DESPITE THE considerable change that has been happening around him over the past 12 months, Leo Cullen has ultimately resisted the temptation to explore pastures new by signing a new two-year contract extension as Leinster head coach.

It will bring him up to the end of the 2024/25 campaign, by which point he will have been in his current role for just under a decade.

In addition to the losses of Felipe Contepomi and Denis Leamy at the end of the 2021/22 season, Cullen has also had to contend with the impending departure of the province’s senior coach Stuart Lancaster to Racing 92 later on this year. There has also been a major alteration in the Leinster boardroom with Meath native Shane Nolan taking over from the long-standing Mick Dawson as CEO in November 2022.

Given he spent two years at Leicester Tigers during his own playing days — winning an English Premiership title in 2007 — it would be perfectly understandable if he wanted to bring his coaching career in the same direction. Yet with a number of his teammates having to go overseas to pursue opportunities, he recognises the privileged position he finds himself in.

“I’m very happy here. The family piece as well, that has to work. I’m lucky I’ve a very supportive wife. The job can be quite consuming, but I’ve got a lot of support there. The coaching world is pretty precarious, but I’m able to do my job of coaching. Most people have to travel to coach,” Cullen explained at a Leinster media briefing in UCD yesterday.

“That’s the reality. You have to travel around the world wherever the opportunities arise. I am fortunate to be able to coach my home team, which is probably very different to the majority of coaches out there.”

Whereas Cullen’s previous extension — announced on 16 February of last year — only ran for a single season, his newest deal will run for twice that length.

After speaking extensively to the aforementioned Nolan in the past few months, they came to an agreement that this was the best course of action for the province to take.

“At the end of last season, you are sort of reflecting on the season. What’s going to be best for the future? From Shane’s point of view, he was keen to do the two years. We backed and forwarded about it, is this the right thing? A decision has been made and I’m very honoured to be doing it this term.

“You make decisions about the future. There are always going to be changes to the playing group. The coaching group is always going to change. The backroom team, the medical support staff that we have there is always changing in the background.

“Which gets less air time, but they are still important cogs. That’s what we all are. One cog in the wheel. There’s good stability in the club. There are strong fundamentals in place. I don’t have to worry about it.”

Coincidentally, Cullen’s latest contract with Leinster will expire at the same time that Andy Farrell’s current deal with the IRFU comes to an end. Although he didn’t rule out the prospect of coaching his country at some point in the future, it isn’t something he is contemplating for the time being.

“You’ve got to have a level of ambition for sure, whenever that is. It is not something I’m in a rush to do. It’s not a burning ambition to do it tomorrow morning.

“When you watch the Six Nations, November internationals, World Cups, there is something about the very pointy end of the game. That’s the thing about sport, you want to expose yourself at that real pointy end. You want to test yourself out, that goes with the territory of being involved and ambitious in sport.”

Cullen’s decision to focus his attention on the club game is music to the ears of Nolan, who had worked with Google for 11 years before being recruited by Leinster Rugby. He was confident the Wicklow man was eager to stay on as head coach, but was nonetheless delighted to see him officially committing his future to the province.

“That was one of my top priorities when he started a few months ago. He’s probably one of the best coaches in club rugby at the moment, so it’s a great sign of stability and consistency that we have him for the next two years,” Nolan said.

“Leo’s heart and soul is Leinster rugby. Being such a humble guy, he just wanted to make sure that the contract was right for Leinster Rugby first and him second. It is hard to get him to talk about himself as he’s such a humble guy.”