Leinster vs Munster | Guinness PRO14 Final 2021

FINAL LEINSTER V MUNSTER
LEO
CULLEN
AS THE ENGINEER BEHIND THE LEINSTER
RUGBY MACHINE, LEO CULLEN NEVER
SETTLES FOR SECOND BEST.
The club’s relentless march towards
silverware season after season says
all you need to know about the
standards he expects from his players
every time they pull on the jersey.
It’s why the Irish province stand on the
brink of a fourth consecutive Guinness
PRO14 title following another season
in which they have been close to
peerless.
Though they have proved unable
to match last season’s unbeaten
campaign – losing against Connacht in
January before their shock defeat to
the Ospreys at the weekend – Leinster
still had enough to top Conference A
by seven points from Ulster.
Only Munster now stand between
them and making it four in a row.
European success could yet follow,
with Leinster hosting Toulon in the
Heineken Champions Cup last 16 next
month before a potential quarterfinal
clash with Lyon or 2020 winners
Exeter.
Leinster were European champions
in 2018 under Cullen, who has also
been at the helm for the duration of
their three-season domination of the
PRO14.
This all-encompassing drive for
success would not be possible without
the brains of Cullen, whose tendency
to avoid the limelight often belies his
influence.
Cullen may possess an unassuming
nature but make no doubt about it, he
is also a winner – a characteristic he
has imbued in the fabric of Leinster
since taking over the top job.
In fact, you only have to look at his
list of achievements at Leinster as a
player, and then head coach, to see
why supporters of the Irish province
worship the ground he walks on.
The 43-year-old was already a threetime
Heineken Cup-winning captain
with the club before he was somewhat
thrust into the role of coach in 2015.
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