Hugh Farrelly of the Irish Independent salutes the role Leinster captain Leo Cullen has played in the province's transition from nearly men to giants of the European game.
"It was a Musgrave Park night the locals would describe as "manky" - swirling wind, driving rain and the type of cold that forms ice on the fringes of laptop screens.
Friday, November 30, 2007, did not get a lot of airplay when the feeding frenzy began before the recent Good Friday showdown between Munster and Leinster, nor indeed did it ahead of last year's Heineken Cup, Croke Park semi-final between the same combatants.
"However, when charting the development of Leinster from talented underachievers to their status as one of the most psychologically secure teams in Europe - with the trophy to prove it - that manky Magners League night in Cork stands tall.
"Leinster had not won at Musgrave Park for more than 20 years and - given their established reputation as a dry-ground, running team - a comfortable home victory was predicted, particularly as Munster fielded a pack including the names of Horan, Hayes, Flannery, O'Callaghan, Leamy and Wallace.
"But it was the Leinster grapplers who proved more effective as Michael Cheika's men secured a seminal 10-3 victory. And chief among them was second-row Leo Cullen, at the heart of every collision up front, grabbing team-mates to tighten up mauls, barking orders at fringe defenders and generally revelling in the old-style rugby combat in what was soon to become the ELV era."
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