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The 'most important' thing Leo Cullen said post-game about Leinster
There were multiple tangents and diversions at the post-game 15-minute Leinster media briefing on Saturday night at Croke Park. Leo Cullen’s positive sense of shock that the semi-final fixture at the headquarters of the GAA sold out 82,300 tickets so quickly.
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Jamison Gibson-Park and his intuitive relationship with his old New Zealand Maori mucker, the hat-trick-scoring James Lowe. Skipper Caelan Doris and that last-minute penalty-winning turnover which was the final attack in the nerve-shredding Northampton comeback.
There was even the frivolous revelation that Garry Ringrose is a Spurs fan, as is Cullen’s father (Cullen himself is Everton), and that the May 25 final at the home of Tottenham should be quite the hoot for them.
And yet, the most important thing that was said over the course of the set-piece was aired very early doors, the coach’s insistence that Leinster understand they can be better and that their focus was now much heightened towards being the best version of themselves come the final day.
That was a very different semi-final reflection compared to the last two years and it just might be the nudge that shunts them over the line and onto the showpiece trophy podium rather than standing glumly with the cup in enemy hands.
Think about it: Toulouse were swatted aside in the past two semi-finals, Leinster revelling in polished 41-22 and 40-17 Aviva Stadium victories that ultimately were of no use in the ensuing deciders where arm wrestles were lost by wafer-thin scorelines to La Rochelle.
There was no semi-final comfort this time around. Instead, Leinster were unable to add to their 20-3, 44th-minute advantage and were left clinging to a narrow 20-17 success.
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So queasy were they with the clock on the cusp of the full 80 that out-half Ross Byrne had to race to a ruck and play emergency scrum-half, digging away to finally ferret the ball out and then toss it back for his brother Harry to belt into the stands and prompt the shrill final whistle of referee Mathieu Raynal.
It sounded messy and it was. But there’s the rub; Leinster survived the scare and not playing as well as they can should be the perfect spur for them to now produce the polish in London in three weeks.
“Listen, we have done enough to get through,” enthused Cullen, countering the somewhat downbeat atmosphere of the post-game media post-mortem. “We know we can be better and that is the bit we need to go after over the next few weeks….
“But listen, we’re delighted… listen, we’re relieved to get through, we’re delighted to get through and we just need to focus on improving our game so we are playing our best game for the final.
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“There are plenty of parts we can improve on but ultimately the most important part is to get through.”
How right he was. You can’t win the cup in the semi-final by being all bells and whistles, as they have painfully found out in recent seasons.
"Amazing occasion… the players dug at the end."
– What Leo Cullen had to say after the dust settled on Leinster's third successive Champions Cup semi-final victory, from Liam Heagney ?? in Dublin. #LEIvNOR #ChampionsCup #rugby pic.twitter.com/KWYQshhBOo
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) May 4, 2024
It’s simply a fixture to get you into the decider and having had their magic restricted this time around by the Saints, unlike in 2022 and 2023 versus Toulouse when they swash buckled their way through, they very much know their game must improve if they are to lift the trophy.
In sharp contrast to what took place in recent weeks, when their stars were cotton wooled while the stiffs were packed off to get trounced in back-to-back URC matches in South Africa, positive league performances with their best players are on the agenda heading into the Champions final.
“There is plenty of learning there for our guys. Not playing in the last few weeks, does that have an effect? I don’t know,” pondered Cullen. “We need to concentrate on the URC for the next couple of weeks. We will be picking strong teams.”
Comments on RugbyPass
> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
2 Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
1 Go to commentsAs a Crusaders fan , so disappointed , again.But I think Fergus Burke was all class for the Crusaders in his first game since October last year. Fletcher Newell , was so good at prop. Johnny McNicoll has been gold since returning from Wales. Noah Hotham brilliant , in a coming of age second season for the Crusaders.Jone Rova did really well at centre. The end of the game was tough.Sevu Reece , what a game/season in tough times.
1 Go to commentsFellas a balloon
3 Go to commentsBlues B team on display and made no race of it. By far the best team in SR with the Hurricanes barely getting past the winning post. Up the Blues 💙
6 Go to commentsWould be amazing to have Servette Genève reaching this level
3 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can't buy a win this season. Surely Penney's contract won't be renewed. There's still enough talent in the squad that they oughta be winning more.
1 Go to commentsABs captain for 23 seasons. Decent record. Surely nobody will surpass it. Legend. But alas a typo…
2 Go to commentsJust FYI Rugbypass, I for one am tired of your clickbait titles and thumbnails and will be clicking them no longer. Good day.
1 Go to commentsI think Farrell despite all of the stick he gets in the media is still one of if not the best fly half in the world. He is literally the full package. He can kick one of the best in the world, probably has the best defensive game of a fly half in the world and if he wants to he can run, take contact and find an offload to keep the pace of the attack. I dont know why he isnt spoken more about still being one of the best in the world with the likes of dupont. Farrell is the ultimate captain and team leader and is experienced- he has been in nearly any situation you can think of. I still believe due to these reasons that he is England’s best ever player and is still one of the best players in the world.
48 Go to commentsBlues are dominating up front and that’s been a long time coming. They have won the up front confrontation which is where canes, hilanders and act brumbies are also strong.
6 Go to commentsJust watched brumbies v safas game sadly not a show in he’ll thryr anywhere near quarters or semi contention. Admittedly some issues around new comers bot what stands out for me is coaching management, poor game planning and accuracy.
5 Go to commentsOne tough SOB!
16 Go to commentsI’ve put on 4/5 kilos since the beginning of the season too. Not good kilos. Bad kilos.
6 Go to commentsSurely there’s a ‘no knobheads’ policy ?
3 Go to commentsWallaroos have no chance of beating the Black Ferns unless Canada upsets them in Christchurch tomorrow but I doubt that as well!
1 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Could the victim do a course to reverse the long term CTE damage from the cheapshot?
2 Go to commentsTruely great player. In social media and opinion pieces he was held up and flogged for the results. People wanted someone to crucify, and he was the captain. He was still an immense presence respected by his peers. His battles with Siya Kolisi belong up with with Collins vs Burger in my opinion. Unlucky to be carded in the final, but I don’t agree that his red card was the defining moment. Not when you look at the dominant performances of the Springboks (PSDT in particular.) I think Cane should be remembered for the spirit and physicality that is special to test rugby.
16 Go to commentsSam was the man until he got injured .
16 Go to comments_Crusaders versus Leinster _at the moment might be a rout! But I would like to see the Blues play Toulouse, the Hurricanes front up against Stade Francais, and the Chiefs go against Toulon.
157 Go to comments