LEINSTER’S SEASON GOT off to a disappointing start with a 43-25 defeat in Glasgow, but with a huge difference in the experience of the two squads, a positive Leo Cullen left feeling that the rewards could come later in the season.
The Scots brought a number of their World Cup players back and they made the difference as they claimed the rewards for the periods they were in charge.
On the other hand, Leinster were made to rue missed chances before two late tries made the final scoreline flatter Glasgow.
“It’s a tough place to come, we’ve experienced that in the past,” Cullen said. “Still, I thought we had lots of opportunities in the game to do better than we did in terms of scoreboard pressure. We had plenty of entries into Glasgow 22 at different stages.
“There was a big moment just before half time when we didn’t quite get a score. We got a sequence of penalties but in the end they got a turnover. Then in the second half it was similar when the scoreline was only 24-20 against us. We pounded on their line but were not quite accurate enough to to finish.
“Glasgow, on the flipside, were a lot more clinical when they got to our end of the field. That’s the big learning for us. We had a number of young guys involved and a couple of young front rowers coming off the bench for their first Leinster caps, which is great, but something we just have go through sometime.”
Two of the most encouraging aspects of the game were the scramble defence and the lineout, both of which helped keep Leinster in the contention until the final minutes and they were unfortunate that after a lengthy TMO consultation, the officials decided centre Liam Turner had brushed the touchline on his way to scoring a try that could have made it a two-point game going into the final minutes.
“We had plenty of opportunities and if you just get into the lead, it puts a totally different reflection on how the game is played,” Cullen pointed out.
“It’s round one, it’s important that we’re not too despondent because we’ve got to turn the page quickly.
“We’ve the Sharks back at home after a six-day turnaround, and hopefully we’ll get a big crowd as attention moves away from the World Cup and back to domestic action. It will be exciting to get back in front of our own fans.”
Most of Leinster’s 17 Ireland internationals are getting a short break but they will feed back into the side over the next two or three weeks, depending on how much action they saw in France.
“We’ll make our assessments on how they’re tracking and how they will reintegrate but this is a great window, a great opportunity for young guys to build that experience. It great to see all the guys making their debuts,” the coach added.
“Slowly, but surely, those international guys will filter back in, but the guys that are here want to make a mark now. We had to use this period in a positive fashion.
“Glasgow had a lot of Scottish guys come back and you can see the difference they made. It showed our youngsters the level they need to aspire to.
“We’ve got guys we’re trying to bring through from the Academy level and it’s going to take some time but this was a first step. They’ll be better for the experience.”