Cullen lauds veteran forward Fardy as visitors stand up to Thomond test
LEO CULLEN hailed the impact of Scott Fardy as Leinster ground out a hard-fought 13-6 victory at Thomond Park last night.
Leinster were the last team to win here on St Stephen’s Day in 2017 and they stormed the Limerick fortress again, with Fardy, the veteran Wallabies forward, who captained the province in the absence of international star Johnny Sexton, leading the way.
The visitors were forced to withstand wave after wave of Munster attacks in the second half, but they held out to maintain their unbeaten streak this season with Fardy winning a crucial turnover in the dying minutes of the contest.
And his contribution did not go unnoticed by Cullen
‘There’s nothing he’s not an expert on and he’s great value to the group,’ said the Leinster head coach.
‘It was his perfect type of game because it’s in the trenches and he’s that quasi second row/back row. It’s more in the way he leads the team as well.
‘He’s good in terms of how he communicates with the group – he’s a very good mentor for some of the young locks and backrowers.’
Ed Byrne’s early try and a brace of Ross Byrne penalties was enough to secure Leinster’s 13th win of the season in a contest that was high on toil, but low on quality.
Munster monopolised possession and territory but only had two penalties from JJ Hanrahan to show for all their efforts.
‘It was a funny game, it really was,’ Cullen added as his side claimed their ninth league
victory of the campaign.
‘Conditions made it really difficult. It was almost like having two extra defenders with the wind, so the defence was on top for most of the game, as you could see.
‘It was hard breaking both defences down, ultimately. There were lots of endeavour from both sets of players but probably it lacked a bit of cutting-edge quality from both teams – but the (windy) conditions didn’t help with that.
‘For us, it’s very pleasing. To get a win down here is fantastic.
‘There were a lot of young guys out there and they dug in at the end – that was the most pleasing piece. There was wave after wave. It’s pick-and-go, close-quarter stuff, but we were getting bodies in the way to stop the ball-carrier with latches.
‘That’s Munster’s traditional strong game so the fight there was great, with the mixture of some old and young guys. So a positive experience for a lot of the young guys.’
Munster will have little time to reflect on this loss with an away trip to Belfast to face an in-form Ulster side next up.
Joey Carbery made his first appearance of the season from the bench in the final quarter and Johann van Graan should have some of his Ireland internationals back for the Kingspan assignment.
However, the South African could not hide the obvious dejection with the home team’s performance last night.
‘We’re disappointed to lose at home,’ said the Munster boss.
‘It was an incredibly tough match. We didn’t start the game well enough.
‘Ultimately their try was the difference in the game. I thought we reassessed at half-time and adapted. We had multiple opportunities in their 22. All credit to Leinster… they handled the big moments better.’