Pride for Cullen in seeing Leinster products plying trade elsewhere

There were eight players playing for Connacht, Munster, and Ulster over the weekend just gone who, between them, had over 230 Leinster caps prior to upping sticks and trying their luck elsewhere

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has defended his patch stoutly at times. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire.

It’s rare that Leo Cullen gives an interview where he doesn’t laugh. There is no uniformity to them. He can chuckle when annoyed, or when the adrenaline is pumping out of him, or when talking about the battalion of Leinster products playing for the other provinces.

He was in mighty form late on Saturday night when joining the Premier Sports crew for a post-match debrief in Thomond Park and, at one point, made the light-hearted but pointed observation that all four provincial captains over the weekend hailed from Leinster.

For the record, they were Tadhg Beirne, Nick Timoney, Cian Prendergast and… Caelan Doris. The Leinster skipper is, of course, a Mayoman but one moulded by his private school experiences in Dublin and progression through the Leinster ranks.

So, four ‘Leinster’ men it was, then.

Cullen has been asked about this cross-pollination many times in the past, and it has irked him at times when people have painted it in simplistic colours and terms as Leinster possessing a surfeit of players who would automatically bloom elsewhere.

He has defended his patch stoutly at times, in public and, you would have to suspect, in the more private surrounds of Irish rugby’s offices, but he was asked simply on Saturday night whether there was an element of pride in the Leinster influence further afield.

“It’s great. That’s the thing, big Dave Fagan who was down at the centre of excellence in Donnybrook, his remit is producing players to play professionally. Ideally they’re playing for Leinster but he also wants to set them on their journey to professional careers.

“Poor old Dave is no longer with us but in terms of that as a remit… seeing Mike Ala’alatoa there today, he’s such a brilliant guy. To see him back in Ireland, he’s happy, but he’s just one example. We’ve had some great characters.

“To see them plying their trade somewhere else is great. So long as they don’t come back to haunt us!” 

For the record, there were eight players playing in red, white and green colours over the weekend just gone who, between them, had over 230 Leinster caps prior to upping sticks and trying their luck elsewhere.

Another seven had been moulded through the underage pathways in the largest and most populous of the provinces before landing in other jurisdictions. Guys like Tom Farrell at Munster, Connacht’s Finn Treacy and Jordan Duggan and Ulster’s Jack Murphy.

None of that is to include Ala'alatoa, or someone like Cormac Izuchukwu who hails from Offaly and played Leinster Schools Cup before diverting elsewhere, or Drogheda-born Tom O’Toole who found his way to Belfast via an upbringing in Australia.

More movement seems imminent.

Reports just before Christmas had it that Ciarán Frawley is destined for Galway and life under Stuart Lancaster at Connacht. Frawley started at full-back here, plays inside-centre and also offers an option at No.10.

It’s at out-half where Connacht appear to see his future out west. As for Cullen, he gave his biggest laugh and widest smile of the night when asked what exactly would be happening with the Skerries man come the summer.

“That’s next week, anticipation! Let’s hold off with Ciarán and all the rest. We’ll get to it.” 

So, it was a chipper Cullen who made his way back up the motorway to Dublin two nights ago, and well he might given Leinster had just won their sixth game on the trot since losing heavily to Munster in Croke Park in October.

It was a game only a rugby purist could love with Leinster more than happy to defend their line and their early lead for much of it and that, unfortunately, is the quickest and surest way to succeed in the game under current laws.

“The game is difficult at the moment isn't it? In terms of recycling. I thought Munster were good. You look back at the last game, we lose in Croke Park 31-14, we scored at the death so it was 31-7 up to that.

“We’d 60% possession, 60% territory in that game. Munster kicked the ball how many times? Twenty-eight. How many times did we kick the ball? Thirteen. They conceded how many penalties? Fifteen. We conceded? Seven. What does that add up to?

“That’s the way the game is at the moment.” 

Cullen’s bottom line is that the game will remain unattractive until the breakdown is cleared up, and that this is the time of year to roll sleeves up and play “big boy rugby”, and that Munster were just as adept at this two months ago.

“I was curious the way Clayton talked after the [Croke Park] game about a dogfight. You come away with a bonus point win and you’re talking about dragging us into a dogfight. I was like, what does he mean by that?

“They’re clever with some of the stuff they do around the dark arts. Ball carriers on the ground, as you’re trying to place the ball they’re trying to grab your arms, play your hands. Little things which make it quite hard to play.”