Cullen savours Heineken success
May 23 2009
Leinster captain Leo Cullen was glad to put past disappointments behind him after beating Leicester 19-16 to win the Heineken Cup at Murrayfield.
Cullen led his side to victory in a tight match that could have gone either way before Leinster marked their debut in the final with a win, joining fellow Irish provinces Ulster and Munster as European champions.
Ben Woods' try had given two-time champions Leicester an interval lead but Jamie Heaslip's superb score helped level matters before the excellent Johnny Sexton sealed victory with a long-range penalty.
Sexton also scored a monster drop goal, Brian O'Driscoll dropped a goal as well, while Julien Dupuy kicked the Tigers' other points.
"It's been some pretty tough times over the last couple of years. We've had some disappointing days," Cullen said, speaking to Sky Sports.
"When you've had a bit of hurt in the past, when you get the win it makes it that little bit sweeter.
"The boys showed great spirit coming back into it. It was a great win. We've always been a bit disappointing on the big day.
"It wasn't pretty at times but that's finals I suppose."
Man-of-the-match Rocky Elsom added: "I think there wasn't a lot in it.
"I'm pretty elated. That's a pretty good end to a great season."
Meanwhile, Leinster centre O'Driscoll hailed his team's efforts in overcoming the might of Leicester.
"I just felt we had great resilience; we backed our defence all year. We've been poor in attack at times but got it together over the last couple of months," he said.
Asked how it felt for Leinster to break their Heineken Cup duck, O'Driscoll added: "It feels great. I've played for this team for ten years and loved every minute of playing for them and it was worth the wait.
"(Winning the Heineken Cup) was a goal at the start of my career and I couldn't have done it with a better bunch of guys."
O'Driscoll gave British and Irish Lions coach Ian McGeechan a scare when he appeared to suffer a shoulder injury, but reassured the Scot at full-time.
"I've been carrying it for a while. I'll be in a little bit of cotton wool for a while but then it'll be sorted," he said.