Leinster vs Edinburgh

Leo Cullen
head Coach Welcome
Good evening and welcome to the RDS Arena!
A warm welcome also to Mike
Blair and his Edinburgh team,
who have been in flying form
this season and currently sit
ahead of us in the United Rugby
Championship table – we know
we’re in for a tough challenge this
evening.
It’s good to be back in action after the
disappointment of losing away in Cardiff
with the last kick of the game.
It’s always a tough way to lose a game
and serves as a harsh reminder to keep
playing to the final whistle. The defeat
gave us plenty to think about and shows
just how tight this season’s URC is going
to be. There are a number of teams that
can all beat one another on any given
day so we’re in for a very interesting
second half of the season.
A big congratulations to Joe McCarthy,
who made his Leinster debut in Cardiff.
Joe is still only 21 but has really
impressed the group, both in training and
while playing for Dublin University in the
Energia AIL. We all hope that he goes
on to have a long and successful career
with Leinster.
Joe is the latest in a long
line of players that
have come through
our Academy to play
for the senior team,
which is a credit to
everyone involved in
maintaining that vital
pathway.
6 | www.leinsterrugby.ie
It seems a while ago now but many
thanks to everyone who turned out for
our last home fixture against Montpellier
in the Champions Cup.
It was a good day all round and the
5,000 of you who won the lottery and
were allowed in certainly made enough
noise to fill the empty spaces!
A big thank you also to everyone who
followed us over to Bath. There was a
fantastic atmosphere at the Rec, and even
the walk to the ground with members of
the OLSC Committee organising flags
along the route! Brilliant to see.
That victory meant we now face a home/
away knock-out game against Connacht
in the Round of 16. The home leg takes
place on 15 April and we hope to run out
in front of a packed Aviva Stadium as we
chase down that elusive fifth star on the
jersey. Hopefully see you for that one!
Speaking of full houses, it was so uplifting
to see crowds back in situ for the opening
round of the Six Nations.
Ireland’s comprehensive victory over
Wales was impressive to watch and
we were really pleased to see so many
Leinster players contributing to the
win. We’re all hoping for another big
performance and hopefully a win against
France in Paris tomorrow evening.
The Six Nations window is always a
challenging but really exciting time for us.
With so many of our players away on
national duty, it’s an opportunity for
others to step forward and show what
they can do. Today’s game is the first
of three consecutive home fixtures for
us, so it’s also an opportunity for those
players to perform in front of their own
supporters.
I hope we’ll see as many of you as
possible here in the next few weeks as
we push for a good quarter-final
seeding.
A big thanks to all our sponsors,
especially Bank of Ireland, for their
continued backing. Now that normality
has all but returned, we look forward
to seeing more of you and hopefully
sharing some big occasions in the coming
months.
This time of year is also the start of the
Bank of Ireland Leinster Rugby Schools
Cups and I want to wish everyone
involved the best of luck. Schools rugby
represents everything that’s good about
our game and this season will again see
players, coaches, families, volunteers
and others enjoying the best of underage
rugby and making memories that last a
lifetime.
Of course our clubs have been up and
running the last few months and we are
hearing great reports about the talent
on display in the Shane Horgan Cup
and of course, the newly named, Sarah
Robinson Cup.
In March, both the Bank of Ireland
Provincial Towns Cup and the
Metropolitan Cup kick-off and it will be
great to see those competitions back
especially with the Provincial Towns Cup
lying dormant since 2019 because of
Covid-19.
Spring is finally here, games are
back across our 12 counties and
there’s an optimism in the air
that makes everything feel
brighter.
Thanks for all your
support, always, and
sticking with us through
thick and thin.
Leo.
Enjoy the game,