Leinster boss reflects on 'highly unusual' Champions Cup tie against Edinburgh as half time message revealed
Leo Cullen is taking plenty of lessons away from their 49-31 win over Sean Everitt’s side at the Aviva Stadium.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has described the multiple errors made by his team in their Investec Champions Cup win over Edinburgh as ‘highly unusual’.
The Irish side had been tipped to sail through to the quarter finals in dominant fashion when they faced Sean Everitt’s side at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday. However, mistake after mistake by the hosts allowed their opponents to capitalise as they ran in three of their five tries from first half interceptions.
The final score of 49-31 came after Cullen’s side were able to cut out the errors in the second half and shift up a gear but not until after Darcy Graham’s try had put them behind. Despite that, they came away with the victory and will now face Sale Sharks at home in the quarter-finals this weekend.
‘Highly unusual’ Leinster mistakes
“There’s lots of positive moments in that first half from an attacking point of view,” said Cullen. “We score four good tries, but to give up three intercept tries, it’s highly unusual.
“So, what’s the message in the half-time? You still need to go out with the same mentality about trying to attack, and you can’t go into your shell because we want to be able to play with a positive intent.
“It’s making sure you don’t clam up and get too jittery because otherwise, what type of team are we? Everyone wants to see us go out and play in a positive way. It’s always a balance.”
Leinster could meet Glasgow in semi finals
Edinburgh have now exited the competition but it may not be the last time their conquerors come up against Scottish opposition in the Champions Cup. The winner of their quarter final against Sale will travel to face the winners of Glasgow Warriors vs Toulon in the semi finals.
With the next round taking place this weekend, Cullen has been given plenty to think about and work on after their performance against Edinburgh. With the upcoming matches likely to get tougher and tougher they simply can’t afford to make as many mistakes as they did on Sunday.
Cullen continued: “It’s pleasing the way we keep managing to keep playing, but listen, there is a big ‘but’ in there because you give away three intercepts, like soft tries like that against quality opposition, you’re going to be made pay, and being made to pay as in you’re going to be out of the tournament.
“So, it’s a good reminder for us in terms of respecting possession, etc, making good decisions on the ball. But listen, it’s a knock-out game, we’re through to the next round, and it’s a great challenge for us now. Eight teams left in this competition, it’s a privilege to be still there.
“We’re playing at home [next match] – that’s the positive. We don’t have any travel, but travel is sometimes a positive for an away team because it builds some of that siege mentality. I’m sure Alex Sanderson will be trying to feed that into his team.”
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