DON'T BELIEVE THE GRIPE: Why Leo Cullen's rant after Leinster's nervy Champions Cup semi-final victory over Toulon is not what it seems...
The ‘divvy’ is a regular occurrence on the sports media beat.After a press conference, a sponsors gig or another event, the reporters in attendance will gather to formulate a plan to conquer the mountain of transcription required.There is strength in numbers and it’s a smart way of wading through the avalanche of quotes.It can be a soul-destroying process. Often, you are left with a collated transcript filled with the most mundane, bland and cliche-ridden observations. Relief: Leo Cullen celebrates with Rieko Ioane after the narrow victory over Toulon in DublinIt can all be a bit of a slog at times. Anyone who has attended a press conference with Leo Cullen can attest to that.We have a huge amount of time for the Leinster head coach. A brilliant operator who doesn't get the credit he deserves.Cullen’s approach with the media can be a challenge in mental endurance, mind.The Leinster boss in infamous for his long, meandering answers to questions. It’s not uncommon for Cullen to speak for five or six unbroken minutes in response to a query from the press gallery.It’s a smart tactic. It eats up time and it wears down the reporters. When it comes to filibustering, Cullen would give Charles Stewart Parnell a run for his money.So, when Cullen gave the media both barrels in the wake of last Saturday’s Champions Cup semi-final win against Toulon, the rugby writers in attendance - including yours truly - were caught a bit off guard. Danger here: Tomas Albornoz of Toulon takes on Josh van der Flier of Leinster at the Aviva Toulon's Setariki Tuicuvu scores his sides first try at the AvivaBecause the former Leinster and Leicester Tigers lock is usually so calm, polished and infuriatingly detailed with his responses.You’ve probably read Cullen’s fiery comments by now. If not, here’s a quick recap. Some of the highlights of his post-match diatribe including stating that: “you (the media) just want to kick the boot into us, don’t you?”.Cullen went to talk about about some questionable late officiating calls in the dying minutes of the Northampton defeat last season and how, he felt, the media glossed over those key moments. ‘Bad news sells,’ was another stinging line from the head coach.What was his motivation? There have been plenty of theories in the days which followed. Rieko Ioane of Leinster, centre, with teammates Jamie Osborne, left, and Scott Penny after the Investec Champions Cup semi-final match between Leinster and RC Toulon Hard to forget: Leinster stars struggle to come to terms with the loss to Northampton last yearEddie O’Sullivan had an interesting one. The former Ireland head coach was on podcast duty when he wondered if Cullen had been shaken to his core by that frantic final 10 minutes against Toulon.And Cullen was facing down the barrel of one of the most challenging press conferences of his tenure. Did go off piste? Did he regret the verbal grenades in the days which followed? It’s a theory with plenty of merit.And Cullen was facing down the barrel of one of the most challenging press conferences of his tenure. Did he go off piste? Did he regret the verbal grenades in the days which followed? It’s a theory with plenty of merit.Then again, has Cullen taken a leaf of the Rassie Erasmus playbook when it comes to stirring the pot in press conferences? Has Jacques Nienaber been having a word in the background?The other viewpoint is Cullen made a carefully-calculated PR move to build a siege mentality ahead of the big one in Bilbao later this month. Leinster will be contesting their fourth final in five years. It will be their sixth final since the last Champions Cup triumph in 2018.The pressure on the entire organisation to land that fifth title at San Mames Stadium will be enormous. The scale of the task facing them is daunting, with defending champions Bordeaux waiting for them in Basque County.The Top 14 giants are laced with world-class game breakers and they feel this is their era in the competition. Bordeaux believe they are the next club who will dominate this tournament, following in the footsteps of La Rochelle, Saracens, Toulon and Joe Schmidt’s Leinster in the past.That’s the scale of the task facing the province. No doubt, everyone in the building at Leinster HQ will be feeling the heat in the coming weeks. Clearly, Cullen is feeling the pressure as well.Whatever the motivations for those post-match comments last weekend, they simply don’t hold up to scrutiny.Firstly, Leinster don’t get a rough ride from the media. The irony is that many of the writers, pundits and broadcasters in the Irish press pack are often branded as the ‘Blue media’ by rival supporters in this country, many of which feel there is a pro-Leinster discourse in the mainstream rugby coverage.The notion that ‘bad news sells’ is also misguided. Particularly when it comes to sports journalism. The provinces and the national team doing well is good for business all round. At the most basic human level, you want to see Irish teams doing well.Cullen also argued that Leinster have done brilliantly to match ‘juggernaut’ outfits in this tournament. Ah here.Yes, Cullen and the wider setup, be it underage coaches and the many excellent people involved in the pathways, have done brilliantly to make the province into a well-oiled machine. A province with a system which is the envy of their provincial rivals and further afield.But the cold, hard truth is Leinster enjoy plenty of natural advantages, both in terms of demographics and finances, which it maximises.Leinster aren’t punching above their weight. They are a juggernaut club. A setup with a network of prolific fee-paying schools. Essentially a hive of mini-academies.Cullen has a stable of Ireland internationals. Not only are they bulk suppliers to an Irish team which has achieved unprecedented feats on Andy Farrell’s watch, they provided the core to last summer’s victorious Lions series in Australia. Leinster have been able to land marquee signings such as Jordie Barrett, RG Snyman and Rieko Ioane in recent times. Juggernaut, indeed. Tongue in cheek: Cullen mocked the way Leinster have been covered by the Irish rugby mediaAnd as for the apparently lopsided nature of last season’s coverage of the debacle which unfolded against Northampton, where do we start? The decision to bench Barrett, who had just delivered a performance for the ages in the previous knockout tie, Andrew Porter and Jack Conan reeked of complacency. Conceding five tries and 37 points was a major issue on the day as well. We could go on…The fact that this Leinster team has picked themselves up again and scaled this Champions Cup-shaped mountain says a lot about the tenacity and sheer resilience of that group.In the midst of Cullen’s spectacular press conference, this reporter put that very point to the fired-up head coach.‘Exactly. It won't be easy, will it? We'll have no chance anyway. We've been bloody useless this year,’ Cullen replied, with tongue firmly planted in cheek.Fair enough, Leo. If that stance finally lands a fifth Champions Cup, he will get plenty of credit. And rightly so. We will even forgive him for another rambling presser, if that proves to be the case.The Béal Bocht act last Saturday rang a bit hollow, however.
