United Rugby Championship: Leinster squad devastated after Bulls upset in the semi-finals

Leinster coach Leo Cullen revealed that his players are devastated after their semi-final loss to the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship.

The Pretoria side ended Leinster’s five-year streak in the competition with a 27-26 triumph in Dublin, thanks to a well-executed tactical plan from Jake White’s men.

Cullen admits the loss is difficult to take and is a hard lesson for the players while also commending the Bulls for their impressive performance on the day.

“It is pretty sick in there, yeah,” Cullen said. “There’s so much work that goes into getting the team to knock-out games and to fall short here, particularly at home in the RDS at this time of year, is disappointing.

“They were very clinical when they got down our end, they came with a good plan and it is painful for our guys in there at the moment.

“As I have said previously to our young guys, it is a hard lesson, you need to learn sometimes.

“The Bulls are a quality team, they came with a good plan, they were well coached and once they had a lead and played that pressure game, they didn’t have to do huge amount, but they just put the squeeze on us.

“And we just weren’t really accurate enough when we were chasing the game. We created plenty of opportunities but, you know, when you come to semi-finals against top-end teams, you need all your players sort of in an eight, nine, 10 out of 10 in terms of how they play the game. Unfortunately for us some of us, some of us were just not good enough today.”

Only last week, Leinster claimed a monstrous 76-14 win over Glasgow Warriors in the quarter-finals. Cullen refused to admit his team were complacent but claimed the big win could have been an influence.

“That’s what it comes down to, it’s execution in the big moments