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Leo Cullen talks up Leinster's room for improvement

Leinster’s Jordi Murphy and Tadhg Furlong celebrate with try scorer Josh van der Flier
Leinster’s Jordi Murphy and Tadhg Furlong celebrate with try scorer Josh van der Flier

Leo Cullen is confident Leinster will shake off the early season rust to stay on an upward curve after they impressively put an in-form Ospreys to the sword at the RDS on Friday night.

Johnny Sexton clocked up 16 points in his first appearance of the season in a 31-19 Pro12 victory that shattered Steve Tandy's charges' unbeaten league start.

The bonus-point win, Leinster's third in their first four games, lifted them up to third in the table, but Cullen sees plenty of room for improvement.

"There's lots that we can work on to be better," he told RTÉ Sport. "We've still some injured guys to come back over the next couple of weeks so it'll be nice when we get a full deck back available again. 

"I was pleased with the intensity the lads brought. I thought they took their opportunities well in the first half.

"There was the bulk of the Welsh team out there. We're pleased because we know just how dangerous a team the Ospreys are."

The hosts scorched to a 24-0 half-time lead thanks to tries from Sexton, Josh van der Flier and a penalty try. There was no way back for the Ospreys after that, though they did make a decent fist of trying to snatch a losing bonus point. 

"Ospreys are a quality team so we knew they'd come back," Cullen added. "I thought they turned us well in the second half, played quite smart and we probably, lost a little bit of shape.

"But it's early season form, with guys coming back into the mix you're always going to get a little bit of that." 

Tandy blamed a below-par first-half display for defeat in Dublin. The Ospreys were three from three heading into Friday night's encounter, but they never got going in a first 40 minutes that ultimately cost them dear.

"It was bitterly disappointing for us," said Tandy. "The pressure told when we were going cheap possession away, poor turnovers, poor discipline and when you come to the RDS against a side like Leinster they're going to punish you.

"We did claw it back a little bit but ultimately the game was done and dusted.

"Our aim was to try and get four tries but ultimately we fell short. At the end of the day you can handle losing to Leinster because you know they're a really positive and great team, but I don't think we turned up in the first half. That was the most disappointing thing." 

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