'Lots of moving parts': Leo Cullen addresses Leinster star's imminent exit

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has admitted there are “lots of moving parts” as speculation swirls around Rabah Slimani’s future, with reports in Midi Olympique claiming the tighthead is set to join Toulon at the end of the season.

Speaking after his side’s 28-20 win over Edinburgh at the Aviva Stadium, Cullen paid tribute to Slimani’s impact, both as a scrummager and mentor, but acknowledged that change is coming.

Cullen stressed the importance of striking a balance between developing young front-row talent and potentially supplementing the group with outside experience.

Slimani, who joined Leinster from Clermont in 2024, has played a key role as a mentor figure for the province’s emerging tightheads, several of whom have been fast-tracked through the system in recent weeks due to a deluge of injuries that have tested Leinster’s squad depth in the that department.

“It’s always a balance isn’t it. Rabah has done a fantastic job for us. If you think back to a couple of years ago, we had discussions probably around this time, even a little bit later, about him coming in. He was thinking about finishing at that stage and going into coaching at Clermont. He’s been brilliant for some of the younger guys.”

Cullen pointed to the unique challenges of the position, describing tighthead as the hardest role on the field to make the jump from age-grade or club rugby to elite level.

“For the young guys, it’s a journey to try to get to the next level. Of all the positions on the field, especially tighthead prop, front-rowers, that’s the hardest to make that step up.

“You think that a schoolboy player, I was at a schools match yesterday, they’re 18 years of age and they’re only allowed to push a metre. They’re coming into a professional set-up and they’re up against experienced campaigners, like what they [Edinburgh] had there today. Boan Venter started for the Springboks here a couple of months ago in November. Paul Hill, again, he’s been around the block. He knows his way around a scrum at this point in his career.

“We had Jerry Cahir, who we brought through AIL, he played an A game towards the end of last season. He’s been brilliant and he’s obviously played in the Champions Cup this year, which is incredible, the progression we’ve seen with him.”

“Alex Usanov, again, very early in his development and similar with Niall Smyth and Andrew Sparrow. Sparrow was starting for the first time this season. It’s a progression for those guys.

While Cullen remains focused on progressing Leinser’s rookie front-rowers, he did not rule out exploring external options as planning continues for next season.

“We’re trying to make sure we’re looking after them and trying to help them. If we get the right person to try and help and mentor these guys, Rabah has done a really good job at that. We’ll see how that plays out in the next weeks and months.”

“There’s a lot of moving parts this time of year. We’re always trying to look for how we’re going to add to the group, keep bringing the young guys through but also what other experience is out there as well. There’s always a balance.”