Leo Cullen (rugby union)
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| Full name | Leo Francis M. Cullen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 9 January 1878 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Wicklow, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 110 kg (17 st 5 lb; 243 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Blackrock College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University College Dublin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Leo Cullen (born 9 January 1878) is an Irish former professional rugby union player who played at Lock for Leinster Rugby and Ireland. He was educated, firstly at Willow Park which is the junior school to Blackrock College where he attended secondary school. He attended University College Dublin after leaving school.
He is the current coach of Leinster rugby after being appointed on 19 August 2015 on a two-year contract.[1]
Career
Schools Rugby
Cullen won a Leinster Schools Senior Cup medal in 1995 as well as 1996, when Blackrock beat a Newbridge College team which included Geordan Murphy.[2]
Club career
Cullen began his career with Leinster by representing them at schoolboy level in 1995 before moving on to their U20 team where he won 7 caps. He also made 5 appearances on the 'A' team and finally debuted on the senior team where he was part of the squad that won the Celtic League. He moved to Leicester Tigers in 2005 where he made 56 appearances, 15 as captain. He was a part of the squad that won the EDF Energy Cup and Guinness Premiership in 2007. He was also on the losing side in the 2007 Heineken Cup Final, when London Wasps defeated Leicester at Twickenham Stadium. He rejoined Leinster in 2007 and was part of the squad that won the 2007/2008 Magners League. On 26 August 2008, he was named as Leinster captain following Brian O'Driscoll stepping down from the role meaning he has captained most of the teams he has played on.[3] He led Leinster to success in their first ever Heineken Cup in 2009, beating Leicester in the final. He also captained Leinster in 2011 to another Heineken Cup victory, and in 2012 became the 1st person to captain a team to three Heineken Cup victories.
Cullen retired in May 2014 after winning the 2014 Pro12 Grand Final, he will remain at Leinster as a forwards coach.[4]
International career
Cullen has represented his country at all levels, 7 caps at schools level, then captaining the U19 team 3 times in 4 caps. He went on to captain the U21s 14 times in 16 appearances. He also appeared for the U25 team and has been capped 16 times at 'A' level where he captained the team against England. He made his senior debut against the All Blacks in Auckland in 2002,[5] and was the 100th man to captain Ireland, against Scotland on 6 August 2011.[6]
References
- ↑ "Cullen given Leinster job". Irish Independent. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ↑ http://www.herald.ie/sport/leinster-rugby/old-school-ties-1740217.html
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-02-17. Retrieved 2009-05-19.
- ↑ "Leinster refusing to let their era end". Irish Independent. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-04-24. Retrieved 2008-01-17.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-19. Retrieved 2011-08-08.