Leinster ran out 25-11 winners against Bath at the RDS on Saturday, and while there wasn't much on the line for the province as they are already out of Europe's top competition, Leo Cullen still has plenty of cause for optimism.
In particular, he praised the performances of some of the young players that had given their all in the match, and showed that despite a slow start to the season, the team was headed in the right direction.
Much of that improvement had come thanks to the explosion of a few key young players, notably Garry Ringrose, who has been making a big impact.
Speaking to Oisin Langan of Off The Ball after the match, Cullen stated that the attitude of Ringrose, and a number of others, had given him the confidence to name such an experimental team: "I felt like a nervous parent all week with some of the young children being thrown out there, but I was delighted with how they acquitted themselves, The guys that got the rewards and the guys that went out to play were the guys that had been showing the right characteristics day in day out".
Image:©INPHO/Ryan Byrne
The head coach also preached patience in finishing the opportunities that they had created, but was full of praise for the debutantes in the squad, highlighting the front row as having put in a fantastic shift.
"The whole front row in particular, Peter Dooley, James Tracy, Tadhg Furlong and [Man of the Match] Ross Molony, that was four of the front five going up against a very experienced Bath pack. All those guys, Luke McGrath and Garry Ringrose as well, six guys starting their first European games, and it will stand to them, give them a lot of confidence leading into the future hopefully".
Leinster's Man of the Match Ross Molony. Image: ©INPHO/Billy Stickland
While Ringrose has been grabbing the headlines among all those listed thanks to his dynamic running and exciting style of play, Cullen highlighted how he has been keeping his feet on the ground and not letting the increased attention get to him.
"He works really hard, but it's also important that we manage him as best we can. He wasn't involved in those games before Christmas because he was doing exams, doing what most guys his age are generally doing. He's acquitted himself well and hopefully has a bright future".
"There's always temptations out there, but we've got some really good guys coming through that want to work hard, want to improve and want to be better, so that's all you can really ask out of them".
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