Cullen: ‘Leinster respect SA teams’ | Rhewal

Leo Cullen – Leinster’s head coach. (Photo: Nicolas Tucat/AFP.)

Leinster don’t just lose a rugby match. Even when they supposedly pick a “weaker” team, they still have too much ammunition for a lot of their opponents.

Now the Irish club is on a short safari to South Africa during which they will compete against the Lions and the Bulls at Ellis Park and Loftus Versfeld.

And according to Leinster coach Leo Cullen, his side are excited about the upcoming United Rugby Championship duels.

“We have so much respect for South African teams. Growing up, I followed their progress in the Currie Cup and Super Rugby campaigns,” said Cullen.

Anders as Stuart Barnes en Antoine Dupont who used to vomit bile about the South African teams in European competitions, he is excited about the future of the United Rugby Championship.

“This will now be our first time at the iconic Ellis Park; the same goes of course for Loftus Versfeld. The Bulls beat us in the semi-final last year and we have a lot of respect for everything they have achieved over the years.”

According to Cullen, he is excited to visit a country that is rugby crazy.

“In South Africa, rugby is on the front and back pages of the newspapers – there are not many other countries that can say that. I think this is exactly what makes me so excited about the HRC: One hopes that the duels against teams like the Bulls and the Stormers will not only be with us for the next two or three years, but simply for 80 years.”

Leinster have currently won 15 of their 16 HRC games and they only drew against the Stormers in Ireland earlier.

The Bulls did indeed strike a blow last year when they trumped the Irish powerhouse 27 – 26 in Dublin.

Before that defeat, Leinster had lost just 21 of their 225 games at the RDS Stadium. The starting team was loaded with 13 test players and they are undoubtedly the pick of European rugby.