What to make of Leinster?
A win in tricky circumstances away from home in Europe, sure. Whatever about the result, a come-from-behind win without a try bonus point, the performance is what continues to draw justified criticism.
High-profile errors headlined a night which saw Leinster cough up possession 21 times. See James Lowe’s botched pass which denied Rónan Kelleher an opportunity to gallop into the corner. Add to the list a Sam Prendergast-Robbie Henshaw link-up which also led to a spilled ball with a potential try in the offing.
Whatever the memorable examples, for a second week in a row, basic catch-pass skills were lacking. Multiple decisions on when to offload or when not to, as well as a number of poorly-thought attacking kicks, led to bewilderment in some quarters.
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Leo Cullen acknowledges that his side is not “where we want to be”. He points to mitigation, as is his right, focusing largely on the belated return of his Ireland and Lions contingent this season. “[We had] three training sessions last week, two this week, five training sessions leading into these two games,” said Cullen.
“We’re not where we want to be ... but the lads stuck at it. We could have taken another one or two opportunities, made life a lot easier but I was pleased we were able to figure a way out through a bit of a dogfight.”
It was put to Cullen that, perhaps, at this stage of the season given the lack of time his stars have spent playing together in blue, criticism should ease. Talk of ‘outside noise’ did not best please Leinster’s boss.
“You’ve watched Leicester here a lot, have you?” he asked. “But you’ve watched them play over the years, have you? You know they’re a dogged team. I worry about the opinion of the people inside the four walls. I love you guys [reporters] to bits, but I don’t actually care what you say. I genuinely don’t.
“I love our own group, I really do. I think they’re amazing people. We try to judge ourselves primarily on that. Our fans and supporters, I saw some people in the terrace, a lot of happy faces out there. I care what they think. They looked like they were happy with the performance, by the way, when I was talking to them.
“We’ve come off the back of winning our last two games in the Champions Cup. Why’s it called the Champions Cup? Because it’s the champion teams.”
It was put to Cullen that, given the bloated nature of this competition, it is not truly one of ‘champions’. Not to mention Leicester’s missing firepower up front on Friday, the likes of Ollie Chessum and George Martin unavailable, meant they we’re shorn of their ‘champion’ line-up.
“But Leicester were in the final of the Premiership last year, they’re a tough team,” retorted Cullen. “To win here, in their own patch, I played there for two years, as you might or might not know, and they’re an amazing club here. I have only the upmost respect for what they do here.
“For us to come away here and win is a great achievement from our group. Is it perfect? No. How many teams have played the perfect game, who played a perfect game last weekend?
“Pressure is good. I was watching the Champions League during the week and there was a lot of pressure on, what’s the Real Madrid manager, Xabi Alonso? All the pressure on him. I was looking at it thinking, ‘Jeepers, I’m not feeling Xabi Alonso’s pressure’. But I’d say if he got sacked in the morning, he’d be doing pretty well. Rugby is different.”
Cullen will not be sacked in the morning. No one is suggesting as much. But the bare fact remains that his Leinster side is yet to click this season. Nevertheless, he’s ensuring his players are still feeling the love.
To continue the lovefest all the way to Bilbao’s final, Cullen will have to start loving what’s being displayed on the pitch as much as he does the individuals involved.
