Blue streak

CROSS ALL its forms over the years, the European Cup has a cast of characters that spring readily to mind. Whether it’s the two-time winning captains Martin Johnson and Fabien Pelous and the brilliance of the teams they led, the Toulon and Saracens dynasties, the Munster phenomenon or the winning machine that was Leinster, inspired by Johnny Sexton.

In the history of the competition so many names stand out, but outside of Leinster and Ireland who would come up with the identity of the most decorated man of them all. Leo Cullen, for it is he, is never going to make an issue of this because he’s just about the most self-effacing bloke you could meet in the game right now, but his roll call of experiences is extraordinary.

With four European Cup finals as a player (won three, lost one) and two European Cup finals as a coach (won one, lost one), Cullen was the first person to win the tournament three times as captain