Composure key in Leinster victory, says Leo Cullen

Leo Cullen, the Leinster coach who has been feeling the pressure in his first year in the job, had to have been a very relieved man leaving Thomond Park last night having seen his team make light of a determined but ultimately flawed Munster challenge.

Typically, Cullen attempted to keep a phlegmatic lid on a 17-point win, stressing: “I don’t think 24-7 really reflects the game. We know what that feels like because when we played Wasps at home recently, the score got away from us at the end. It put a bit of a gloss on it.

“We talked beforehand about if we keep to our system and participate in defence, that we will get opportune tries from turnovers. So we got that try at the end and that try early in the game which I thought showed really good composure and a nice bit of clinical edge in finishing it off.”

Munster rarely if ever looked like matching the quality of Isa Nicewa’s try, so brilliantly created by Gary Ringrose. Leinster, for their part, looked far more at home in possession and tougher and better organised in defence, factors that delighted Cullen.

“Even though we had a strong wind behind us in that first half and didn’t have a huge amount of territory with Munster taking something of a stranglehold on the game, we’re pleased with the effort,” he said

“The result gets us back into a decent position in the league. It’s getting very congested around that top six. We have a very short turnaround for Connacht who I thought were very unlucky against Ulster.

“And we’re still out of Europe which is really disappointing. We know we weren’t a million miles away. It seems like that when you’re zero from four but some of those European games weren’t a true reflection. We can’t do anything about that and must now concentrate on the Pro12. It’s a very tough schedule on the back of two tough games against Toulon and to then have to come down here to Munster followed by Connacht, who will come with real intent”.

There is little doubt Leinster have a true gem in- the-making in 21-year-old Ringrose. “Gary did a lot of really good things”, said Cullen. “It’s a case of keeping those positive experiences. I think he is going to be a great player. He is somebody who works incredibly hard. The most important part is that he has room for improvement.

“He puts in the work every day and as you saw out there, he gets the rewards and that’s really pleasing. I think it’s a real important lesson for anyone playing the game, it comes down to the preparation you put in from day to day and he is somebody who epitomises that”.