Leo Cullen calls on Leinster to show poise in heat of battle

Leinster probably wouldn't be human if their confidence hadn't been a little dented by a wholly unprecedented three defeats in their opening three European Champions Cup matches. More than likely, it was a contributory factor to them rushing things and making a surfeit of handling errors in last Sunday's defeat in Toulon.

Of course, it becomes a double-edged sword for a team in a losing rut, but as Ulster showed when withstanding the early Toulouse pressure last Friday and then striking first, this can change surprisingly quickly as well, which in turn can change the mood in an entire organisation.

"I think it would give a real sense of belief again," said Leo Cullen yesterday when asked what a win over the reigning three-in-a-row champions could do for Leinster. "We're not that far away. And Toulon have been the best team in Europe for the last three years. But for large parts of that game we went toe-to-toe and we're not a million miles away.

Different result

“There are a couple of things that we can fix or if we had fixed going into the game it could have been a different result. I don’t think we’re a million miles away.”

To that end, Cullen cited the need for Leinster to execute more accurately “particularly as the game goes on. When that little bit of fatigue is there, can we then clearly make the right decisions? Then it’s execution. Can we execute on what we’re trying to achieve depending on what stage we are in the game and what the score is.

“There’s so many variables all the time, it’s just how we manage some of those variables. We were in the game still until quite late. We were seven points down and in the last 20 minutes we just lost our way a little bit and then you’re chasing the game a fraction early,” he added, noting how Leinster were still in the game away to both Bath and Toulon entering the last quarter.

According to captain Isa Nacewa, the players share the same sense out on the pitch that Leinster are not that far away. "There are so many little things when you review a game, you think, 'What if?', 'Very close' and 'If this happened differently'. And a lot of it is within our control as players.

“I think that’s a message we give quite regularly from within the playing group, that if we start executing well at the right time in games, then we’re going to be on the right side of the scoreboard when it’s necessary. And as a player I feel that, I felt this during the three games that we could have taken the game if we were in full control and executed. So there’s no panic in the playing group.”

Team leaders

Nacewa accepted that there was a particular onus on him and the other team leaders to deliver tomorrow. “Yeah, we talk about it. The leaders have to step up and take control and that’s a no-brainer in any team that I’ve ever played in, especially in bigger games too when the game is on the line. That’s where I feel the game-managers out on the field and the leaders out on the field have to step up and take better control and make better decisions.”

Were Leinster to fall foul of Wayne Barnes (never an impossibility) to anything like the degree they did with Nigel Owens last week, when incurring 17 penalties to seven and three yellow cards to boot, then their goose will be cooked.

The repercussions were felt yesterday with Cian Healy’s two-week ban.

Cullen expressed his surprise that his loosehead had even been cited, maintaining Healy had come through the gate and that Guilhem Guirado had illegally exited the ruck when Healy unintentionally kneed him in the head.

Jack McGrath might well have been restored anyway in what could be an otherwise unchanged team given they emerged from the Stade Felix Mayol “relatively unscathed”.

Coaches can liaise with the EPCR referee chief Donal Courtney before and after games, before touching base with the referee on match day, but clips of Steffon Armitage’s poaching without releasing in the tackle had little impact on Owens.

“It worked well for the first five minutes,” said Cullen with a smile. “It didn’t work so well after that,” he added, noting that after being awarded the first two penalties, thereafter the count was 17-5, with Leinster penalised nine times at the breakdown.

“There’s so many different pressures and there’s so much going on. For an official, it’s very hard making some of those calls.

“A lot of it comes down to what’s the momentum of the game, so it’s important that we’re in control of that as well,” said Cullen, adding sympathetically: “I think the officials need about 10 pairs of eyes at the moment. It’s tough game to referee at times. I do it the odd time at training so I can sympathise with them.”