Leo Cullen bemused by English money gripes

It may be vulgar to talk about money but there is no escaping the grubby subject as Leinster go to Coventry in search of the win that would guarantee them top spot in Pool One of the Heineken Champions Cup and everything else that goes with it.

Leo Cullen knows the value of a Dublin date in the last eight.

Statistics and plain common sense tell us that sides enjoying home comforts possess a better chance of advancing through to the penultimate hurdle in the European Cup and the Leinster head coach added the not insignificant rider that it’s worth a few bob to the clubs involved too.

“There is the commercial side of it where the club likes having the financial reward and with that the money goes back into an investment in the game,” he explained, “whether that is the underage level or the academy or to the senior team.”

It was his counterpart who introduced money into the equation earlier this week.

Wasps’ defeat to Bath at the Rec last weekend left Dai Young contemplating bigger matters than lost rucks and defensive lines. The Director of Rugby felt the need to expound on Leinster’s structural strengths and his own outfit’s weaknesses.

Young pointed to Leinster’s ability to absorb the loss of five British and Irish Lions and replace them with yet more Irish internationals against Toulouse. And he contrasted such riches in personnel with the restraints placed on Premiership clubs when it comes to the salary cap.

The consequence being: “When we pick up injuries, we are not replacing internationals with internationals, with internationals behind them as well,” said Young. Cullen was, for some reason, a bit miffed to be asked for a response to this. And bemused by the logic.

Hadn’t Saracens won two of the last three European Cups, he asked? Aren’t all English Premiership clubs bound, in theory at any rate, by the same (£7m) salary cap? Ergo, if both are true then doesn’t that all shoot a few fatal holes in Young’s argument?

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Hard to find fault with him there.

Leinster, in fairness, are something of an outlier. Even in the Irish context. The schools system is unparalleled in world rugby and allies itself to a huge population, a superb academy programme, top-class coaches and a club culture that, put together, is the envy of pretty much everyone.

None of which is a guarantee of success. It can’t be ignored that this issue of filthy lucre should arise just as Leinster return to the Ricoh Arena for the first time since a 51-10 shellacking at the hands of Wasps this very week just three short weeks ago.

“We have certain restrictions as well in terms of the amount of foreign players we can bring etc.. whereas there’s none of those restrictions on teams in France,” said Cullen.

“It wasn’t that long ago that we were talking about Irish teams not having a chance of doing well in Europe ever again. There’s a certain cyclical nature to it as well,” he added. “I remember sitting in these rooms almost trying to defend the situation of the Irish teams and the PRO14 teams because you guys (in the media) didn’t give us a chance so there is a certain…

This is just today but what’s different from three years ago? Is the the salary cap any different? I think the salary cap has gone up since then. I dunno... What’s the shift? You guys figure it out. We’re just focusing on week-to-week.

Cullen takes a match-day 23 containing 20 internationals to face a Wasps outfit with half that in terms of Test experience. That said, it is a stronger Wasps selection than might have been expected given their interest in Europe now is very much academic.

The home side can deliver parcels of high-end product around the park, most notably in a back-row containing Brad Shields, Nizaam Carr and Nathan Hughes, but there are too many journeymen fillings in too many gaps tomorrow.

Thirteen of their 17 Englishmen have never earned full honours for their country and they face a Leinster side buoyed by the win over Toulouse and strengthened by the returns this week of Jack McGrath, Devin Toner and Robbie Henshaw to the XV.

And by Sean O’Brien to the bench.

Jonathan Sexton, Rob Kearney and Dan Leavy failed to make it back for this one but Cullen talked all three of them up in terms of fitness – Kearney in particular – and readiness for Ireland’s Six Nations opener against England on February 2.

Their absences shouldn’t really matter all that much here.

Leinster have been less than imperious on the road in recent months but there will be a determination to redress that balance after the iffy performances away to the likes of Toulouse, Bath and Munster plus the carrot of that home quarter-final slot.

There are any number of permutations on the table as round six kicks off today but the beauty of bringing up the rear on Sunday afternoon is that the reigning champions will know exactly what way the land lies and what it is they need to do by the time they kick-off in Coventry.

This really is set up very nicely for them, indeed.

“We are where we are so we will have a pretty good idea as to where we are and what’s required,” said Cullen of the task ahead. “I don’t know does it make the picture easier but at least it makes it clearer. We will wait and see.

“We will watch the games, try and not get distracted by all the bits going on. We need to just stay focused on what we need to do and we are preparing for.

“Sometimes, there is comfort in playing first because you don’t get distracted by all those other bits so it is a bit of both.”