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Leo Cullen (rugby union)

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Leo Francis Matthew Cullen (born 9 January 1978) is an Irish rugby coach and former professional rugby union player. He played at lock for Leinster Rugby and Ireland. He was appointed coach of Leinster rugby on 19 August 2015.[1]

Leo Cullen
Birth nameLeo Francis Matthew Cullen
Date of birth (1978-01-09) 9 January 1978 (age 46)
Place of birthWicklow, Ireland
Height1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight110 kg (17 st 5 lb; 243 lb)
SchoolBlackrock College
UniversityUniversity College Dublin
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock, Head Coach
Current team Leinster
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
  Blackrock College ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1998–2005 Leinster 79 (15)
2005–2007 Leicester Tigers 56 (0)
2007–2014 Leinster 140 (75)
Correct as of 31 May 2015
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1997 Ireland U19 4 (0)
1998 Ireland U21 16 (0)
2000–2007 Ireland Wolfhounds 16 (0)
2002–2011 Ireland 32 (0)
Correct as of 25 September 2011
Coaching career
Years Team
2014–2015 Leinster (Forwards Coach)
2015– Leinster

Early life and education

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Cullen was educated firstly at Willow Park which is the junior school to Blackrock College where he attended secondary school. He then studied Agricultural Science at University College Dublin.[2] He graduated in 1999 with a BA in Economics.

Cullen won a Leinster Schools Senior Cup medal in 1995 as well as 1996, when Blackrock beat a Newbridge College team which included Geordan Murphy.[3]

Playing career

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Club playing career

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Cullen began his career with Leinster by representing them at schoolboy level in 1995 before moving on to their U20 team where he won seven caps. He also made five appearances on the 'A' team and finally debuted during the interprovincial and Heineken Cup matches of the 1998/99 season.[4]

Cullen moved to Leicester Tigers in 2005 where he made 56 appearances, 15 as captain. He was a part of the squad that won the EDF Energy Cup and Guinness Premiership in 2007.[5] He was also on the losing side in the 2007 Heineken Cup final, when London Wasps defeated Leicester at Twickenham Stadium.[4]

 
Cullen preparing for a Leinster match at the RDS in 2009.

Cullen re-joined Leinster in 2007 and was part of the squad that won the 2007/2008 Celtic League. On 26 August 2008, he was named as Leinster captain following Brian O'Driscoll stepping down from the role meaning he has captained most of the teams he has played on.[6] He led Leinster to success in their first ever Heineken Cup in 2009, beating Leicester in the final. He also captained Leinster in 2011 to another Heineken Cup victory, and in 2012 became the first person to captain a team to three Heineken Cup victories.[4] He retired in May 2014 after winning the 2014 Pro12 Grand Final.[4]

International playing career

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Cullen has represented his country at all levels, 7 caps at schools level, then captaining the U19 team 3 times in 4 caps. He went on to captain the U21s 14 times in 16 appearances. He also appeared for the U25 team and was capped 16 times at 'A' level Irish Wolfhounds where he captained the team against England.

Cullen made his senior debut against the All Blacks in Auckland in 2002.[7] He became the 100th man to captain Ireland, against Scotland on 6 August 2011.[8]

International analysis by opposition

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Opposition Played Win Loss Draw Tries Points Win %
  Argentina 2 1 1 0 0 0 50
  Australia 1 1 0 0 0 0 100
  England 2 2 0 0 0 0 100
  Fiji 2 2 0 0 0 0 100
  France 4 1 3 0 0 0 25
  Georgia 1 1 0 0 0 0 100
  Italy 4 4 0 0 0 0 100
  Japan 2 2 0 0 0 0 100
  New Zealand 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
  Romania 2 2 0 0 0 0 100
  Russia 2 2 0 0 0 0 100
  Samoa 1 1 0 0 0 0 100
  Scotland 3 2 1 0 0 0 66.67
  Tonga 1 1 0 0 0 0 100
  United States 1 1 0 0 0 0 100
  Wales 3 2 1 0 0 0 66.67
Career 32 25 7 0 0 0 78.13%

as of 17 March 2024[9]

Coaching career

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After retiring from playing in 2014, Cullen remained at Leinster as a forwards coach.[10] He then became head coach in 2015.

His coaching colleague, Stuart Lancaster, has described Cullen's strengths as "very high integrity... very good leadership qualities... unbelievable work ethic... very good on the managerial side of things."[11] He is also regarded as effective in bringing out the strengths of coaching colleagues.[12]

Cullen became the first person to win the top European Rugby trophy as a player and a coach, when his Leinster side defeating Racing 92 in the Champions Cup final in May 2018, having already won it three times as a player.[13]

As of 24 September 2024
Club Season(s) GP W D L Win % Loss % Championships / Notes
Leinster 2015/16 – Present 262 204 4 54 77.86% 20.61% European Cup (2018)
United Rugby Championship (2018, 2019, 2020, 2021)
United Rugby Championship Coach of the year (2018, 2022)
Irish Shield (2022, 2023, 2024)

Honours

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Leinster
Leicester
Leinster (as coach)
Individual
  • URC Coach of the Year: 2 (2018, 2022)
  • URC Chairman's Award: 1 (2014)
  • URC Team of the Year: 2 (2008, 2010)

UCD

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  • UCD Alumni Award in Sport 2021[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Cullen given Leinster job". Irish Independent. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  2. ^ "Leo Cullen". alumni.ucd.ie.
  3. ^ "Old school ties - Rugby, Sport - Herald.ie". herald.ie. Archived from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d "LEO CULLEN". Leinster Rugby. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Premiership final". BBC. 12 May 2007. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  6. ^ "Cullen to Captain Leinster". IrishRugby.ie. 26 August 2008. Archived from the original on 17 February 2010. Retrieved 19 May 2009.
  7. ^ "Irish Rugby : Leo Cullen". IrishRugby.ie. Archived from the original on 24 April 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2008.
  8. ^ "Leo Cullen becomes Ireland?s 100th captain - Life - Life | Ireland's online business and management news service". BusinessAndLeadership.com. Archived from the original on 19 September 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  9. ^ "Career Figures". ESPNscrum. Archived from the original on 23 March 2024. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  10. ^ "Leinster refusing to let their era end". Irish Independent. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  11. ^ "Comment: Leo Cullen and Stuart Lancaster at Leinster - it shouldn't work but does". independent.ie. 9 May 2018.
  12. ^ "'It was so smart of Leo, so strategic, to bring someone like Stuart in'". the42.ie. 12 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Champions Cup final: Leinster beat Racing 92 15-12 to secure fourth title". BBC Sport. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  14. ^ "Honouring Exceptional Achievement and Celebrating Success". UCD Connections. 8 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
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