Cullen hails Ringrose class after his star centre’s treble
LEO CULLEN hailed the performance of Garry Ringrose after the classy centre bagged a hat-trick in yesterday’s hard-fought 33-19 victory over Treviso at the RDS.
Ringrose was one of five Ireland internationals making their first appearances since last month’s World Cup quarterfinal hammering at the hands of New Zealand.
But the 24-year-old midfielder showed no signs of a post-tournament hangover, bagging three tries in a man-of-the-match display.
‘He brings that bit of class,’ said the Leinster head coach.
‘I thought he went well at the World Cup, looked dangerous the whole time. He’s carried that form into the game so it’s a good boost for him.
‘We’ve got more guys through games and off the back of what a lot of guys have been through (at the World Cup) and trying to come back in.
‘It’s like their season is starting again so, in many ways, it’s like round one for us as an entire squad.
‘We still have a couple of more guys who are yet to appear but overall we’re pleased.
‘We knew it wasn’t going to be perfect, but it’s a win. We’ve got the job done in many respects.
‘It allows us now to turn our attention to Lyon, try to recover well. We’ll get a chance to see them in action against Northampton (on Sunday).’
Leinster are up and running in this season’s European Champions Cup now thanks to yesterday’s bonus-point win but things will ramp up next weekend with the province travelling to Lyon.
The French side have made a storming start to the season and currently lead the Top14 with eight league victories in their opening nine games.
And Cullen said his squad would heed the lessons of last year when they were ambushed away from home.
‘We went away to France in round two last season and got beaten by Toulouse,’ he recalled.
‘We go away to Lyon and the question is can we be better?
‘Can we be better than we were this time last year?
‘The challenge is the fact that we’re not really up and running with this group yet so I think everyone thinks the group is going well but the Pro14, as we know, is very different to the challenge of Europe. Lyon haven’t been as affected by the World Cup as we have been, so they have a much more cohesive group and they’re sitting pretty at the top of the Top14.
‘We know the quality of the teams that are in that league. It’s not like they’re just about on top.’
Cullen will await a medical update on No 8 Caelan
Doris, who failed a HIA in the first half following a heavy collision with Treviso’s Nasi Manu.
The likes of Rob Kearney and Tadhg Furlong, who sat out yesterday’s win, are set to come back into the reckoning for next weekend’s assignment.
For now, Leinster can reflect on a solid night’s work, with young hooker Ronan Kelleher once again catching the eye, scoring his sixth try in seven outings this term, while Johnny Sexton capped off an impressive outing by bagging the fourth try of the evening.
‘Listen, they’re a good team, they hung there as well until the very end so it wasn’t much of a shock, really,’ Cullen added.
‘We were nervous about today. It’s a tricky time of the year for us.
‘Everyone thinks that everything is going well but there’s a certain reality amongst us as a group, that bringing back in a large group of players, when we’re already up and running, has its challenges.
‘But overall it’s positive to get guys through the game, more guys are involved, and it’s another week into the system and get guys up to what we’re trying to do. It wasn’t perfect out there.
‘It’s a proper game. We are in winter rugby at the moment. Treviso are a very physical team. We are pleased to get a win.
‘There are parts of our performance that can be a hell of a lot better. But, overall, we are pleased to get a victory, which keeps us trucking along.’
‘WE WERE NERVOUS. IT’S A TRICKY TIME OF THE YEAR’