LEO CULLEN SAID there were “mixed emotions” for Leinster after their 30-23 win over Edinburgh moved them five points clear at the top of the Guinness Pro12 table overnight.
Though Leinster scored four tries in the second half, there were several defensive errors that allowed the visitors to notch three of their own, while the eastern province’s first-half showing was poor.
“The first half was frustrating, just nearly, nearly, nearly getting over,” said Cullen post-match at the RDS.
“Edinburgh went hard at the ball, frustrated us a little at the breakdown. We can deal with a few things a bit better, some of our communication and the accuracy of our handling can be better.
“We wore them down, I guess, in the first half, which allowed us to break them down that bit easier in the second half. The guys had really good intent; we want to go out there and play.
“I thought we were pretty good for 60 minutes, there are just a couple of things in our control defensively that maybe let us down in the second half. You’ve got to give Edinburgh credit as well, because they’re scrapping away for Europe and they had a lot of intent in the end and we looked under pressure defending at the end.
“It’s mixed emotions after that one.”
Two tries from Fergus McFadden and one each from Luke McGrath and man of the match Josh van der Flier did the majority of the scoreboard damage for Leinster, and their bonus-point win strengthens their lead at the peak of the Pro12 table.
With second-placed Connacht in action tomorrow against Munster and third-placed Glasgow taking on the Scarlets, Cullen and his players are content with how they sit tonight.
“If I was offered five points this morning, I would have happily taken it,” said Cullen. “It’s getting really tight. It’s nice to play on Friday and get to watch some of the other teams around us play tomorrow.
“We’ll be watching with interest Munster up in Galway and Scarlets and Glasgow as well. It’s nice for us to be in the position where we can control what we need. We will see how everyone sits after the weekend.
“We have a break week. Some guys are going away to Irish camp on Sunday and Monday, some guys will get a few days off. We’ll come back later next week and start putting some plans in place.”
Cullen confirmed that Fergus McFadden had sustained a blow to the head in the closing minutes at the RDS, while loosehead prop Peter Dooley sustained a hamstring injury.
“Fergus just got a bang in the head there at the end, so he’ll be assessed,” said Cullen. “He was up and about in the changing room afterwards. Peter Dooley, who came on for Cian Healy and came back off, just had a bit of tightness and awareness in his hamstring.
“We don’t look to have anything too major.”
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