Forward march on three fronts

RUGBY: The Heineken Cup has been ticked off, next up is Munster in Saturday's Magners League final and then all Leo Cullen has to worry about are his nuptials next week, as he tells GAVIN CUMMISKEY

THREE DEFINING events over successive weekends for Leo Cullen. The Heineken Cup is banked, a Magners League Grand Final comes next, in Thomond Park no less, before the 33-year-old can turn his full attention to marrying fiancée Darina Kennedy.

There’s a seriously well-earned honeymoon in the Leinster captain’s future.

A pause for reflection.

Cullen, speaking yesterday at bookmaker William Hill’s Irish website launch, provided a little clarity to those hectic moments in the Millennium Stadium trenches last Saturday.

Even before the Leinster scrum was splintered, their unusually sluggish line speed was exposed by Northampton ball carriers.

“We were struggling to reset so we couldn’t get off the line again and it was a vicious circle,” said Cullen.

“I remember Jonny (Sexton) struck that ball after about five or six minutes that literally felt like it travelled about 100 metres in the air. It was an unbelievable strike that obviously went dead.

“Scrum back. We gave away a penalty from the scrum. They were on the front foot so we had to track back and they scored in the corner. They got down our end again and it was our scrum inside our 22 and they got over for a try again. Suddenly we were 17-3 down.

“They managed to score again but it felt like there were holes out there . . . when Brian (O’Driscoll) tried to take (Ben) Foden on the outside they got a scrum, turned the ball over and cleared their lines very easily but it could easily have been 10-all then.”

The scrum resurrection is already ingrained in Irish sporting history. But it was dealt with so quickly at half-time, when the pack gathered around scrum coach Greg Feek’s laptop, that Leinster were “ready to go back out nearly five minutes early”.

“Once the talking was done, which was literally a couple of minutes, we were ready to go. We were waiting at the door just dying to get back out there. I was starting to go, in the tunnel, when we said, ‘hold on, hold on’ as the teams were supposed to come out together but we just went on. That was the feeling – we just needed to get out there.”

Of course, the real challenge now is to summon up enough energy to wrestle the Magners trophy from Munster’s grasp.

Another 40 minutes worth reviewing is their second-half display in Limerick on April 2nd.

“We killed ourselves with the (lack of) discipline in that game,” Cullen admitted.

“We know Munster are a team that are not going to go away. They got stronger and stronger as that game went on. We talk of that swing of momentum. We couldn’t get a foothold in the game. We got bullied in the contact areas and that’s some thing we will look at for this weekend.

“They have a lot of strong mental strength. In terms of comparison to Northampton at the weekend, if Munster had a 16-point lead it is very hard to see how they would have lost. That’s the challenge we face.

“I presume they will go into the game as favourites this weekend, being at home and their preparations have been better, but we’ll try and give a good account of ourselves when we get down there.”

It is being billed as a final trial for the World Cup squad but Cullen sees it for what it really is. Another conflict of interests.

“I suppose Deccie (Kidney) has a good 25 of his players picked and that’s generally the way most coaches operate and it’s always those final places. They are all trials I suppose”

But we can’t help ourselves. Cullen versus Donncha O’Callaghan. The backrowers. And of course, Ronan O’Gara needs a serious statement to reopen the outhalf debate.

Now, if only Cullen can get his loyal friend Rory Guinan paid by finally crossing for the first try.

An long odds bet; the double would suffice before the more important matter of his nuptials.