Leo Cullen could not resist the opportunity of taking a dig at Simon Zebo, as well as Munster, after Leinster’s victory at Thomond Park.
The arch-rivals went head-to-head on Saturday with the Dublin-based outfit emerging triumphant 13-8 in the United Rugby Championship clash.
They gained revenge for their shock 31-14 hammering by Munster at Croke Park earlier in the season to boost their play-off hopes after a disappointing start to the campaign.
Cullen spoke to Premier Sports afterwards and initially played a straight bat as he broke down the positives and negatives of their performance.
“There was lots of good effort and intent. It was a scrappy enough type of game, but we’re pleased. It was a great defensive effort towards the end of the game, did some good things in the first half, but probably weren’t clinical enough over the course of the game.” Leinster’s head coach said.
Cullen’s first dig at Zebo
The former lock forward then turned towards Munster legend Zebo, who has been rather open about his dislike for Leinster, and quipped: “Dark arts aren’t they? Some good dark arts weren’t they? You know well. He knew nothing about them but he was in some of the meetings.”
With three URC defeats in seven heading into Saturday’s clash, including that loss to their rivals in Dublin, Cullen and his fellow Leinster coaches have done plenty of soul-searching over their underwhelming start.
“Clayton (McMillan, the Munster head coach) talked about turning it into a dogfight. The game at Croke Park, we lost 31-14, and you go back after the game and you’re kind of like, what does he actually mean by a dogfight?
“We had 60 per cent possession, 60 per cent territory. They kicked the ball 28 times to us, we kicked the ball 13 times to them, so it gives you a bit of an indication in terms of mindset.
“They were pushing the boundaries the whole time and just made life very difficult for us. It was probably a little bit the same [on Saturday].”
“Two teams scrapping out for every single inch out there” 🗣️👊
“Are you like a Leinster fan now?” 😅@SimonZebo🗣️”That’ll never happen”😆@leinsterrugby boss Leo Cullen on tonight’s game 🔴🔵 pic.twitter.com/jAq3I2uIgy
— Premier Sports Ireland (@PremSportsIRL) December 27, 2025
Leinster influence on Munster
Cullen then turned his attentions to the Munster squad which featured a number of former Leinster players in it. The head coach therefore saw his opportunity to have another dig at Zebo, asking the 35-year-old: “There’s a good few Leinster guys you have down here as well. Are there more Leinster guys than Limerick guys in that 23?”
Zebo laughed while responding: “”No way, get out of it,” but Cullen would not let the matter rest. “Let’s get the names on the sheet there. Are there more Leinster guys than Limerick guys?” the Leinster boss persisted.
“Are you a Leinster fan now? Let’s go through the list.”
Zebo revelled in Munster’s victory over their arch-rivals in October, but it’s fair to say that Cullen got his own back.