'Maybe we'll go on a boat': Leinster boss asks for travel advice

REACTION: As soon as the full-time whistle blew at Lansdowne Road in Dublin after their quarterfinal against Ulster, flights for Leinster’s semifinal against the Bulls in Pretoria were searched and booked in the changeroom.

“I don’t know if you’ve booked many trips for 45 people on a Saturday night,” said Leinster boss Leo Cullen.

“If anyone has any advice? I don’t know [when we leave], the bags are packed. We’ll be setting sail alright. Maybe we’ll go on a boat!”

“It depends what’s available. It’s very tough at this time of the year, the middle of June, to travel at the best of times, so it’s a little small 45-person working party. We will get out there by whatever means possible.”

Travel is indeed a nightmare for many teams, especially when it comes to knock-out games in terms of preparation in different and sometimes unfamiliar conditions and settings.

Cullen’s troops found themselves in an unfamiliar third position on the URC table after playing their second stringers to wrap their first-choice players in cotton wool, a decision they might be regretting now after losing a third Champions Cup Final in a row.

The consequence now is having to travel for the semifinal and possibly the Final too.

They will face the side that unexpectedly knocked them out of the 2021/22 URC semifinal at the RDS arena.

Cullen rejected the notion that this could be a grudge match for what happened two years ago.

“It’s not really about owing anyone one, it’s just about our own point of view,” he said.

“Whatever group does travel, we owe it to ourselves to put in a performance. Nobody’s going to give us anything, are they? We need to deliver a big performance for ourselves.”

Source: Irish Examiner