Following a fierce showdown at Thomond Park, Leo Cullen, the mastermind behind Leinster's strategy, couldn't help but throw a few playful jabs at Munster's Simon Zebo after their latest clash in the United Rugby Championship. The Dublin squad edged out a tight 13-8 victory on Saturday, sweet revenge after their earlier season defeat at Croke Park, where they were stunned 31-14 by Munster.
Post-match, while dissecting the game's highs and lows with Premier Sports, Cullen maintained his composure but later let his cheeky side shine through. "There was lots of good effort and intent. It was a scrappy enough type of game, but we’re pleased. It was a great defensive effort towards the end of the game, did some good things in the first half, but probably weren’t clinical enough over the course of the game," Cullen analyzed.
"Dark arts aren’t they? Some good dark arts weren’t they? You know well. He knew nothing about them but he was in some of the meetings."
Reflecting on their previous encounter, Cullen highlighted the tactical challenges posed by Munster, "Clayton (McMillan, the Munster head coach) talked about turning it into a dogfight. The game at Croke Park, we lost 31-14, and you go back after the game and you’re kind of like, what does he actually mean by a dogfight? We had 60 per cent possession, 60 per cent territory. They kicked the ball 28 times to us, we kicked the ball 13 times to them, so it gives you a bit of an indication in terms of mindset. They were pushing the boundaries the whole time and just made life very difficult for us. It was probably a little bit the same [on Saturday]."
The Leinster coach didn’t stop there. He turned his attention to the composition of the Munster team, teasing Zebo about the number of former Leinster players in the Munster ranks. "There’s a good few Leinster guys you have down here as well. Are there more Leinster guys than Limerick guys in that 23?" Cullen probed. Despite Zebo's playful dismissal, Cullen pressed on, "Let’s get the names on the sheet there. Are there more Leinster guys than Limerick guys?"
While Zebo had the last laugh with Munster's victory over Leinster in October, it seems Cullen finally found his moment for a comeback, making it clear that the rivalry is alive and well, with both sides scrapping for every inch.
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Following a fierce showdown at Thomond Park, Leo Cullen, the mastermind behind Leinster's strategy, couldn't help but throw a few playful jabs at Munster's Simon Zebo after their latest clash in the United Rugby Championship. The Dublin squad edged out a tight 13-8 victory on Saturday, sweet revenge after their earlier season defeat at Croke Park, where they were stunned 31-14 by Munster.
Post-match, while dissecting the game's highs and lows with Premier Sports, Cullen maintained his composure but later let his cheeky side shine through. "There was lots of good effort and intent. It was a scrappy enough type of game, but we’re pleased. It was a great defensive effort towards the end of the game, did some good things in the first half, but probably weren’t clinical enough over the course of the game," Cullen analyzed.
"Dark arts aren’t they? Some good dark arts weren’t they? You know well. He knew nothing about them but he was in some of the meetings."
Reflecting on their previous encounter, Cullen highlighted the tactical challenges posed by Munster, "Clayton (McMillan, the Munster head coach) talked about turning it into a dogfight. The game at Croke Park, we lost 31-14, and you go back after the game and you’re kind of like, what does he actually mean by a dogfight? We had 60 per cent possession, 60 per cent territory. They kicked the ball 28 times to us, we kicked the ball 13 times to them, so it gives you a bit of an indication in terms of mindset. They were pushing the boundaries the whole time and just made life very difficult for us. It was probably a little bit the same [on Saturday]."
The Leinster coach didn’t stop there. He turned his attention to the composition of the Munster team, teasing Zebo about the number of former Leinster players in the Munster ranks. "There’s a good few Leinster guys you have down here as well. Are there more Leinster guys than Limerick guys in that 23?" Cullen probed. Despite Zebo's playful dismissal, Cullen pressed on, "Let’s get the names on the sheet there. Are there more Leinster guys than Limerick guys?"
While Zebo had the last laugh with Munster's victory over Leinster in October, it seems Cullen finally found his moment for a comeback, making it clear that the rivalry is alive and well, with both sides scrapping for every inch.