Leo Cullen’s esteem within Leinster and the IRFU is demonstrated by his impending renewal as head coach of the province for twelve seasons in total. The baton was passed to Cullen from Matt O’Connor at the commencement of the 2015-16 season, and he has now sealed a two-year contract extension which ensures his position until the end of the 2026-27 season.
Despite murmurs of dissatisfaction among some followers and external comments, following a three-year trophy drought which included three unsuccessful Champions Cup finals, Cullen’s deep-rooted understanding of the Leinster set-up offers valued stability.
Jacques Nienaber inherited his role from Stuart Lancaster six weeks into the previous season after Lancaster’s impactful seven-year reign as Leinster head coach. Nienaber is now in his second term, while Tyler Bleyendaal is stepping into the shoes of Andrew Goodman as the attack coach in his debut year, after Goodman’s move to the Irish coaching team.
Like Lancaster and Goodman, both Nienaber and Bleyendaal along with Sean O’Brien were brought in under Cullen’s guidance. Moreover, after Mick Dawson’s 21-year tenure as chief executive of Leinster, Shane Nolan took the helm. Cullen has once again stepped out of his comfort zone of one-year agreements, as witnessed during his initial eight seasons as head coach of Leinster, having also penned a two-year deal for the previous and the current season.
A 46-year-old veteran once debuted for Leinster at the schoolboy level in 1995, and had two commendable seven-year stints as a player, interrupted by two seasons with Leicester Tigers where he tasted Premiership glory in 2007. He boasted four URC championships as a player under his name in the seasons 2001-02, 2007-08, 2012-13 and 2013-14, acting as captain in the later two. In the history of the Champions Cup, he was the maiden player to triumph thrice as a skipper, in the 2008-09, 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons. He also led Leinster to claim the Challenge Cup in the 2012-13 season.
In the final against Racing 92 in 2018 in Bilbao, being successful lent Leinster’s tally a fourth star. Concurrently, they also clinched URC titles four years straight between 2018 and 2021, albeit not realizing success in the last three finals of the Champions Cup and the URC semi-finals over the last three seasons.
However, the province invested in Cullen with the marquee signings of RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett, his doggedness and character earning the respect of the IRFU alongside his talent nurturing skills. The latter is evident in how Leinster continued to be the major contributor to the most triumphant Irish team in history.