Leo still the man for the big show

Today, at the RDS, it will be Tom Denton’s turn.

Devin Toner, Damien Browne and Quinn Roux all have their goes, too. Four massive, ambitious men looking to secure a place in Leinster’s second row alongside the one lock the European champions simply cannot afford to do without when the curtain goes up for the big shows.

Leo Cullen is 34 now and has had his fair share of injuries, the latest being a set of troublesome Achilles tendons that required surgery and led to a lengthy absence from the game at a crucial juncture last season. The loss of Nathan Hines to France two summers ago was considerable at the time and it was only Cullen’s injury which opened the door for Brad Thorn’s brief but vital stay in Dublin towards the end of the latter half of the campaign.