You can’t win trophies every year.
That was the message Leinster coach Matt O’Connor had for the province’s fans in his first interview since leaving the post last night.
The Australian was talking to Game On on 2fm and spoke about expectations in the province and also gave his opinion on who might succeed him.
The topic of Leinster fans being ‘spoiled’ was covered at length in the media this season with many journalists alleging that the supporters standards were unrealistically high.
O’Connor mentioned the fantastic fanbase but also seemed to agree with that assessment as he spoke about how teams can’t expect to collect major trophies every single year.
“You can’t win every year, that’s the reality of it,” O’Connor said.
“Nobody wins every year. I think the Leinster fans, as fantastic as they’ve been, need to have a little more clarity in relation to what’s acceptable and what’s realistic.”
The glory days might be over but the Leinster branch are trying their best to get the band back together for a greatest hits tour, with two of the frontmen from their four-year domination of European rugby coming back to the RDS.
Johnny Sexton returns in the prime of his career while Isa Nacewa is back after two years with his feet up resting his battered body. But as of yet, there has been no movement in the search for a head coach, with it now looking likely that interim boss Leo Cullen will remain in the post for at least a portion of the new season, assisted by Girvan Dempsey, Kurt McQuilkin, John Fogarty and Richie Murphy.
O’Connor thinks Cullen has the credentials to do well in the role.
“There’s nobody that knows more about Leinster rugby than Leo Cullen,” O’Connor said.
“From my perspective, I certainly wish him all the best. Does he want it? Is it perfect timing? No it’s not, but I think, certainly if you weighed up all the pros and cons, there wouldn’t be too many blokes better to do the job.”
