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LEINSTER AND MUNSTER EYE CROWN UNMISSABLE SOCCER PULLOUT ALL THE RUNNERS AND RIDERS FROM TODAY’S GRAND NATIONAL
LEO CULLEN has cautioned his Leinster players against becoming complacent after dumping reigning champions Saracens out of the European Champions Cup.
The Blues are now favourites to go on and win the competition for the first time since 2012 after setting up a semi-final date with Scarlets, but Cullen is wary that the Welsh side represent another massive challenge in the semi-finals having brushed La Rochelle aside on Friday night.
The teams have met twice in the Pro14 in recent weeks, with Leinster winning 20-13 at the RDS before a 10-10 draw at Parc y
Scarlets, while Scarlets also beat Leinster in last season’s Pro12 semi-finals. ‘For us, we need to focus on the things that are important into the lead-up of the game. Scarlets, we played them twice during the Six Nations and they were very close games,’ said Cullen (right). ‘They’re a team which can cause you a hell of a lot of trouble so we’ve full respect for them.’ The Blues were full value for their 30-19 win against Saracens at Lansdowne Road yesterday, and the Leinster head coach admitted it was a pleasing performance, given the quick turnaround following the Six Nations. ‘We talked during the week about the importance of the start, they are a very difficult team to chase a game against,’ said Cullen. ‘So it was positive to have our noses in front, even though we rode our luck a bit before halftime, that was a big moment managing to hold them out, with a turnover. ‘The players worked incredibly hard. They looked pretty rusty, the guys who played against Ospreys [last week], it was a good physical contest against them. ‘The guys who started more games in the Six Nations, it was important they rested up. They all trained well this week, I thought our preparation was good, as was the communication between the national managers and ourselves. ‘The group is very motivated. We were well and truly second best against Scarlets last year [in the Pro14 semi-final] when they had 14 [players] for a large chunk of game, so we know it’s going to be a challenge.’ After seeing his side fail to reach the semi-final stages for the first time in six seasons, Saracens Director of Rugby Mark McCall was full of praise for Leinster. ‘They are outstanding. They were the best team in the pool stages,’ McCall said. ‘When we analysed them, there were not many weaknesses. They were good today. They had to defend for a long time and they did it really well. They’ve got some people who can really hurt you in attack. They are a very good, all-round team.’