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Leo Cullen insisted the Bulls should not be labelled as failures after defeat at Croke Park, using Leinster’s long-awaited URC title win to call for greater respect for teams that reach finals.
Cullen, speaking after Leinster’s 32–7 victory, praised the South African side’s quality and used the moment to push back against a narrative that frames runners-up as having fallen short, despite making it to the final day of the competition.
“It was a great day today,” Cullen said directly after the game. “An amazing occasion at Croke Park. It’s the stuff of dreams really, isn’t it? For lots of Irish kids growing up. To experience a final here, big thanks to the support that we’ve had. It’s just about enjoying the moment now.
“It’s great for everybody. The supporters is the big thing. It was an amazing atmosphere out there today. Normally when you’re in the Aviva, you’re in a glass coaches box and you’re way off getting the sense of the occasion so it was amazing.
“Two Wicklow lads [Cullen and Jack Conan] here getting involved in a final at Croke Park, a rare sight but listen, it was a great week, lots of great stuff over the course of a season.
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“It’s a very difficult competition to win, just the nature of the way the season is and there’s a lot of great teams involved in. The South African teams have been an amazing addition to the tournament. The Bulls are a great team.”
Cullen also used the moment to comment on how finals are often framed in the media, pushing back on the notion that falling short equates to failure.
“We had this question yesterday, wasn’t it? Is your season, when you get to a final, is it a success or a failure?
“Unfortunately, you guys, the way you write, the losers of a final suddenly are failures. Whereas you get to the last day of the competition, I think you need to celebrate the two teams that are in the final.
“Obviously we’ve been on the flip side of that in the past. Does that deem us failures? I personally don’t think it’s a failure. We win today, it’s great but we’ll move onto the next challenge and that will be… we’ll watch the guys that are on tour with Ireland and the Lions.”
