United Rugby Championship: Leinster’s Leo Cullen delighted with super-sub Garry Ringrose’s cameo in Sharks win

Leinster coach Leo Cullen praised Garry Ringrose after the substitute claimed the man-of-the-match award against the Sharks despite only coming onto the field in the 21st minute.

Cullen’s men claimed a 54-34 win in Dublin against a spirited Sharks, who held their own for much of the game before being blown away by Leinster later on in the clash.

The coach praised Ringrose as well as his side’s tactical nous to exploit space behind the Sharks’ wings resulting in several crossfield kicks going to hand.

“Well I think when you’re coming on after 20 minutes and you get man of the match you’re clearly doing something very good,” said Cullen.

Space in behind

“I think some of the scanning in terms of where the space is, we knew their wingers would play pretty high.

“A couple of lovely crossfield kicks from Johnny [Sexton] into Garry’s hands, obviously Robbie’s [Henshaw] kick into Garry’s hands for a try, Charlie’s [Ngatai] kick in to Robbie’s hands for a try, Cormac’s [Foley] pass over the top for Rob Russell’s try, so the identifying spaces was good across the board.”

Cullen was happy with the outcome for his side whilst also admitting that the South African sides have changed the landscape of the competition.

“I thought we started with good intent, the guys did a decent week’s work,” he said.

“We prepared well for this game, we knew it would be a good challenge, the Sharks have that bit of cohesion and togetherness off the back of two wins, and with Noel [McNamara, Sharks attack coach] coming back here, there were lots of factors we were concerned about.

“They’re big, physical men, you see them, size-wise, and that’s the challenge. It’s a totally different ball game we’re up against in this competition.

Different dynamic

“The South African teams have picked up wins. Even the Lions, who would have lost a lost of players to the likes of the Sharks, they picked up wins on the road, so they’re circling. It’s created a totally different dynamic to the competition.

“We’re missing a few players at the moment, so we’re a bit tighter on resources, so it’s a good challenge, a really good challenge. For us, this week is to learn from the bits where Sharks went after us defensively. We got tight a few times, where we get done on the edge or are over-chasing and get done on the inside.

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“They tested us out, and I thought the way we responded, scoring some great tries. There are lots of positive things in the game.”

Leinster turns their attention to an away clash to Connacht next weekend as they look to continue their perfect start to the season.