Leinster’s head coach, Leo Cullen, has expressed his admiration for his team’s ability to secure a hard-fought victory after their tough 9-3 win against Munster at Thomond Park.
Despite challenging weather conditions, both teams delivered an intense and closely fought contest, much to the delight of the packed Thomond Park crowd. The absence of tries was compensated by the spirited performance from both sides.
Following his team’s resilient display, Cullen commended his team’s determination, stating, “We’ll take the win, it was gutsy, dogged, and you just have to find a different way to win. It’s hard to train that type of game plan, because it’s ugly enough looking stuff. Sometimes you just have to win ugly and accumulate the points, so it’s four very useful points for us on the road, in a very tough place to come. It’s a good old hostile crowd, so we’re pleased.”
Despite the challenging weather conditions, the Leinster coach lauded his players for their commitment to the game plan, acknowledging, “We’re pleased with the win, it wasn’t the free-flowing expansive game we were hoping for. We were at the hotel and the weather was nice and we were saying, ‘let’s play it now!’. We could see the storm coming in. Fair play to the crowd for braving the elements. They probably get most of the applause on the day! We had to dog it out and win ugly to accumulate the points, it’s four very good points on the road. We’re pleased to get them.”
Commenting on the physical nature of the game, he added, “It was hard going out there, it was very hard for both teams to construct meaningful play. We had a couple of opportunities in the first half, had a drive going pretty well close to the try line but got held up. We were worried if six points were going to be enough at halftime and it was a proper dogfight for both teams.”
On the other side, Munster coach Graham Rowntree expressed his disappointment at his team’s error count and the continuation of their winless streak, saying, “That was a battle, the ruck was a street-fight at times. We’d come through a tough game there on the wrong side, so I’m frustrated with the result but am proud of the lads’ endeavor. The weather didn’t help. You’ve got to take your chances and we didn’t. We had a couple of opportunities in their 22, the wind changed in the second half. We’ll look at those moments and what we can do better.”
Additionally, Rowntree expressed concern over the team’s growing injury list, with Diarmuid Barron, Dave Kilcoyne, and Edwin Edogbo all forced off with injuries during the match. Reflecting on the injuries, Rowntree mentioned, “It doesn’t look good for the 21-year-old. We are already thin on the deck. We are thin squad-wise, availability wise. We will see what we can muster up on Thursday, see what the injury report presents itself because we have got another big game at The Sportsground. We drive on.”
The grueling encounter concluded with Leinster emerging victorious and Munster left grappling with setbacks, a testament to the fierce competition and the unpredictable nature of rugby in the Guinness PRO14.