Lionhearted Leo stakes claim
He readily acknowledges that he starts a Six Nations match for the first time in the Millennium Stadium on Saturday only because Gary Longwell has been ruled out by a strained hamstring and Paul O’Connell is still returning to full fitness after a long-term injury.
Interestingly though, even Cullen’s strongest critics can’t claim that he hasn’t answered in impressive fashion whenever Ireland’s call has come his way. Irish manager Brian O’Brien is an avid fan: “Leo has never played poorly for us. He’s the kind of guy who plays to his potential. He’s always very fit, always very enthusiastic. If he’s not having a good game, he’s injured or there’s something else wrong. He’s very honest and that means a lot in a squad situation.”
It remains to be seen if Cullen can become a fixture in the side by grabbing his big chance on Saturday, leaving O’Sullivan with little option but to retain him for the big clash with England eight days later.
However, O’Brien is right when lauding Cullen for his performances to date, not least when coming in for Longwell after 36 minutes against France, much earlier than had been planned.
Cullen relives that performance in a completely unassuming manner. “Gary had been carrying that knock for a couple of days before the game, so I got a few runs with the team during the week and so the transition wasn’t so difficult.
“It’s one of the advantages of being in the second-row that you are straight into the thick of the action and you have a chance to get involved from the off.”
Wicklow is not exactly a hotbed of Irish rugby, so it may have skipped people’s attention that three natives of the Garden County, Reggie Corrigan, Shane Byrne and Leo Cullen have worn the green jersey this season.
Leo’s parish is Newtown and the family live close to Roundwood. He could hardly have served a more impressive apprenticeship having begun the game as an eight year-old at Willow Park before moving on to Blackrock College: “I won a Junior Cup medal and two Senior Cup medals. We had a very strong panel at the time ... Brian O’Driscoll, Ciaran Scally and Bob Casey went on to be capped by Ireland while Emmett Farrell, Barry Gibney and Peter Smyth played provincial rugby and might have gone further still only for injury. The media called it the dream team.”
Having played for Ireland at schools, U19 and U21, he won his first Ireland A cap against England in 2000 and became a fixture in that side before winning an U25 cap against Japan. However there were some difficult times for the fair haired, 6ft 6in, 17stone giant. Becoming a Leinster regular proved difficult not to mention progressing to the much coveted first full cap.
“It was a tough few years all right”, he agrees. “Obviously rugby in Ireland is very competitive at the moment. After the progression through the 19s, 21s and so on, there’s pressure and expectation on you to go on to greater things. I was involved with Leinster and not making the starting XV and it was one of my close friends, Bob Casey, who has since gone to London Irish, with whom I was competing for the same spot for a couple of years and it’s only since he’s moved away that I’ve established myself a little more in the Leinster team.
“All across the board, Irish rugby has become very competitive. That has shown in the results. It’s healthy competition and that’s leading to a great environment in the national set-up and that can only be good for the management. And, of course, the younger guys are always coming through. Having subbed against New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Georgia and Argentina, I had my first start for Ireland against Fiji in the autumn. Now this is my first Six Nations start, another step up the ladder. It’s a great time to be involved in Irish rugby. It helps that Shane Byrne, my team-mate at Blackrock and Leinster, will be throwing to the line-out and hopefully we’ll make a good combination at the week-end.
“When I was playing eight, I was a little more versatile and usually jumped at the back or number four. Obviously the way it’s worked out with Malcolm O’Kelly there, I’ve been at two but any time he’s not there I’ve been shifted back to four which is a help because when you’re on the bench, you have to be able to cover both.”
Cullen is naturally avidly looking forward to his first match at the Millennium Stadium. He describes it as: “one of the great grounds in the world. I remember when we went over on a school trip and got a chance to look around the Cardiff Arms Park, but this is even better. The present generation take no notice of the fact that Ireland haven’t lost there since 1983. You have to take each match individually and that’s what we will do on Saturday.”
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