015. That year, the province finished bottom of their pool in Europe and were beaten by Connacht in the Pro12 final. At the time there were questions around whether the rookie coach – who had only retired from playing in 2014 – was the up to the task.
Getting Lancaster on board proved a masterstroke, but both men have stressed that it has been a two-man job to turn the province’s fortunes around; Lancaster driving standards on the training pitch, Cullen the mastermind behind the bigger picture decisions.
Leinster supporters will be relieved to know one half of that dynamic coaching duo is sticking around.
Cullen has tended to sign one-year extensions recently but new CEO Shane Nolan – who replaced the long-serving Mick Dawson in November –pushed for him to sign a longer deal this time around, and tying Cullen down to a two-year contract is a big win in the early days of his tenure.
With Cullen outlining that he doesn’t anticipate his own role changing much following Lancaster’s exit, it will be fascinating to see who the province secure to step into the Englishman’s role.
Yesterday, Cullen downplayed reports that former All Black Leon MacDonald was being lined up for the position. Andrew Goodman, who has impressed since replacing Felipe Contepomi as attack coach, has been linked with a promotion and has said he would be open to taking on more responsibility, while contact skills coach Sean O’Brien could also see his role redefined as part of an in-house reshuffle.
However it all plays out, Lancaster’s office will have a new name on the door next season. Replacing Sexton will be less straightforward. The Leinster and Ireland captain sets the tone in both camps and while there are plenty of leaders in the Leinster dressing room, Sexton’s experience, enduring talent and competitive drive will be missed. Leinster, like Ireland, are a different team when Sexton isn’t on the pitch.
Cullen will hope both men can exit on a high with the province in great shape heading into the business end of both the URC and Champions Cup seasons – with Leinster desperate to secure that elusive fifth star in Europe.
Bagging a couple more medals would ensure both Lancaster and Sexton leave without any feelings of underachieving across what has been a golden era for the province, but where those trophies end up won’t change the fact that this will be a summer of change for Leinster.
Cullen will now be the last man standing from the coaching team which delivered that historic double in 2018.
By the time his new deal expires in 2025 he will have been Leinster head coach for 10 years. How he steers the province through the post-Lancaster era will go a long way to defining what has so far been an extremely impressive run in the hot seat.
The day will come where Cullen feels he needs a fresh challenge – this is, of course, a man who left his home province to join Leicester Tigers during his playing days – but for now, Leinster and Leo remain a good fit.
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