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Leinster boss Leo Cullen credits Northampton for adding drama to Croke Park finale

‘They certainly got 80 minutes of entertainment. Maybe a bit too much excitement at the end’

Northampton captain Courtney Lawes reacts after the final whistle of the Investec Champions Cup semi-final against Leinster at Croke Park. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho

Johnny Watterson at Croke Park
Sat May 4 2024 - 21:37

Northampton were left thinking it was one match that got away from them. Leinster felt they deserved it too. Roll on the final in London. Coach Leo Cullen, though, said what was on everyone’s mind when he opened up about the last febrile few minutes of the sold-out Croke Park match.

“Amazing support we’ve had, in the lead-in to game phenomenal,” said Cullen. “They certainly got 80 minutes of entertainment. Maybe a bit too much excitement at the end,” he added about Northampton’s surge in the second half.

“Credit to not just Leinster players but Northampton fought to the end, they’ve made unbelievable progress with the coaching group they have there. We dug in and we’re delighted to get to another final.”

“The score goes 20-3 early in second half and the human nature part of that is to try and sit and protect the lead you have. We maybe struggled little bit but credit to Northampton. They dug in defensively and made it difficult for us. We didn’t quite execute and they fought their way back into the game, won some 50-50 scraps and then before you know it [it goes] down to the wire.”

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Northampton fullback George Furbank pointed out his team’s sense of frustration and also a feeling that they could have caused an upset in front of the record crowd.

“We gave ourselves a really good shot. We got ourselves in a situation where we could have, probably should have, won that game,” said the England back.

That sentiment was echoed by Northampton captain Courtney Lawes.

“I didn’t think we felt we were ever out of the game to be honest. Leinster scored that [quick] try in the second half and we had to find ourselves as a team. The disappointing thing is that we really didn’t test them, made a lot of mistakes, dropped the ball, gave away penalties. You can’t do that.”

But Cullen and his captain Caelan Doris and player of the match Jamison Gibson-Park seemed thankful that they had come out the right side. Gibson-Park was asked about the punt with his fist that landed the ball in James Lowe’s hand for a try.

“I think it’s intuitive to a point,” said the Leinster scrumhalf. “The players ... I’ve played with them enough now and they know I’ll be looking for opportunities.”

Cullen also questioned whether the recent spate of matches had any effect on his players. Leinster sent a different group to South Africa for their United Rugby Championship series of matches meaning the group that played on Saturday had not had competitive matches for several weeks.

“Plenty of learnings,” said Cullen. “Some of the players have not played in the last few weeks. I don’t know if that had an effect, I don’t know.”

The coach was also aware of the level of rugby Northampton were capable of playing and also the level expected of the team they will meet in the London final.

“Playing teams that come through are all quality teams so they are really high-quality teams. It is not like any of them are going to roll over. The same thing with the team we meet in the final,” said Cullen. “Against them if you sometimes try and sit and manage the game you can find yourself in a bit of trouble.”

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson is a sports writer with The Irish Times

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