Cullen ‘not interested in dragging up the past’ as he insists medication is not handed out ‘willy-nilly’
LEO CULLEN has taken issue with Brian O’Driscoll’s comments on the routine use of painkillers in rugby after his former teammate said he regularly used antiinflammatories such as Difene in the closing stages of his career, and that such medication became “part of my match prep”.
Cullen was speaking ahead of Leinster’s trip to Bath for tomorrow’s crunch Heineken Cup clash, where a win is vital to his side’s chances of progressing to the knockout stages following October’s surprise defeat away to Toulouse.
‘To say that there’s an image of medication being just handed out willy-nilly is a very unfair reflection on the environment we have here at the moment. ‘All I’m really concerned about is the environment we have here at the moment, I’m not really interested in dragging up things from the past, that would be my view,’ said Cullen. ‘Anytime there’s medication involved, everyone needs to be very cautious. Ultimately, we’re trying to provide an environment that’s very safe for the players. ‘I think we’ve got unbelievable medical support in this environment at the moment and the care and the duty of care that we provide or that the club provides for the players are second to none.
‘It would really upset me if that was tarnished in any way whatsoever because I understand how much the people that care for the players actually care for them. ‘That’s what we’re trying to control. I can’t control what’s gone on in the past because I was one of x amount of players over a long period of time. I can talk about my own experience, I can’t talk about everyone else’s because I don’t know what the relationships were with doctors etc. ‘I was never a big fan and, even to this day, I’m not a big fan of taking medication. That’s not to say I’ve never taken an anti-inflammatory. I probably would have taken slightly more medication when I was playing than I would now because I was playing a contact sport where I was getting bangs.
‘I roll over my ankle and it blows up like a balloon, what do you do to get rid of that swelling? You ice it and maybe you take antiinflammatories to reduce the swelling, that’s what they’re designed to do and you’re involved in a contact sport. ‘There’s not like one rule for every single player, some people pick up injuries and others don’t. That’s why we have doctors and physios that have the skill set to be able to deal with it. It’s making sure the players are taken care of as well as possible.’
Rhys Ruddock, who is in line to make his 150th appearance tomorrow night, has suffered his fair share of injuries over the years but believes the medical care he has received during his career is second to none. ‘Any experience I’ve had dealing with medical staff, physios, doctors, the care that we get in rugby has always been top class,’ the 28-year-old insisted. ‘You get guided in the right direction the same way you would expect to be if you go to see your GP. ‘Whether it’s going to see a surgeon, whether it’s getting physio, getting an anti-inflammatory or a painkiller if you have an injury, it’s dealt with in that way and I don’t see an issue with it.’
Jack Conan is an injury doubt as Leinster prepare to welcome back many of their front line internationals for the first time since the November internationals. Bath lie in mid-table in the English Premiership with just three wins from nine games and, having failed to win either of their opening two games in Europe, they know defeat will all but spell the end of their qualification chances ahead of the return fixture at Lansdowne Road next
‘We need to make sure that we get everything right to give ourselves the best chance of getting a positive outcome in the game,’ Cullen added. Former Bath captain and current general manager Stuart Hooper played under current Leinster coach Stuart Lancaster at Leeds and is earmarked for a director of rugby role with the west country outfit who have in turn been linked with a move for Lancaster. Cullen remains confident the former England coach will stay with Leinster, though. ‘He’s telling me he’s very happy at the moment anyway so that’s all we can work on at the moment. Stuart has had a huge impact on us as a group and we’re all very happy at the moment the way the dynamic is working. We’d be hopeful,’ added the coach, who is set to announce his team at noon today.