Cullen and Smith Aim to Turn Disruption into Title Advantage

Leinster and Glasgow Warriors will both be fueled by their deep disappointment over the way last season ended when they lock horns on the opening weekend of the new BKT United Rugby Championship.

After finishing the regular campaign top of the table, Leinster then suffered a 16-15 defeat to Munster in the play-off Semi-Finals ahead of losing 27-26 to La Rochelle in the Investec Champions Cup final. It means they have now gone two seasons without any silverware.

As for Glasgow Warriors, they lost 14-5 at home to Munster in the BKT URC quarter-finals and then went down 43-19 at the hands of Toulon in the European Challenge Cup final.

So both teams will be looking to erase those memories as they kick off the new league campaign with a meeting at Scotstoun on Sunday afternoon.

“There was disappointment at the end of last season, for sure,” said Leinster coach Leo Cullen.

“We lost the BKT URC semi-final in the last couple of minutes and similar in the Champions Cup final the following week. It’s definitely focused the mind.

“First and foremost, we’ve got to accumulate the points to get us to the knock-out stage again. It’s about trying to get that momentum and timing your run. You can draw parallels to this World Cup. England are the only team left in the competition that haven’t lost a game yet. The other three sem-finalists have all lost games, so it’s all about making sure you time your run for when it really matters.

“It starts all over again now. We are all on zero, everyone is level, either level top or level bottom, whichever way you look at it!”

Cullen continued: “These seasons after a World Cup can be very open. If you look back on history, eight years ago we finished top of the log again, made it to the final in Edinburgh and lost to Connacht.

“Every team is affected differently. Some teams will have a good chunk of players missing for different stages of the season. Other teams won’t be affected in the same manner. It’s who is able to deal with those disruptions best. That’s the challenge.

“The four South African teams have totally changed the dynamic of the competition. They have given it a real shot in the arm. It’s a proper competition now with proper teams. I think it’s going in an incredibly positive direction.

“It’s an exciting competition and something we all need to push because it’s the bread and butter for us. Hopefully everyone gets behind it. There were a huge amount of BKT URC players at the World Cup, so there is proper quality.”

In the Glasgow Warriors camp, former Springbok Franco Smith is embarking on his second season at the helm.

“We obviously start from a completely different place from last year when I came in as a new head coach shortly before the season started without warm-up games,” said Smith.

“I had new ideas and had to get to know the coaching and playing group.

“The first thing that’s important this time is we are a little bit more trained, so our fitness levels are much better to start off with and our understanding of what we want to achieve is clearer.

“It was a big disappointment to lose to Munster in the quarter-finals last season. I think we deserved better. So that has played a role in our preparations.

“We still need to improve quite a bit and make sure we are innovative to get better.

All areas of the game need to become world class and we are not yet at that level. There is so much individual growth that needs to take place and also unit and collective development.

“For me, success will be if we run out on to that field and are the best we can be and as competitive as we can be in all areas of the game - and also that we show some good mental growth and strength in difficult situations. We want the guys to express themselves with the freedom we allow them.

“That will be success for me. I am not going to put a number of wins to it. Obviously we want to win every game, every action, every metre.”

Looking at his opening BKT URC opponents, Smith said: “Leinster will be disappointed at the fact that for two years they have dominated the competition with no reward.”

As for Cullen’s take on the test that lies ahead in Glasgow, the former Ireland lock says: “Franco is a hugely experienced coach who has brought a real feel-good factor to that group. It’s a tough place to go Scotstoun. They are a vociferous crowd there and they get behind their team.”