Leinster return to The Rec a very different beast
RETURNING to The Rec this afternoon will bring back all kinds of memories for Leo Cullen.
It is only three years since Leinster’slastvisittoBathandit proved to be a somewhat seminal moment for both the club and their then new head coach, who barely had his foot in the door.
Back-to-back Champions Cup defeats left some people questioning Cullen’s coaching credentials, yet the 40-year old has gone on to have the last laugh.
That only five players from the starting team that day in 2015 are included for this afternoon’s (3.15pm) clash tells its own story – Leinster are now a very different beast. The champions are, however, looking over their shoulder as the defeat in Toulouse last time out has left little margin for error.
That said, confidence remains high within the squad and buoyed by Ireland’s successful November Series, the big guns return today.
For Cullen, it is a chance to reflect on how far he has come as a coach since that tough afternoon in 2015, as the success he has enjoyed in the time since speaks for itself.
“It was only six or seven gamesinatthatpoint,ittakesa while to change,” Cullen insisted.“Youguys(media)aren’tthat patient sometimes, you expect it straight away... it takes a bit longer.”
Cullenknewtheexpectations that would be on his inexperienced shoulders as soon as he agreed to take on a job that he Toulouse Leinster Bath Wasps 2 2 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
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admitted came earlier than anticipated.
The club demands success and so do the Leinster supporters, whose patience during those tough times has been rewarded in spades with a promise of more to come.
“We lost to Wasps pretty heavily the week before, I remember that well,” Cullen recalled. “The game was in the balance, we gave away a penalty try,andevenstillwescoredone very good try, did a lot of good things. There were a couple of moments in terms of how we managed the last period of the game, but it often comes down to that in very tight games – how you manage those big moments.
“As you’re in the home straight, the last seven to eight minutes of the game, there were a few things we didn’t manage well. I look back on that game a lot of the time, and how we could have done things better.
“The group is so different now, it’s in a very, very different place, in many ways there was a lack of confidence, a number of factors, changing structure, taking time to adapt etc, etc, it’s hard to compare.
“But it’s always worth remembering and I certainly remember those days well.”
Scott Fardy is the unlucky ‘foreign’ player to miss out this time as James Lowe and Jamison Gibson-Park take up the two spots in the match-day squad.
Even without Fardy, who has been an immense signing, Cullen can still name an entire pack full of Ireland internationals.
Dan Leavy’s inclusion at No 8 is interesting, especially with Jack Conan deemed fit enough to be on the bench.
Noel Reid gets the nod instead of the injured Robbie Henshaw but he must have been pushed all the way by Conor O’Brien, who has impressed recently.