Cullen: We love all the pressure

LEINSTER head coach Leo Cullen was proud of his side as they thrived on the pressure of playing in front of their home fans.

“We’re delighted to be over this pretty significant obstacle because we have so much respect for what Leicester do, and we’re delighted to be into the next round,” Cullen said.

“Playing at home is the pressure we want. We want to be here, we want to be running out in front of friends and family. If you don’t enjoy playing in the pressure environments, you’re in the wrong business.

“It’s an amazing competition and it’s a real privilege to be in the quarter-finals, to get through this stage and be fighting it out in the semi-final now.”

Leicester head coach Richard Wigglesworth was pleased with the fight his Tigers showed but admits budget constraints mean they struggle to compete with the best in Europe.

“Leinster are an exceptional team. We knew that coming in, but I’m incredibly proud of the effort and the spirit that went into it,” Wigglesworth said.

“If you look at the gulf in budgets and gulf in personnel, then there will be a gulf. Did we, for 50 minutes, have 15 versus 15 that was pretty competitive? Yes.

“As always, it’s the size of the squad. We’re down to the bare bones and they’re definitely not, but that’s not taking away from how well they’re coached and how well they play, that’s just the reality of the situation.”

Tigers try scorer Anthony Watson said: “We fought hard for 50 minutes but then went away from what we are good at and got a bit loose. You can’t do that against a team as good as Leinster, they’ll put you to the sword.

“Discipline cost us and they managed to get a roll on.”