RUGBY/European Cup: Johnny Wattersontalks to Leinster secondrow Leo Cullen, who despite his side's recent setbacks believes the province is moving forward

If Leinster are having a difficult time digesting the fact their Heineken European Cup is probably over, they may take some comfort from the fact that, after some years, the forward unit has taken shape. The return of Shane Jennings and Leo Cullen and some extra beef in the front row have finally provided Leinster with a consistent operational platform. That the back line has not lived up to its pre-season billing, well, that's another story.

For Cullen, the idea of success has always been to play with a winning Leinster team. The allure of French sides and the top clubs in England have always been an attraction but for a Blackrock College kid Leinster has always been where the home run ends.

"I've enjoyed coming back here," he says. "I've been away for a couple of years and I think I learned a lot. It was nice to have that change. This is obviously my home and I'm around my close friends and family. Leinster has always been a massive part of my life and a team I've always wanted to play for."

His two years at Leicester were pivotal in tweaking his game and inculcating a professional sense of his place on a team and what he was expected to do and to what level he was expected to do it. For that reason Cullen's arrival back to the comforts and familiarities of Donnybrook was welcome because he returned a better player. This season has shown it.

Above all he is a team player, and the comparatively unglamorous position of secondrow means a lot of the work and organisational ability often goes largely unseen and unheralded. You get the feeling that's the way he likes it.

"People were saying last weekend that the forwards didn't play that badly. But that doesn't matter," he says. "We didn't win the game. It doesn't really matter about the units. It's about the team performing. There is a lot more to come from the team. I think it's just to get it all to click on the day."

Don't ask for a "me" or an "I" act. He sees his worth this season to coach Michael Cheika is precisely equal to what he brings to the party. Although the bad showing at Edinburgh has shrouded the festive season in gloom, he believes Leinster are a side still moving forward.

"Over the course of when I was gone there has been massive improvement in Leinster," he observes. "The work ethic is really good, although it was really a disappointing result at the weekend. But I think we'd been making really good improvement up until then.

"I felt (last week) we just let ourselves down. I felt we made too many basic mistakes during the game. Our discipline was poor and I think they are both interlinked in terms of where our heads were at going into the game. There was maybe a little bit of complacency if we are being perfectly honest about it."

What Cullen has imported with him is the experience of playing alongside big-name players in Leicester and the knowledge of competing against the variety of top sides in England. It was a more intense atmosphere. Hooker Bernard Jackman has credited Cullen personally with making his throwing to the lineout easier because he identifies the less-contested areas to hit.

"I think being away was good, looking at how different systems work, pitting yourself against different teams week in week out," says the lock. "I got a lot of exposure because in England I was probably playing more games, more teams. I've tried to bring back as much information as I could. The lineout is getting better. We've still lots to work on but it is improving."

On St Stephen's Day, traditionally a day that ensures a big turnout, fans can see just how useful it has become when Ulster come visiting; the interprovincial clashes usually provide some festive belligerence among players. Factor in that the Six Nations squad will be announced next month and the likely new dynamic of extreme pressure on the Ireland team to perform and players will be viewing these games as potential shop windows for their wares.

For Ulster too, this season has dissolved into a nightmarish scenario where every game they appear in seems to be a battle for survival. There is a desperate streak to their play these days, which makes them dangerous.

"We're looking forward to the Ulster game and when we went up there a couple of months ago we were really disappointed only coming back with a draw," says Cullen. "We performed pretty well for the first 50, 60 minutes but we didn't capitalise on some of the pressure. By the end of the game we were hanging on. That's something we have to rectify. Ulster are in a tough situation themselves. They're scrapping for their life and are obviously trying to impress whoever is going to come in and take over as their new coach."