Leinster head coach Leo Cullen singled out the fact that the playing group had the maturity to be able to put the travel disruptions to one side and remain focused on the task in hand in beating Racing 92 42-10 in their opening Heineken Champions Cup fixture.
Leinster’s flight on Friday, initially to Deauville, was delayed five hours in taking off, was then diverted to Beauvais airport in Paris, and from there, there was a further long wait as they tried to secure a coach and taxis to transport the players to Le Havre. Door to door it was close to 14 hours and in the process the squad couldn’t complete the captain’s run at the Stade Oceane.
Against that backdrop their six-try victory over the Parisian club is even more impressive. Cullen explained: “It was one of those tests you have to come through sometimes. There were a lot of the families there, a lot of the parents were on that flight which was brilliant as well so you can see there were a lot of proud parents in the crowd today.
“[There were] plenty of frustrations for supporters that got stuck in Dublin Airport but hopefully they enjoyed watching the game.”
Cullen enjoyed many aspects of his team’s performance but there were a few that stood out, keeping their hosts try-less until the 75th minute of the game and the way Leinster scrambled in defence. “We were clinical enough to take the opportunities that we created. There were probably one or two other chances that we potentially left out there but credit to the players.
“I just think the way they’re leading themselves at the moment; there are a lot of players that have been around over the last number of years so they’re gaining layers of experience all the time so how they’re driving each other is the most pleasing thing.
“There are a number of guys disappointed they’re not involved this week so that internal competition is important when a couple of guys go down for whatever reason. That’s what you need and it’s the nature of this block. You’ve got to be able to deal with whatever happens on the given day.
“Last week it was a red card, this week it was a few issues with travel but you’ve got to be able to deal with those obstacles.”
He paid tribute to the leadership of Garry Ringrose who had an outstanding game. Cullen said: “Garry, in particular, as captain, he’s kept a very calm, composed head amongst some of the chaos that’s gone on around.
“It’s great to see him develop as a leader as well but he has plenty of support around him as well. To be successful in any team sport, you need plenty of leaders across the team so it’s important we keep working on that.
[ Racing 92 10 Leinster 42 - as it happenedOpens in new window ]
“He’s so diligent across all facets of his game, physically, tactically, from a leadership point of view as well. We talk about Josh as well, those players are so easy to work with because they’ve got such a strong mindset to continually improve.
“They’re very curious and want to find out more about how things operate. It’s important for the club that we have those characters involved and they’re good role models for younger players coming through who tend to mirror those behaviours. You always need those guys.”
Ringrose, a future Leinster, and Ireland captain? “Definitely, yeah. You see what he’s doing at the moment with Leinster but he has plenty of support around him. Ross [Byrne] at 10, James Ryan in terms of leading the forwards as such; he [Ringrose] was excellent out there and during the course of the week. The way the game is now, you can’t rely on one person and it’s different than the past.”
The focus now is on a ‘shorter’ journey home and a clash with Gloucester at the RDS next Friday night.
