Cullen takes another major step on road to recovery
It is Cullen’s 140th appearance for the province and it will be another important game for him as he gradually gains the match fitness that will be necessary for the upcoming Heineken Cup ties in December.
In the professional era, representative players have had the opportunity to build up record numbers of appearances, and Shane Horgan is fast approaching the big 200.
Horgan makes his 189th appearance for the province and the Boyne man forms an exciting looking back three with Isa Nacewa and youngster Andrew Conway, with more rookies, Paul O’Donohoe and Ian Madigan, at half-back.
Edinburgh introduce a new out-half, Alex Blair, and he joins his brother and scrum-half Mike in the team.
A delighted Blair said he relished the prospect of making his first appearance against such strong opposition and is delighted to have family beside him.
“It will be good to have Mike beside, not just because he’s my brother but because he’s a hugely experienced player who’ll be able to give me a few pointers when he feels it’s required.
“We’re all really keen to keep this good run going and add to the momentum that’s been building.”
The first part of Edinburgh’s three-game winning sequence was a 32-24 success over Leinster at Murrayfield in September. The last time the sides met in Ireland was on the final weekend of last year’s Magners League regular season, when a four-try effort from Rob Moffat’s men saw them fall just short of the play-offs.
The Edinburgh head coach has asked for a repeat of both the ambition his troops showed that day and the grit they displayed in the hard-fought win over Ulster seven days ago.
“I don’t like harking back too much to previous games, but the guys who were involved the last time we went to Dublin know they don’t want to end up with the same feeling again after the game,” he said.
“We played really well, but didn’t win and in the end that’s what it’s all about. I was really happy with how we finished the job against Ulster, and I want to see us taking our chances even more ruthlessly this weekend.
“Leinster are always a tough challenge, especially when they’re at home, but we’ve picked a team we think is capable of winning.”
Meanwhile, Isa Nacewa isn’t fazed by having to fill in at full-back. “I’m just happy to be in the team, pleased to have a role,” he said. “I think this team has grown in the few weeks since the Munster game and we just don’t want to take a step backwards.
“We have set a few benchmarks, especially defensively, so hopefully we can take strides from there.”
Nacewa is looking forward to watching the Leinster youngsters and will have particular interest in Conway. “He’s very good, very fast and is ready to go,” he said, while admitting that the recent defeat to Edinburgh still hurts.
“Yeah, the wounds are raw. We were disappointed to lose but we’ve come a long way and it’s now up to us to keep on improving. Edinburgh will be tough , they don’t do things according to plan, they’re very skilled and they use any space very well.”
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