Leo Cullen: ‘We’re still trying to get going a little bit’

Leinster head coach Leo Cullen expressed satisfaction with the result, the four-try bonus point and aspects of the first half performance while at the same time acknowledging the glitches particularly in the last 20 minutes, a period of the match that Bath 'won' 7-0.

The Irish province opened their Heineken Champions Cup campaign with a 45-20 victory and head for next Friday’s game in Montpellier without any injury concerns arising from the win in front of 25,403 supporters at the Aviva stadium. There is also the prospect that Leinster’s resources will be bolstered by one or two returning players.

Cullen explained in a general overview initially: “To get a win and a bonus point is great, lots of good stuff, particularly early in the game I thought. It was great to get a big crowd as well, that’s one of the big challenges for sports teams at the moment so we’re very appreciative of the crowd we had here.

“The last 20 minutes is probably the thing that is lingering a little bit for us in terms of some frustrations, because ultimately Bath (won) that 20 minute period 7-0.

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“The tournament isn’t won in round one, so for us it just feels like we’re still trying to get going a little bit. The season is unusual. We’re in the middle of December, and we had a five game block at the start of the season where by round four and five of that block we were starting to hit a decent bit of form.

“Then obviously there is the November break and we’re in the third game post break now so (it’s) just trying to get going again. The big thing for us is just trying to improve week on week. Lots of good stuff in the first half, but in terms of putting together an 80-minute performance we’re still a bit off.”

He admitted that Leinster will have to be a great deal better in Montpellier against a home side that rested many of their front-line players for an away trip to Exeter this weekend. “We’ll need to put in a much better performance.

“Montpellier picked a bit of a scratchy team for tonight’s game, but they’ve been going very well in the Top 14 and you look through their squad, they have a ton of experience and a ton of top-end talent as well.

“So it’s a great challenge for us, going away to France is always tough so I think it’s important the group get excited now and look forward to that challenge.”

The final quarter was a tough watch as the game lost shape. Cullen said: “We lacked control. Some of it is down to us as coaches, making some changes early which created a bit of disruption around that cohesion part.

“Obviously that is the decision we made. We (Leinster) became a little bit loose and lost a little bit of focus; lots of turnovers in the last 20-minutes. It didn’t particularly suit us. It was a pity that we didn’t kick on a little bit more. We were 45-13 at 57 or 58 minutes.

“I think the (impact of the) bench was mixed. We will have a look through the game. There were a couple of guys who didn’t feature today who will be back in the selection mix for next week. We will see how all the bodies are and make a plan on Monday for Friday night (against Montpellier).”