IT MAY HAVE been a desperately young, inexperienced Leinster team that went down to a 31-21 defeat at Glasgow Warriors, but coach Leo Cullen was still disappointed that they had not come closer – or even won the game.
The Scots came good with a burst of first-half tries that pulled them clear but Leinster dominated the second half and Cullen feels they should have got more than the single try they managed from all that pressure.
“They are a very brave bunch and work hard but they made life difficult for themselves out there and I am very disappointed not to get anything from the game,” Cullen said.
“We had a lot of chances but lacked a bit of composure and when we got into positions to capitalise on it were not quite ruthless enough.
“A lot of effort went into the performance, it is just disappointing that we got nothing at the end. I am not going to use the young players as an excuse, we spend a lot of time so that when they get the opportunity they are ready. We thought we had prepared well.”
Leinster really lost the game in a strange first 23 minutes, when defence seemed optional as the teams shared six tries between them.
Two of them went Leinster’s way – both to give them a lead – but they coughed up scores almost immediately as Glasgow cemented the scoring bonus point, their sixth in eight starts.
“Defensively we were a bit naive at times in the first half,” Cullen said. “We controlled the ball a bit better in the second half. Glasgow coughed up two yellow cards for repeated infringements so we just need to be a little more patient. I am bitterly disappointed that we did not convert more, we had the chances.
“At the end of the day we did not get anything, did not deserve to get anything, because we were not good enough in the first half.
“The spirit and character of the group are good but there are a lot of things we can do better; there were too many things that allowed Glasgow easy access, easy territory, easy points.”
The defeat leaves Leinster seven points behind the Scarlets – who beat Benetton Treviso but did not pick up a scoring bonus point – in Conference B, though Ulster could overtake them with a big enough win in South Africa on Saturday.
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