Leo Cullen happy with night's work as Leinster win again at GAA HQ

THREE FROM THREE: Leinster head coach Leo Cullen is happy with Leinster's third win at Croke Park. Picture:  ©INPHO/Billy Stickland

That’s three from three for Leinster now at Croke Park, not a bad habit to get into at any stadium and especially so given this is a stadium they will hope to revisit in the likely event that they make it to the back end of the Champions Cup this season.

It’s unlikely any occasion here will top the 2009 Heineken Cup semi-final when the province overcame Munster at this ground but this was a much more convincing win than last May’s tight squeeze against Northampton when they only had three points to spare at the finish.

As was the case against the English side, Leo Cullen’s team flew out of the blocks on Saturday. Three tries inside the first quarter established a platform that kept them at a comfortable distance from the visitors for the remainder of the evening.

It was also a start very much in keeping with their opening efforts last week when they put another URC game, away to Benetton, to bed before the opposition to find a full stride. So, a bonus-point win in front of 80,486 people at an iconic ground? That’s a good night’s work.

“Yeah, it's so special, isn't it? Even just the drive into the stadium across town, it's magic,” said Cullen. “We feel so lucky, from the player's point of view, to be able to perform here. It's hard to compare to last season. It's different, isn't it?

“A lot of Munster fans in the ground and they made a lot of noise over the course of the warm-up, and it just adds to the occasion. It's a very, very special occasion, but it's round four now and it's turn the page quite quickly.

“We'll watch this Connacht game against Ulster with great interest and Connacht have shown a lot of really positive form over the first few rounds of the season and it's going to be a bloody tough game down there now next week.

For our guys it's just to be able to turn the page in their own mind and recover well and get excited for a trip to Galway next Saturday.” 

They go west with a maximum 20-point haul from their first four games of the season to date, and with their front-line internationals still finding their groove after their late summer recesses. Not a bad place to be.

Cullen will have to await injury updates on Jack Conan and Lee Barron who had to come off prematurely here. Losing Barron when his two top hookers, Dan Sheehan and Rónan Kelleher, are already out was not good news but that, unfortunately, is the game.

Ryan Baird came off for a HIA. So did no less than four Munster men.

This was physical without ever being rough or unseemly and Leinster’s blitz/scramble defence was a huge part in the victory as it constantly swarmed back into shape against a Munster side that had their fair share of line breaks.

It’s a formidable barrier for any side to overcome. Munster managed two tries on the night but there is no doubt but that Leinster have improved in that department now that defence coach Jacques Nienaber has been on site for almost a full year.

“Yeah, the intent was good. You're seeing people working hard and you might get breached every now and again. But there's always a bit of risk-reward isn't there? And guys are being nice and aggressive, which is what we want.

Listen, overall, some guys are playing their second game of the season and it's such a physical game. You can see guys from both teams coming off at different stages, so a hugely physical game, but it's played in the right spirit overall as well, isn't it?”