LEO CULLEN HAS stressed there is a strong collaborative effort within the Leinster coaching set-up as they aim to finish the 2025/26 season on a positive note.

Over the course of a much-discussed media briefing in UCD on Monday, the province’s senior coach, Jacques Nienaber, was asked about a past assertion – primarily made in an interview with the South African-based SuperSport in November of last year – that he was in charge of the rugby programme in Leinster. 

He proceeded to explain this was more of a logistical role, and while he plays a big part in devising the team’s defensive system, the South African insisted he didn’t tell Tyler Bleyendaal how to organise the attack or Robin McBryde how the line-out or maul was to operate. 

This had raised some questions about the exact dynamic behind the scenes in the eastern province at the moment and – ahead of Saturday’s United Rugby Championship semi-final clash with the Stormers in the Aviva Stadium – Cullen offered insight into how his coaching team normally goes about their business. 

“We would set off in pre-season, ‘this is the way we’re planning on approaching the game’. Then you’re making tweaks to that all the time, depending on the opposition and how you will theme certain weeks. What is going to be important? What are the three most important things when we face the Stormers, versus what were the three most important things when we faced the Lions the week before and Bordeaux the week before that?” the Leinster head coach remarked.

“That is how you set up a week and listen, you’ve X amount of units of time to coach. It’s pulling all that together, but it’s a completely collaborative process. Just got to be able to pull the plan all together and then off you go in terms of delivering messages and who is going to talk when. Then you deliver a big team performance every week.

“I think we’ve done a pretty good job of that. I don’t know, there’s sort of a sense that people want to pick holes in stuff at the moment. I’m not sure why as in this week versus during the year. Listen, we got ourselves to a final, so we’re clearly doing plenty of things well.”

Before taking part in a post-match press conference that included a lengthy back-and-forth between him and a radio journalist, Cullen made some playful comments in an interview with Premier Sports after Leinster’s United Rugby Championship quarter-final triumph over the Lions about Connacht and other provinces signing a number of players from his squad. 

Currently part of the Leinster set-up, Ciarán Frawley, Will Connors and Jerry Cahir are all set to make switches to Connacht for the 2026/27 season. 

Though there wasn’t a serious tone to his comments, there might be a feeling Cullen could be frustrated at the number of players within his squad who are moving elsewhere within Ireland.

While he didn’t give any indication when speaking on a virtual media call that he was disappointed with this scenario, he emphasised how important it is to continue bringing players through the province’s academy. 

“It’s the system. It’s important that everyone understands as well. From a recruitment point of view, everyone goes, ‘Oh, you’re not bringing in many players’. That’s the same thing I hear every year. What we’re bringing in is, there’s seven or eight academy players that are ready to come to year one.

“The main thing is making sure that Leinster keep investing in the grassroots and trying to get as many good young players through. The competition is good and decisions get made, but it’s making sure we have somebody who is ready to take the spot of the next person that leaves, potentially.” 

Although his older brother Cian is the current captain of Connacht, Sam Prendergast is likely to remain within the Leinster ranks for some time to come. 

Despite starting at out-half against France and Italy in the opening weeks of the tournament, the Kildare native found himself out of favour for Ireland in the final three rounds of this year’s Six Nations.

The versatility of the aforementioned Frawley saw him securing a spot on the Ireland bench ahead of Prendergast for the closing stages of the championship and it was a similar situation for three of the four knockout games Leinster played in the Investec Champions Cup – including the final defeat to Bordeaux Bégles in Bilbao last month.

It has generally been a tough few months for Prendergast, but having delivered a strong performance in last weekend’s success over the Lions, Cullen has once again given him the nod for the visit of the Stormers to the Aviva tomorrow evening.

“The experience he has had as a 23-year-old is incredible really, isn’t it, when you think about it. So it’s not to get disheartened by that. It’s ‘Listen, you’ve had an amazing experience now’. Some of it has been brilliant, in terms of very positive. Other times, it’s a bit more of a rough ride,” Cullen added. 

“He was great at the weekend and that’s why he’s picked again. We want to keep investing in those guys. We’ve other positions that chop and change, that wouldn’t get as much airtime as 10 does, but listen, we think we’ve got great individuals there.”