‘That's not a young team!' Leinster coach Cullen wary of Bulls ‘siege mentality' in URC final
Leinster flank Josh van der Flier is back from injury for the URC final against the Bulls. Photo: INPHO
Image: INPHO
Leinster coach Leo Cullen has warned his team not to have a 'false sense' of security that they will beat the Bulls in Saturday's United Rugby Championship final in Dublin (6pm SA time start.
Calling the Pretoria side a 'juggernaut team', long-serving mentor Cullen is under pressure to deliver some silverware at Croke Park after a number of near-misses in the Champions Cup and URC over the last few years.
Having won several PRO14 titles previously, Saturday's title decider will actually be Leinster's first URC final.
So, in some ways, they are in a similar boat to Jake White's Bulls, who lost their two previous URC championship games – going down to the Stormers in 2022 and Glasgow last year.
With loads of Irish internationals across the squad, Leinster are definite favourites to win on Saturday, but that doesn't mean it will be a stroll to victory.
'I feel like I'm being distracted from the Bulls now. But if you look through their team... Listen, they have a ton of experience,' Cullen said.
'I know Jake was saying they're a young squad. I'm not sure what squad he's talking about. That's not a young group. That's not a young team! He was talking about that on Tuesday.
'Is he trying to lure us all into some sort of false sense, is he? A young group. Do you see a young group there?
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'There's a serious, experienced group that we're up against. And a team that has unbelievably high standards, that is used to winning.
'It's in their blood, isn't it? It's rugby. It's on morning, noon and night (in South Africa), isn't it?'
Cullen made a few changes to his team, bringing in experienced Test centre Garry Ringrose at No 13 and renowned openside flank Josh van der Flier after they recovered from injuries.
Springbok giant RG Snyman will look to make a big impact off the bench as well against his former team, so Leinster are well equipped to put real heat on the Bulls.
But the visitors have won four out of six games against the Irish province, including two semi-finals, and won't be overawed by the occasion.
Heavy rain is forecast for Dublin on Saturday, which could level the playing field.
'Obviously, we played the Bulls in the semi-final last year and we lost, and we had to travel down to Pretoria and try to deal with some of those challenges. They look like they've got here okay,' Cullen said.
'From our point of view, does it (Bulls having to travel to Dublin) give us a slight advantage, extra day on the Monday...
'Obviously, they're together, time together, build a bit of a siege mentality from their point of view.
'The lads have trained well this week, put a good plan together, but we know you've got to deliver it.
'So, you can have a great plan, but you need to deliver with the right level of intensity on the day.
'If the conditions are like that (wet) on the weekend, we need to make sure we're able to adapt on the day, so getting the feel for conditions is important.'
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