Battered and bruised, but Cullen content

LEO CULLEN’S tie was jerked rakishly to one side as he was led to the mixed zone after Leinster’s emphatic statement at the Aviva Stadium.

A tattoo of red scars embellished his forehead and right ear.

To all the world, he looked like just another nine-to-fiver after the Christmas bash.

Unlike everyone else left the worst for wear in Dublin on Saturday night, Cullen’s exertions will have left no hangover, just a deep well of satisfaction.

As in Clermont last Sunday week, Leinster ceded nothing at the breakdown in Ballsbridge and held their own in the scrum. Long before the end, the visitors lost their cool and sought to engage in playground spats.

“We have played them now a few times and we know some of their threats,” said Cullen.

“Even in the quarter-final last year, we didn’t quite get in gear and it was obviously important that we didn’t allow them to play too much.

“We just needed to impose our own game, play with intensity. We have some pretty good ball carriers and it was important that we got the ball into those guys’ hands.”

No-one epitomised the improvement up front for Leinster since their troubles at the tail end of last season as Cian Healy, who was called ashore in the semi-final against Toulouse last May before half-time. Described by Cullen as a work in progress, the prop reacted perfectly to being benched last week and his two tries were merely exclamation points on a devastating all-round performance.

“Cian is far form the finished article but he has world-class ability. When his head is in the game he is as good as anyone out there.

“He has the ability to become one of the best in the position in the world. It is about how far Cian wants to go.”

If there was one moment that summed up Leinster’s intention and ability to meet muscle with muscle, it came in the 12th minute when Sione Lauaki made a burst from the home team’s line from the base of a maul.

The raid failed. By inches at first but then by dozens of yards as a result of a penalty and clearing kick for Leinster borne of sheer frustration on the part of the assailants. The scoreboard at the time read 7-0 to the Irish province.

“It was a pretty big call,” said Cullen. “If they had got their noses in front at any stage it was going to be very tough because that builds momentum and they have more confidence. To hold them out at that period and then get the penalty to go 10-3 at half-time and win the kick-off for the second half, that was a real key moment.”

With five points between them and the French pair of Clermont and Racing Metro, Leinster can again let others worry about the chase with two rounds to go and yet regrets remain from the game two nights ago.

Leinster will hope they do not come to rue letting a four-try bonus point slip through their fingers when it was seemingly there for the taking against the French champions, who are, mathematically, very much alive.

“When you have three tries on the board with 25/30 minutes to go, it is a little bit disappointing but we would have taken that result beforehand. It ended up a bit of a messy and bigly contest and I thought the last 20 minutes probably suited them more than us. It is a little frustrating but our destiny is still in our own hands.”