Leinster have officially entered a new era, with long-serving head coach Leo Cullen ending his time in Dublin following a 12-year presence with the Irish giants.
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Cullen parts ways with the province after leading Leinster to back-to-back United Rugby Championship title triumphs, following their second consecutive Grand Final win over the Bulls. Having bounced back from another Champions Cup Final defeat earlier in the season, Leinster became the first club to successfully retain the league title in the URC era, with history made at Croke Park.
Former Ireland international turned rugby pundit Alan Quinlan, believed that it was only right for Cullen to end his time with Leinster on such a high.
“It is big news. It is the end of an era.” Quinlan said to Betsuna. He has been there since 2015-2016 so that’s a long stint. He is leaving of his own volition having won seven trophies to date. That is a record most teams would be very proud of. The other three provinces would give their right hand to be in the European finals at all!
“But there is always a lot of pressure and expectation at Leinster. And there was disappointment after losing a number of European Cup finals over the years. And they haven’t won it since 2018, which is a long time. They finished on a high on Friday night against the Bulls, which was a big trophy for them to win, and a big performance as well. It wasn’t just getting across the line”
Quinlan continued to then give his thoughts, on how successful Cullen’s time at Leinster can be viewed in retrospect. Leinster have long searched for that elusive fifth Champions Cup star for their jersey, having fallen in the final in five of the past eight seasons.
“When you’re with a team like Leinster, that expectation is very, very high all the time and people expect to perform and do very well. It will be the end of an era for him and that group of players. But look, he’s contributed so much to his hometown club.
“But there is a strong argument to say yes, they should have won more. They’ve lost five finals now: two against La Rochelle, one against Toulouse, one against Saracens, and Bordeaux this season. That’s a disappointing return. There is a bit of a narrative that they haven’t won enough, and European Cup success is the benchmark for a team like Leinster. Look back to when Leo took over. They were rebuilding a team and since then they have been pretty much dining at the top table; at least for the past decade under his tutelage. It’ll be interesting to see where they’ll go now, who the next coach will be.”
Now, with Cullen out of the Leinster head coach mantle, a vaccuum has opened up to determine the next man to take up the helm. One man who’s name has been floating around the discussion is former Ireland fly half and current La Rochelle head coach Ronan O’Gara, however, Quinlan desputes whether the Munster legend will ever be associated with the deep blue of the Dubliners.
Quinlan, a Munster icon in his own right with over 200 appearances for the province, expressed how O’Gara signing on at Leinster would be similar to a Celtic or Rangers player switching between the two Scottish football clubs.Such a move simply does not happen due to the fierce rivalry between either side.
“There are no obvious candidates jumping out from an Irish point of view at the moment here. One could be Ronan O’Gara. But that’s a big leap from Cork to Dublin, politically. It would be like someone from Everton signing for Liverpool or moving from Rangers to Celtic. Leinster fans have had plenty to say about Rog over the years, with the rivalry with La Rochelle.
“But, it is a very attractive job. That’s the reality. There’s been a little bit of change and maybe some of the more established players, particularly in the Irish team, have been around a long time. You see a lot of familiar faces.
“But Leinster have an ability to produce incredible young players and their academy system is second to none. It is something that a lot of teams have been talking about for a number of years in a European context. People are very envious about the way the schools can just produce players seemingly so easily. It is a very attractive job for anyone. I’m sure a lot of the top coaches of the world, Scott Robertson maybe, could be someone that would be interested in.”
Whilst Quinlan would be shocked to see O’Gara join the Dubliners, he would like to see his former Munster teammate make his return to Ireland before too long. Quinlan expressed how despite his wishes, O’Gara seems to have ‘unfinished business’ in France.
“I’ve always said I’d love to see him come back to Irish rugby and I know Rog very well. The job I am sure would appeal to anyone. The only kind of issue with someone like Rog taking that job is the rivalry that’s there between Munster and Leinster and he’d be going to your kind of biggest rivals. But sport is more of a business now. That’s just the reality of sport.
“Whether he would come back from France, who knows? He lives in a lovely part of the world. And he’s been very successful. The last two years have probably been very disappointing so he might think it is time to look around. His coaching credentials are second to none. Or does Rog feel there’s unfinished business at La Rochelle and that with a rebuild he can get La Rochelle back to the top table?
“We’ve a lot of good Irish coaches abroad as well. Whoever takes that job, it is going to be a big name. It’s not going to be someone developing. It is going to be a world-class coach that will be attracted to that job. They won’t have any shortage of international coaches and people being interested in taking over.”
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