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The semifinals are about winning. The rest is discussion. But although his team had just reached its ninth final in this competition in 11 seasons, Leinster head coach Leo Cullen openly admitted that his semi-final with Munster had been a “brutal” game.
“The game itself seemed pretty brutal to me. Surely one for the purists, ”he added with a wry smile. “You have to be very precise against a team that all they want is a box throw and apply that pressure game. So it’s complicated and there are interpretations around the ruck. That probably favors the defensive team more, it’s a tricky balance. It wasn’t a great show, but for us it’s about winning a semi-final and passing.
“This is our third game of the season. For some of the guys there, it’s their second game of the season, or at least after five or six months off. We move on to the next round. It was a pretty ugly thing, an ugly contest, but we’re done.
“Munster probably missed a couple of chances, they will say, in the game. Anyway, it is what it is. As I said, we are done and we are in for the next challenge so we will watch with great interest how Edinburgh and Ulster go, ”Cullen said of the second semi-final at Murrayfield on Saturday.
“The conditions were not good. They were fine in the warm-up, but then in the last 10 minutes (before kickoff) the skies opened up and it absolutely lashed and rained for 10 or 15 minutes. I was dressed very inappropriately in my suit at the time and it was pretty gutted.
“Anyway, it was always going to be a dog fight after that big shower fell; greasy conditions and everything else, but it was just (a case of) passing, right? Like I said, it wasn’t the prettiest. “
One of the most enjoyable aspects of the victory from Leinster’s perspective will have been the performance of some of the younger shots, such as Hugo Keenan and Jordan Larmour in the last three, with the former switching to fullback after the second’s departure with a head injury.
Will Connors made his tackles so effectively, particularly on CJ Stander, that he wasn’t replaced by Josh van der Flier until the 75th minute.
Ultimately, perhaps the most influential player on the field was Caelan Doris, whose strength, charge, and innate soccer skills against the ball stand in stark contrast to his 22 years, and it was also his mockery that earned him the penalty that sealed the victory by 13 -3.
“Yes, Caelen was really good, dynamic in transportation and really hungry for work, so it was nice for him. He is still a young player who is getting ahead. He has had a good preseason or lockout period. He’s worked hard during that period and he’s come back with the bite between his teeth, so to speak, and it was a good performance from him, I thought against a good quality backrow for Munster with the likes of Peter O’Mahony and CJ Stander. there.”
Cullen conceded that, unusually for Leinster, they lacked some of their usual precision in opposition 22. Champions typically don’t let their opponents get out of trouble as much as they did.
“Yeah, I think it’s probably fair. We had some opportunities where we didn’t take opportunities. Once again, though, I don’t know if it’s the players who get a little scared. We are on the attack and Scott Fardy, does he cry out for not standing?
“Again, I’d have to look back and is that Munster poacher supporting your body weight? It’s a tricky position for the players because they are nervous that those players will be rewarded for the sneaky ones. But we are 10 meters from the try line, we are on a good front ball there. But then we give away a penalty and then the players are a little nervous about giving away more penalties.
“Yeah, we got caught in the ruck a couple of times. We just need to improve, or improve in the understanding of what referees are looking for.
“You need to be very clinical to take advantage of your opportunities in these types of games that are quite cautious against a team that kicks the ball a lot. And for the most part I thought we faced that threat. There are a lot of nice parts too, because we know we will face it against Edinburgh or Ulster, and the Saracens. They all start a lot from nine. “
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