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What Leo Cullen said after stunning Leinster collapse
By Simon Thomas
Reigning URC champions Leinster suffered “a proper punch in the nose” in their 35-0 Friday night loss at the hands of the DHL Stormers in Cape Town, provoking a straight-talking reaction from head coach Leo Cullen.
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Leinster were shambolic at DHL Stadium, a shadow of their usual selves. The scrum was destroyed, the lineout malfunctioned and the defence effort left plenty to be desired.
Dominant throughout, the Stormers led just 6-0 at halftime before tries from Stefan Ungerer, Evan Roos, Ruan Ackermann and Jurie Matthee sealed a bonus-point victory.
Leinster’s discipline collapsed, with two yellow cards compounding their misery.
“We are hugely disappointed. We haven’t conceded a score like that in quite a while,” he said.
United Rugby Championship
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Stormers
1
1
0
0
5
2
Ulster
1
1
0
0
5
3
Glasgow
1
1
0
0
5
4
Bulls
1
1
0
0
5
5
Cardiff Rugby
1
1
0
0
5
6
Munster
1
1
0
0
5
7
Connacht
1
1
0
0
5
8
Zebre
1
1
0
0
5
9
Edinburgh
1
0
1
0
2
10
Ospreys
1
0
1
0
1
11
Benetton
1
0
1
0
0
12
Scarlets
1
0
1
0
0
13
Lions
1
0
1
0
0
14
Sharks
1
0
1
0
0
15
Dragons RFC
1
0
1
0
0
16
Leinster
1
0
1
0
0
“The guys were hurting inside the dressing room afterwards.
“We just weren’t at the races. We were really, really poor. We were very much second best in pretty much every department.
“Credit to the Stormers, I thought they were pretty outstanding. They were far better than us and much sharper in all the contact points. They put us under a huge amount of pressure, and we just didn’t manage it particularly well.
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“We have come off a very successful season last year, and we have had a proper punch in the nose. It’s how we respond now and get back on the horse.
“We have to turn the page quickly into Bulls in Pretoria, which will be another serious challenge. We have to put in a much better performance there.
“It’s round one of 18, there’s a long way to go in this competition. I think we will get better as we progress through the weeks.”
Outlining the secret to his team’s four-try triumph, DHL Stormers coach John Dobson said:
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“We had a plan, but it had to be a different plan to our normal one.
“It had to be about hard work, intensity, physicality, sticking to a plan, and I’m super proud and grateful to them because that was a magic performance.”
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