'Let’s see where we end up' says Cullen as Leinster edge out battling Bayonne 

The eastern province are Ireland's only remaining Champions Cup side.

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen and Sam Prendergast of Leinster celebrate after their side's victory at the Stade Jean Dauger in Bayonne. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Another four Champions Cup points in the bag for Leinster. Another unbeaten pool-topping run. No wonder Leo Cullen was pleased enough with the 22-13 result, if not the manner, of their laboured final pool-phase outing at Top 14 side Bayonne.

“To get 18 points, you’d love to get 20, but listen, we’ve got 18. Take it, move on,” he told journalists glad to be out of the rain on Saturday afternoon. “[There has been] lots of good stuff within that and let’s see where we end up.” 

The injury toll from Leinster’s trip to the Basque Country will be a concern not just for Leinster, but possibly also for Ireland coach Andrew Farrell, who is due to name his first Six Nations squad this week.

“There were a good few [injuries] — even Jimmy [O’Brien] hobbled off there as well,” Cullen said.

Prop Tadhg Furlong was first off the pitch, in the 16th minute. “He just felt [his calf] was tightening up early,” Cullen explained. “Then it was like, ‘Okay, he’s feeling this’, let’s make the call now.” Robbie Henshaw hobbled off shortly after the half-hour, and left the ground wearing a knee brace, while Tommy O’Brien left the pitch with a calf injury early in the second half.

Cullen, however, struck a positive note and said most were ‘soft-tissue’ injuries, with more examinations due on Monday.

Leinster, the only Irish side still standing in the Champions Cup, needed tries from Sam Prendergast and Max Deegan in the closing six minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of what at kick-off had seemed to be an unlikely defeat.

Deegan benefited from a Bayonne overthrow at a defensive lineout in the final minute of the game, diving over after Dan Sheehan had been stopped just short of the line.

Five minutes earlier, Prendergast dotted down under the posts following Harry Byrne’s speculative chip ahead to send the four-time champions into the lead for the first time.

Until then, little seemed to go the visitors’ way in miserable conditions against hosts who exceeded pre-match expectations.

Despite a raft of frustrating errors, Cullen was pleased with how his players handled the disruption caused by the injuries, and the pressure from a burstingly proud Bayonne, but admitted to ‘mixed feeling’ in the dressing room.

“Pleased, but… there’s probably a big ‘but’ there as well,” he said.

“Bayonne is a very tough place to come. The conditions made it even harder and when we conceded the try at the start of the game, they had a lead, so it was perfect for them.

“They were a team that played with unbelievable pride today. They fired into everything. You couldn’t say they were lacking in any contacts in the game, could you? They were fully into the game.” 

There, he had latched on to an interesting point. For a side with nothing to play for in the competition, Bayonne, currently ninth in the Top 14, put out a strong side. It wasn’t the ‘fortress’ mentality. The French side may not have lost in the Top 14 at home since April 2024, but they were well beaten there by Stormers in December.

Perhaps they wanted something positive to take back to the domestic league — they are at home to Munster’s conquerors Castres next weekend — after just one win in their last six. Perhaps the players wanted to give internally under-pressure coach Gregory Patat something to smile about. Perhaps, as Cullen suggested, the club’s key players really wanted to test themselves against Leinster.

“They put in a seriously good performance, which meant it was incredibly tough for our guys,” he said. “Then there’s also the conditions on top. If that’s a knockout game and you come away from here and win the game, you’re delighted. Because there are other permutations at play, you can get a little bit sidetracked.”

Whatever the reason, Bayonne matched their illustrious opponents for 75 minutes. They led 10-3 at the break on the back of a determined defensive effort that kept Leinster at bay.

Their try, the only one of the first half in the 15th minute, was strike-move simplicity itself — following quick ball off a lineout, Yohan Orabe swept off his wing into midfield, and released centre Sireli Maqala to score unopposed.

Harry Byrne and Joris Segonds traded penalties in the rain, to take the scores to 10-3, as the home side – and their own errors — repeatedly frustrated the visitors. Tom Clarkson, on for Tadhg Furlong, was guilty of being “a bit greedy”, according to referee Luke Pearce as he ruled out a 34th-minute try for a double movement. Moments later, Jamison Gibson-Park fired a straightforward pass over his winger’s head.

The second half ran to a similar script: determined French defence and infuriating Leinster errors.

The four-time champions finally officially crossed the tryline in the 56th minute, with Bayonne temporarily down to 14, when Sheehan charged over, following super work from Joshua Kenny, Jimmy O’Brien and Prendergast, a strike move again doing its job. Byrne converted to level the scores.

But Bayonne were ahead again minutes later, via Segonds long-range boot — and more frustration followed as O’Brien dropped the ball over the line, until those late scores from Prendergast and Deegan settled the result, even as the home fans celebrated their heroes in the stands.

Bayonne captain Arthur Iturria saw enough to forecast an improved second half of the season in the Top 14. “We rediscovered something we hadn’t had, or had lost for some time,” he said. “There was the fighting spirit, the will to battle for each other.

“Now that we’ve set the bar here, we have to do the same next weekend. We owe it to ourselves to do it again.” 

Bayonne: Cheikh Tiberghien; Tom Spring, Sireli Maqala, Manu Tuilagi (Guillaume Martocq 49’), Yohan Orabe (Victor Hannoun 73’); Joris Segonds, Herschel Jantjies; Ignacio Calles (Emosi Tumania 56’), Lucas Martin (Facundo Bosch 51’), Junior Tagi (Emerick Setiano 51’); Ewan Johnson, Lucas Paulos; Alexandre Fischer, Arthur Iturria (capt) (Baptiste Heguy 46’), Nika Lomidze (Manex Ariceta 53’).

Not used: Alvaro Garcia Iandolino 

Leinster: Jimmy O’Brien; Tommy O’Brien (Sam Prendergast 41’), Garry Ringrose, Robbie Henshaw (Rieko Ioane 35’), Joshua Kenny; Harry Byrne, Jamison Gibson-Park; Jack Boyle (Jerry Cahir 71’), Rónan Kelleher (Dan Sheehan 45’), Tadhg Furlong (Thomas Clarkson 16’); RG Snyman (Joe McCarthy 52’); James Ryan; Max Deegan, Josh van der Flier (Scott Penny 75’), Caelan Doris (capt).

Not used: Luke McGrath