What Leo Cullen told his Leinster players after ‘highly unusual’ first half which is ‘good reminder’ ahead of Sale Sharks showdown
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen reviews their Investec Champions Cup win over Edinburgh.
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen has revealed his team were told not to go into their shell despite giving up three intercept tries in the first half against Edinburgh.
In a shock half-time scoreline that saw Edinburgh just two points behind at 28-26, the Aviva Stadium crowd were stunned as the underdogs were very much in the fight.
But Leinster managed to remain calm and get the job done in the Round of 16 tie and ultimately sealed an Investec Champions Cup quarter-final clash with Sale Sharks.
Highly unusual
Talking after the 49-31 win on Saturday, Cullen admitted the message to his players at the break was not to go into their shell despite gifting Edinburgh those three tries.
“There’s lots of positive moments in that first half from an attacking point of view. We score four good tries, but to give up three intercepts, it’s highly unusual,” he said.
“So, what’s the message at 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.”
While he touched on those positives, Cullen could not ignore the interceptions and thinks it was a “good reminder” for his charges ahead of the season’s business end.
“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 to pay, and being made to pay as in you’re going to be out of the tournament,” added the boss.
Good reminder
“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.”
Looking ahead to facing Sale Sharks in Dublin this weekend, Cullen believes the English outfit will be confident following their impressive win at Harlequins on Saturday.
“We’re playing at home – that’s the positive,” he said.
“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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