A defiant Leo Cullen sent out a message on Saturday night: If you have a problem with him, say it to his face.
The Leinster coach took exception to a question about how he, personally, had been dealing with the "pressure" of the job in the wake of their Champions Cup final defeat.
Leinster booked their place in the semi-final of the BKT United Rugby Championship with a resounding 59-10 win against the Lions at Aviva Stadium, which sets up a meeting with the Stormers at Lansdowne Road this Saturday.
After the game, Cullen was again asked about James Lowe's expected departure from the province at the end of the season, as well as his thoughts on how his side shook off their Champions Cup disappointment to enjoy a blowout quarter-final win.
As he was wrapping up his press conference on Saturday night, a reporter chipped in with one final question to the Leinster head coach, which led to an awkward and tense eight-minute back and forth.
Cullen (below) was asked if he has found the last week hard, having been under pressure since the Champions Cup final defeat.
"What are you talking about? What kind of pressure, specifically?" he replied.
Again, it was put to Cullen that there had been a backlash among some supporters after a fifth European final defeat, and whether he was feeling under pressure as a result of that.
"I haven’t seen it. What backlash?" Cullen asked
"Specifically. Any Leinster fans specifically? Nobody's come to my face yet with this.
"I'm not on social media so you'll have to explain this one to me. I'm not a fan of social media because I think it's very negative and toxic, that would be my experience.
"So, I wouldn't try to expose myself to that too much. Is that good advice?
"Any mainstream piece rather than just social? Any mainstream pieces or just social media pieces you're referring to?"
Speaking of mainstream media, earlier in his press conference, Cullen admitted he had taken exception to comments made by Bernard Jackman on last week’s RTÉ Rugby podcast.
The former Leinster and Ireland hooker had questioned why Sam Prendergast and Fintan Gunne had been brought into the coaching box for last Saturday’s Champions Cup final, citing the need for coaches to be able to debate and disagree with each other in a major final, without the distraction of two players.
"Bordeaux effectively have three half times to be able to get the group together and give the messages..."
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) May 27, 2026
🎙️ @bernardjackman on a couple of areas where Leinster could learn from Bordeaux-Begles 🏉
📺🎧 Full pod: https://t.co/sXFSWXUYgh pic.twitter.com/toHZCKioB7
And while Cullen didn’t name Jackman specifically, he did reference those comments.
"I heard people had an issue with it, which I just don't understand. I don't understand the motivation for some of that criticism, to be perfectly honest.
"We're trying to develop young players. Sam, Fintan, the two of them, who we see as huge futures for the club. Why would we not expose them to that experience?
"It's beyond belief how someone would find an issue with that. Does anyone have an issue with that? Does anyone think it's a bad idea?
"It exposes them. This is the way the game is. We're trying to grow these young men into leaders.
"How many different opportunities do you get to do that? I'm not like a secret coach here with my players, as in Leinster's players. They know I'm open. I'll be open and transparent with them.
"We've had lots of players in the box over the years here. I just think it's trying to help them grow as leaders and understand. Otherwise, if you have a disconnect there, that's not helpful.
"I think it's a very strong thing to have. As I said, it's not a secret society we're running here," he added.
Eventually, Cullen conceded that he has felt pressure in his role as head coach, but he emphasised that the pressure he feels is internal, rather than external.
"That's the business that we're in, isn't it? We want to be in this situation where we're playing in finals.
"When you get to a final, it's boom or bust.
"So if your boom is celebration and party, bust is...we know what people are like. They love to pile on top of the team and kick them when they're down, which is what I tried to get across after the semi-final.
"But that will happen again. So, if we lose the semi-final next week, people will be... It's boom or bust again, isn't it? That's the business that we're in, isn't it?
"So, do I find the pressure of that? But that's what I do for a living. So, I love it. So, do I feel under pressure? No, I absolutely love it.
"It's not the backlash I feel under pressure for. It's that I want the team to win myself. It's not what someone says on social media. I couldn't care less. I want to win for the team.
"Everyone involved in the team wants to win. Is that clear? We hurt so much. So, backlash is just an added layer, isn't it?
"The most disappointed people are ourselves, with ourselves, because we want to be successful for the club because we love the club.
"So do you understand the actual pressure that we put on ourselves to put ourselves in these situations year on year? Is that positive pressure? Do you see it as positive pressure yourself? Or do you think it's negative pressure?" he added.
He may not agree, but 40,000 empty seats at Aviva Stadium on Saturday night would indicate that at the very least there is a disillusionment among some supporters about the province’s direction of travel.
Cullen, however, insisted he would not be paying any attention to online critics.
"The amount of messages of support that I personally and the team have had, people want to back us. Why don't you report about that? All the positive messages from them rather than all the negative ones. Why does it always have to be negative pressure?
"I see the positive pressure because I see so many people supporting the team and me personally that were in Bilbao for the weekend.
"I feel a positive pressure to help prepare the team as well as I possibly can. All the players feel that positive pressure of this way of support.
"You're devastated when it doesn't work out.
"All you can do is dust yourself off and show what type of character you are and get ready for the next challenge, because the group have worked hard during the course of our domestic season, we had a home quarter final to look forward to and, now, off the back of finishing second, we have a home semi-final to look forward to.
"Does it repair losing another Champions League final? Of course it doesn't. Will people come after us for what, losing? Yes, they will.
"What can we do other than just keep putting ourselves back in that situation again? What do you think?
"So, it's positive pressure. Don't look at pressure as always negative. We have a positive pressure because we love this team. Absolutely love it. Love turning up for work every day. Love getting out there and ideally playing well. We're human.
"So can you be more positive on that?"
