POST-MATCH REACTION: LEINSTER V TOULOUSE CHAMPIONS CUP SEMI-FINAL
By Daire Walsh
Leinster head coach Leo Cullen praised the application of his players after they swept aside the challenge of Toulouse in a Heineken Champions Cup semi-final at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday.
With Kill’s James Tracy playing a key role off the bench, the defending champions recorded a comprehensive 30-12 success at Irish Rugby HQ. James Lowe, Luke McGrath and Scott Fardy all crossed over for the Blues – who now advance to face 2017 winners Saracens at St James’ Park, Newcastle on May 11.
“Probably what pleased most is the attitude of the players over the course of the last couple of weeks and how they applied themselves at training. When they prepare well, they’ve a much better chance of performing well in these big games. There was great fight for each other. You could see the players, how much it means to them,” Cullen remarked during the post-match press conference.
“I think they respond well to the support they receive. It was another great occasion here at the Aviva. Great crowd and the players feed off that energy. Even though Toulouse made inroads against us in and around the ruck on a few different occasions, I think the fight to stay in the battle is really important from our guys.
“I think they showed a lot of resilience, particularly as they got close to our try line. They’re good qualities to have in these big games.”
Though he was always expected to see action at some point, Tracy’s introduction to the fray came ahead of schedule. An injury for Sean Cronin puts his participation for the remainder of the season in doubt, but this could conversely work to the advantage of Tracy.
Given how much his squad has been affected by injuries in recent months, Cullen is hoping to avoid another headache.
“It’s his calf, I think. He’s walked around there at the moment. We’ll see, get it assessed and see what sort of damage is there,” Cullen said.
In contrast to the numerous absentees he has had to contend with, Cullen was thrilled to be able to call upon the services of both Jonathan Sexton and Sean O’Brien. The former contributed 12 points in a man of the match display, while O’Brien played a pivotal role in James Lowe’s first-half try.
Whereas the Carlow man has been able to get a steady number of games under his belt, Sexton’s most recent Leinster appearance was last December’s defeat to Munster at Thomond Park. The experienced duo are set to play crucial roles for the Blues as they aim to retain their Champions Cup and PRO14 titles.
“It’s great to have Johnny back in the team. We haven’t had him since the end of December. Behind the scenes, Johnny is always working hard to drive standards in the group. That’s an amazing quality that he has. There’s never an end point to it.
“Even when we think we’d be doing things well, he’ll find other things that we can get better at. The standard Johnny sets for himself is exceptional and I think it rubs off on everybody else.
“Seanie is an unbelievable competitor. He’s worked incredibly hard to get back from his injury. You can see what it means to Seanie the way he plays. He physically throws everything he has into his performances. I thought he was really exceptional today [Sunday]. In terms of dominating that contact area, he’s one of the best players to have ever played the game, certainly Irish guys. I think he’s showing again what he’s capable of. It was good to have Seanie back out there,” Cullen added.