Leinster Team Talk/Gossip/Rumours Thread XII (The Byrne Supremacy)

Leinsters strongest 23 is still comfortably the best in the competition. There's also 4 or 5 young players outside of that who can slot into that 23 and play well. But the days of heavily rotating the side and still expecting bonus point victories are done, I think.

It’s funny I was looking at him last week standing beside Baird and I really can’t see where all the big man talk comes from. Maybe he’ll bulk up in the future but he isn’t a monster by any stretch of the imagination.

I think he looks soft. I remember watching Ian nagle and thinking he hit rucks and mauls and HE buckled rather than making an impact on the maul. Dunne looks like that - he might have size but he doesn't impose himself on the game an nobody wouls ever call him an "enforcer". I wish him well at Exeter, but I'm fine with the decision to let him go.

In fact, an Exeter fan friend was asking about him and I said i didnt really know why a club with top European aspirations was interested in him. I think he is a gamble on maybe becoming a decent journeyman, but I doubt he'll ever be an Ireland contender.

In fairness, neither you or anyone else on boards.ie are in any way competent to assess Cullen as a coach.

All we can assess are the outcomes, and nobody outside the camp knows how much credit is due to which coach. Cullen inherited a mess from O'Connor - but built a squad, a coaching team, and a culture to create one of the best club sides in Europe.

That is excellent leadership.

The situation that perhaps gives the most pointers is how Cullen got on by himself in 2015/2016. Leinster went from making the European Cup semis under Matt O'Connor in 2015 to finishing bottom of their pool in 2016 under Cullen to making the semis in 2017 with Lancaster on board.

I seem to remember in 2013 they just missed out on qualifying for the knockouts on the last day. Munster put up a big score after Racing got a red card, if I recall correctly. Leinster regathered themselves and finished the season looking like a top 4 side side in Europe. Hardly the same as losing five out of six and finishing bottom of the pool.

2015/2016 Leinster also got completely outclassed in the Pro12 Final by a team that had hardly any internationals.

If I remember correctly, prior to 2015/16 Leo Cullen was thrust into one of the biggest jobs in club rugby at very late notice, having only retired as a player a year before, after one season as forwards coach. He played with nearly all of that squad.

He got the job when he was 37. He didn't do a 6 year world tour as "kicking coach" or "assistant backs coach" at the best clubs in France and NZ respectively before taking a head coach job like ROG did. He did a year as forwards coach and was straight into the top job.

Are we really basing all judgement on Cullen as a head coach on that one season 7 years ago, his first ever season?

Jesus lads it’s a poster with an ongoing beef with Leo, it’s obviously nothing to actually do with Leinster as if I remember correctly he used to spout nonsense about Cullen being just a PR guy.

Why do people still give some of the more transparent posters so much oxygen?

One is a crank that has a gripe with Leinster no matter what and one has a long standing issue with Cullen that seems to stem from outside of Leinster rugby. Not sure how one person out numbers two but there you are.