LEO CULLEN HAS rarely enjoyed such a stress-free afternoon watching his team in a European Cup knock-out game.

Today’s 62-0 thumping of a disappointingly meek Harlequins side saw Leinster flex their muscle in attack as they ran in 10 tries, while their defence kept the London side scoreless in front of over 55,000 supporters in Croke Park.

As an added bonus, Leinster came out of the game with no fresh injury concerns ahead of next weekend’s quarter-finals, which will surely present a sterner challenge.

All in all, a very satisfactory days’ work for the province on Dublin’s northside. 

“Yeah, there was lots of good stuff out there, to run up a score like that,” Cullen said.

“The group have worked well in terms of the preparation coming into this game. We had a group away in South Africa who came away with an incredible result against the Springbok-laden Sharks team. I think the group here got a real buzz off watching that game and seeing some of the endeavour from some of the younger guys, which gives the senior guys a real boost.

“Coming off the Six Nations, a lot of players have had the chance to freshen up with a bit of time off, and with some decent training this week everyone’s come back together again. There’s a good buzz in the group, a genuine excitement and desire to want to play in the team. The majority of guys have come through the Academy system. It means a huge amount to them to play for Leinster in these big games.

Chloe Johnston from Cork meets Leinster’s Caelan Doris. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

“We’re into a quarter-final now. It’s making sure we don’t get too carried away with ourselves, we have to try keep moving forward in a positive way, keep working hard and in the short-term the team need to recover well. Hopefully we’ll have a big performance again.”

Leinster were 19-0 up at half-time but really put Harlequins to the sword in the second period, scoring seven tries while playing nearly all of the rugby in the Harlequins half. 

While Harlequins rarely looked capable of troubling their hosts the Premiership side did make an encouraging start, but a strong defensive effort from Leinster across the opening quarter held Harlequins scoreless and laid the platform for a comprehensive victory.

“There was some really pleasing bits of play,” Cullen added.

“We had to weather a bit of a storm at the start. Quins did come quick out of the blocks and we were a little bit inaccurate in those first 10 minutes. We scored the try and then went the other end and scored again, and that’s the sucker-punch you really want to give teams, particularly when you’re playing at home.

“Lots of really positive groundwork in terms of strong carries, making good decisions on the ball, and then as we build the lead there’s a lot more space in the second half.

“You could see all the bench guys who were mad keen to come on and make an impact in a positive way. It was a good 80-minute performance from us and that’s pleasing. That’s what we’ll need moving into the next round.”

Leinster can now look forward to a quarter-final date with the winners of this evening’s clash between Glasgow and Leicester Tigers, slated for an 8pm kick-off next Friday at the Aviva Stadium.