Leo Cullen’s Leinster legacy ‘unmatchable’ as end of era approaches

Being the only coach to win the Champions Cup trophy both as a player and a coach, Leo Cullen’s legacy will be hard to match when he departs his beloved home club Leinster at the end of next season.

Leo announced his departure two days after Leinster successfully defended their URC title back-to-back and became the first team to do so since the competition entered its new dynamic form.

After a roller-coaster season for Leo and Leinster, winning a home final against an under-par Bulls seemed out of reach after the first few games due to issues of availability, injury and the ongoing number ten debate so along the way many questions were aimed at the coaching team.

After a roller-coaster season for the 48-year-old and his Dubliners, a home final against an under-par Bulls side once looked out of reach after the first five games, with availability issues, injuries and the ongoing fly-half debate all contributing to a difficult start.

For exclusive stories and all the detailed rugby news you need, subscribe to The Rugby Paper website, digital edition, or newspaper from as little as 14p a day.

Questions and scrutiny

Along the way, plenty of questions were aimed at the coaching team.

With the Champions Cup knockout stages ongoing, a barrage of questions had been fired at Leo who admirably always defended the players and took as much heat as he could for the sake of the team.

Alongside Jacques Nienaber, the two coaches uncharacteristically gave out to various reporters in a couple of post-match interviews, which drew a lot of attention and some scepticism.

For Leo’s part, he has aways put the team first both on and off the field; however, after a 12-year presence at the club, the former lock may feel he has done all he can for Leinster.

An unmatchable legacy

What he has done for Leinster, however, is unmatchable.

Since first pulling on the blue jersey back in 1998, Leo has helped the club, as both player and coach, to four Champions Cup trophies, one Challenge Cup trophy, four Irish Shields and a staggering 10 domestic league titles.

Matching this legacy will be extremely difficult for anyone who wishes to throw their hat in the ring and, for my part, I was lucky enough to meet Leo twice and, on both occasions, he was professional, pleasant and you could tell instantly how much his club means to him.

Go well Leo and best of luck!

READ MORE: Leinster 36-7 Bulls: Sam Prendergast stars as the Dubliners retain their URC crown