Leo Cullen: 'It should be clear, we're chasing Munster'

Munster are eight points and eight places ahead of Leinster heading into their URC clash at Croke Park on Saturday evening.

Sat, 18 Oct, 2025 - 06:00

Brendan O'Brien

Well now, this is a bit different. The first meeting of the season between Leinster and Munster and the men in blue find themselves looking up the table at neighbours that sit eight points and eight places better off.

Leo Cullen was always going to fashion that for his own devices.

Forget that Munster haven’t played fantastically in the last two of their three opening games. Or that Leinster have 21 players on the latest Ireland squad against Munster’s four. Or that Leinster have won 14 of the last 16 meetings.

“Yeah, but they've still got wins on the board, which we don't have. Probably a lot of the narrative is around the national selection and all that, and those guys trying to chase us. You just pull up the league table and it should be pretty clear. We're chasing them.

“So we need to get to where they are currently and pass them. What I'm touching on is finishing in a more seemingly advantageous position at the end of the season, which is at the end of 18 rounds. Three down, 15 to go. Unfortunately it's as simple as that.

“We need to battle out for every single point. We're hunting them down now, so we need to make sure we have that mindset going into the game. We're hunting them down, because we know they will try to say they're trying to do the other way around.”

That’s the nature of these mind games within games.

Cullen painted a picture of Munster having greater cohesion approaching this latest interpro. Understandable given Leinster have had to re-integrate their British and Irish Lions this last two weeks. Less so when Munster have made ten changes again this week to their XV.

Whatever about the collective questions and debates, one individual battle guaranteed to get people talking is the approaching sight of Jack Crowley and Sam Prendergast wearing No.10 jerseys on the same pitch at the same time.

The out-half conversation has run non-stop since the Leinster out-half was parachuted into the Irish equivalent during last year’s November internationals, even as both players look to smooth over some of the rougher edges to their games.

It makes for a fascinating battle in purely sporting terms, the problem being that the discussion has boiled over far too often on social media with both players targeted by the usual trolls on the back of standalone moments or games.

“The hype is good for the overall game, as in you want the profile for the game, and that’s important, because it’s all part of the story, isn't it? But it’s more just the journey I would be interested in,” said Cullen. “Particularly when you have a lot of people with such strong vested interests in some of the individuals at play.

“That’s what I focus my attention on. Some of the external criticism, or whatever you want to call it, that’s what it is. I don’t try to waste too much time on it. I am concerned about the people that are genuinely interested in supporting the team, because they’re the people that we rely on.”