‘It’s a good place for us to be in’: Cullen facing difficult selection calls ahead of Montpellier

IT’S DIFFICULT TO know exactly how much, and what, Leo Cullen can take from last night’s ten-try demolition of Zebre as Leinster look ahead to the significantly stiffer challenge of Montpellier next week.

It was arguably the worst performance from any side in the history of the competition as the visitors slumped to a 70-6 defeat in Dublin.

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But even allowing for the level of opposition, there were still plenty of positives for the head coach after he watched his side dismantle and humiliate the Pro12′s bottom side with minimal fuss.

The return of Johnny Sexton was the obvious one but his ever-blossoming partnership with Luke McGrath, the Ringrose-Henshaw combination and the clinical form of Rory O’Loughlin were all encouraging aspects of this bonus-point victory.

All in all, it was a good night’s work at the RDS.

By the time Sexton was withdrawn to a huge ovation, the job had already been done and the points sealed.

The out-half — playing his first game of rugby since November — barely had to break sweat as he ran the show for the hosts in what transpired to be the perfect game for him to make his comeback.

Leinster didn’t need to get out of third gear and they still carried far too much pace, power and precision for a Zebre side so limited and out of their depth, the half-time minis at the RDS may have done a better job defensively.

Sexton was instrumental in everything the eastern province did well and he was heavily involved in three of the opening four tries — but above all, it was good to see him back out on a rugby field again.

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“Johnny came through fine and that was pleasing,” Cullen said afterwards.

As captain for the night, Sexton was incredibly vocal from the off but those leadership qualities are ingrained in him whether he has the armband or not. Last night, however, he seemed more intent on stamping his authority on the game and the Leinster performance.

Both James Tracy and Adam Byrne got mouthfuls on separate occasions in the first half for failing to see the opportunity for a tap-and-go and being out of position. Sexton was back and he was demanding the standards be kept high, even if the opposition were embarrassingly abject.

On both occasions, Leinster went onto score a try from the resulting play with Sexton’s decision to go for the corner providing the platform for Hayden Triggs to cross and then the call for a penalty scrum in midfield seeing O’Loughlin dot down for the first of three.

“He did a lot of things well in the game,” Cullen continued. “He’s trained over the last number of weeks so he’s been doing a considerable amount of running. He’s trained well with the team and is in good shape.”

And a fit-again Sexton means Leinster are in good shape ahead of the final two Champions Cup pool games.

With the likes of Jamie Heaslip and Tadhg Furlong held in reserve and Josh van der Flier and Isa Nacewa not involved at all, Cullen is likely to have a full deck to choose from for Friday’s clash with Montpellier.

The only concern is Sean Cronin, who hobbled off during the final exchanges with a hamstring injury.

After last night, the backline pretty much picks itself. Sexton and McGrath showed great understanding again and while it’s still early days for that half-back combination, the latter has developed into a quality operator.

Both were withdrawn after 56 minutes and while the ovation was mainly for Sexton, the scrum-half deserved the same reception for another energetic display.

Man of the match Garry Ringrose and Robbie Henshaw were dangerous throughout while O’Loughlin’s scintillating form — he has scored five tries in his last two games — has seen him emerge as a real find this season.

“I thought we probably forced things a little bit at times in the first half but you’re going to get that but there was some really positive signs from players in terms of wanting to keep the ball alive,” Cullen said of the performance.

“Every now and again it’s not going to go to hand and I thought guys pushed it tonight and there was a lot of really good passages of play and things we’re working on at the moment that you’re seeing coming off on the field which is pleasing.

“It’s going to a different challenge when we play Montpellier here on Friday so it’s going to be a huge challenge but all the lads are looking forward to it now. It’s nice to be heading into the last two rounds of Europe pushing hard for a quarter-final place.

“I thought guys handled it out there and showed good intent. Guys are working hard, competition for places is tough now.

“There’s going to be some interesting discussions had with the other coaches. It’s a good place for us to be in and there’s certain positions guys have put their hands up well and there’s some tough decisions for us.”

As far as warm-ups for a crunch European game against a Top 14 heavyweight goes, a demolition of Zebre is probably not ideal but Leinster could only play what was in front of them and they deserve credit for the way they approached and treated the fixture.

Sitting pretty at the top of Pool 4, the players are under no illusions of the size of the task ahead of them next week when Jake White’s charges arrive in town.

“I’m expecting it to be very tough,” the former second-row added. “I’m expecting them to be one of the biggest teams we’ve seen, obviously we came up against them over there so.

“We need to prepare really well this week and rest up well over the weekend because it’s going to be a tough challenge.”