Old-school Leinster in real danger of stasis

Cullen has been at the helm for over a decade now. It’s a phenomenally long time for any manager in any sport and a few of the players still on deck were saluting him when he came on board. Others have spent the bones of a career on his watch.

Leinster’s Tommy O'Brien, Jamison Gibson-Park, and Harry Byrne during a water break. Pic: Nick Elliott/Inpho

Let’s press pause on ponderings about what happens next for Leinster after their Champions Cup final nightmare in Bilbao and, instead, wind the clock back 12 months.

Defeat to Northampton at the semi-final stage of last year’s competition left Leo Cullen, Jacques Nienaber and the rest of them needing to win the URC to salvage something from the wreckage of another spoiled season.