Leo hails his men after travel woes
Head coach Leo Cullen last night hailed Leinster’s 42-10 bonus-point triumph over Racing 92 after his starstudded team began their assault on the Heineken Champions Cup in spectacular fashion at a chilly Le Havre in France.
The Irish province, beaten in the final minute of last season’s showpiece against La Rochelle, racked up six tries to demolish the three-time finalists in a Pool A opener switched from Paris to Stade Oceane due to a music concert.
Josh van der Flier crossed for two tries, with the others coming from Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Garry Ringrose and Ed Byrne.
A marathon 14-hour journey from Dublin to Le Havre via Paris had the potential to derail the opening of Leinster’s campaign but Cullen, the former Ireland second-row forward, shrugged it off.
He said: “Some things are out of your control. We got here later than we intended but it was just one of those tests which are good to get through sometimes. It was great connecting time at the airport for players, parents and supporters.”
Leinster had to commandeer a fleet of taxis to ferry them from Paris after their flight had been diverted to the French capital because of thick fog restricting visibility at Le Havre Airport.
But they still hit the ground running against Racing, which is exactly what Cullen and his coaching lieutenant, Stuart Lancaster, had demanded.
Cullen added: “The lads started with great intent and it was important to score early.
“I had watched Racing in their recent matches and they had scored a lot of early points. They had blitzed Clermont and it was important to take that away from them.”